Front cover of brochure

Greyfriars Green Conservation Area

Transcript from Coventry City Council 1985 brochure GVA 1443 LB 8 85 , with updates where needed.  

Introduction

Greyfriars Green Conservation Area is situated in the southern sector of the central area of Coventry, comprising an attractive and actively used area of open space and two distinct terraces of buildings. 

It was formally designated on 8 August 1969 on the basis of its architectural quality and historic significance, and its boundaries extended on 6 April 1977 to take account of changes made as a result of the construction of Stage VI of the Inner Ring Road.  The boundary of the Conservation Area is as shown on figure 1.

Figure 1 - Plan   

Figure 2 - Mature trees and planting The Green itself is triangular in shape and contains mature trees and planting.  This small area of open space, in the heart of the city, is a popular lunchtime recreational and visual feature figure 2. On the western side of the Green there is a row of small, originally domestic scale properties of the late 18th and early 19th century period, the majority of which are included as Grade II buildings on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.  All of these buildings are now used for commercial purposes and the ground floors mostly have modern shop fronts. On the eastern side of Greyfriars Green, at its northern end, there is a curved terrace of early Victorian buildings known as the Quadrant, set back from the road, the forecourt containing several mature trees and shrubs.  These properties are now almost solely used for offices and club purposes but little or no alteration has taken place to the front elevation of the buildings, which form a dominant feature in this area.  All are Grade II Listed Buildings (see figure 3).

Figure 3 - The Quadrant

Figure 4 - Samual Bradford's Plan of Coventry 1748-49 Historical Background Two hundred years ago Greyfriars Green was known as Graffery Muck Hill.  It was a large dunghill of street-sweepings which was auctioned twice a year.  Later it was known as the 'Red Sea' or 'Horse Pool' (see figure 4) where the coach men washed down their vehicles.  There was even a ducking stool for scolding wives.

Figure 4 - Thomas Sharp's Map of Coventry 1807   For many years prior to 1858 the Coventry Fair was held on Greyfriars Green, the drinking tents and stalls aligned on the periphery of the site, the buying and selling taking place in the centre.  In 1860 under the second Enclosure, Edmund James Smith gave the City of Coventry two acres, two rods and 39 perches at Greyfriars Green at a rent of £4 per annum without any deductions.  This was subject to the Corporation being responsible at its own expense, for levelling, draining, fencing, planting and ornamenting the green within two years, and also maintaining the green at its own expense.  There was to be one large gate and several small gates provided, these never to be locked, bolted or barred.  Provision was also made that there should be no permanent building except statues or monuments and there should be free access to the green at all times.  In 1876 when the laying out of Greyfriars Green was complete the total cost was calculated to be £1,819 6s. 6d.

Figure 6 - 1837 Survey The first house in Warwick Row was built in 1764.  At the rear was an open field known as the 'Poddycroft' or 'Pudding Croft' (see figures 5 and 6) and the attraction of this view, together with orchards which ran along the course of the river Sherbourne, made the houses in Warwick Row the most sought after in the city. Number 29 is perhaps the most famous of these houses, being occupied by Samuel Vale in 1874, and Mary Anne Evans (the novelist George Eliot) attended school there from 1833-1835.  It is probably this house which figures in her book 'Middlemarch' as that which Dr. Lydgate took on his marriage to Rosamund Vincy.  On the far side of Warwick Road the terrace of houses bearing the fashionable name of 'The Quadrant' was completed by 1863.  When the Quadrant was first built open country lay just behind it, but towards the end of the century the development of the Cheylesmore Estate seemed to push the countryside further away, and the building of tram-lines down Warwick Road brought the centre of the town a great deal nearer. It later became popular for private schools and doctors' surgeries.

Figure 7 - c.1960 Conservation and Enhancement Prior to the construction of Stage VI of the Inner Ring Road, Greyfriars Green was a small park surrounded by heavily congested streets, but which had long been enjoyed by office workers and shoppers as a green space dose to the city centre (see figure 7).  The Green's fine mature trees - beech, lime, evergreen oak, and cherry - and well maintained lawns formed a backcloth for the seasonal floral displays which were one of its main attractions.  The construction of the Inner Ring Road along the southern boundary of the Green presented a challenge and an opportunity - to safeguard what was of value but at the same time to remove any defects and generally improve the environmental quality of the area.

Figure 8 - 1975 After the construction of Stage VI of the Inner Ring Road, Greyfriars Green was extended over the old line of Warwick Road.  Warwick Row has been transformed into a pedestrian promenade linking the Green physically and visually with its attractive terrace of 19th century buildings and providing an effective setting for the memorial to James Starley, who developed the bicycle in 1870 (see figure 9). The Inner Ring Road now bounds the Green to the south, but the raising of part of the road structure has enabled the landscape to be continued under the road and into the centre of the adjacent traffic island (see figure 8).  Great care has been taken to retain the existing trees effectively within the new layout.  Considerable new planting has been carried out to supplement existing vegetation and ensure continuity.  The existing lawns have been improved by gentle ground shaping to give a greater sense of space, to soften the lines of footpaths and roads, and to provide a more effective background for the popular floral displays.  New footpaths through the Green provide a more direct and pleasant route to the city centre from the south.  The formal reopening of Greyfriars Green by the Lord Mayor of Coventry on 3rd May 1975 marked the completion of the remodelling work and confirmed that the original intentions behind the scheme - to protect and improve the Green and enhance the general environment of the conservation area - had been successfully achieved.  The scheme itself received a commendation in the 1975 E.A.H.Y. Landscape Heritage competition organised by the British Tourist Authority.  For further information about the Conservation Area contact the Conservation Officer, Development Projects, Civic Centre 4 (Tower Block), Much Park Street, Coventry. Figure 9 - James Starley memorial