Ivy Farm Lane (Canley Hamlet) Conservation Area Transcript from relevant parts of Coventry City Council June 1989 draft brochure, with updates  where needed. Introduction The conservation area is situated about 7.2 km (4½ miles)  south-west of the city centre and was designated a Conservation Area on 16th November 1989 in order to preserve and enhance the general character of the area.  The area maintains a strong rural character, a result of the building type and form, the street pattern and the landscape qualities. Historical Background and General Description Ivy Farm Lane, Cannocks Lane and Shultern Lane are all shown on maps dating from as early as 1597.  The area once formed the old hamlet of Canley, and was based on a number of separate farms. Today, the area is surrounded to its west by Canley Cemetery, to its north by Canley Nurseries and to its south and east by modern estate development.  Despite this it maintains a strong rural character, a result of the building type and form, the street pattern and the landscape qualities. Ivy Farm Lane is narrow and winding and characterised by sporadic verges and enclosing hedges, trees and walls.  Cannocks Lane has now been closed at its eastern end, but retains some overgrown banks which contribute to its rural character.  Shultern Lane is narrow, winding and enclosed by hedges.  The lane has now been closed to motor vehicles.
Buildings in the Area Canley Hall Farm Cottages, 1-2 Cannocks Lane from rear - Apr-1989    Several of the buildings along Ivy Farm Lane are listed as being of special architectural or historic interest: Ivy Farmhouse is a timber framed building of the sixteenth or seventeenth century with stone plinth, red brick nogging and tiled roof. It has recently been renovated.   Barn at Ivy Farm.  This is a timber framed barn of the seventeenth century or earlier with brick nogging and tiled roof. It was converted to residential use in the late 1980s..   Stables and Coach House at Ivy Farm. These are eighteenth or early nineteenth century brick buildings with tiled roofs.  They were converted to residential use in the late 1980s.
Canley Hall Farm Houses - Dec-2001   Canley Hall Farmhouse dates from the early nineteenth century.  Originally a farmhouse, it is built of red brick with a Welsh slate roof.  The central door has a stuccoed surround with a shallow hood on console brackets.  The elegant sash windows are 1990s replacements for the inappropriate modern casement windows which had themselves replaced the original sash windows. Canley Hall, originally a farmhouse, dates from the early eighteenth century or earlier. Unfortunately the walls have been pebble-dashed but the original leaded casement windows have been retained.  The house generally appears to be in a poor state of repair. Canley Hall Farm Cottages (Nos. 1 & 2 Cannocks Lane) were originally one farmhouse of red brick with plain clay tiled roofs. They are included on the local list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. There are several other barns on Ivy Farm Lane and Cannocks Lane which reflect the rural character of the area. More recent development, in the form of semi-detached and detached houses on the east side of Ivy Farm Lane has not significantly detracted from the rural character of the area, although the open frontages of "The Seasons" and "Cannock House", on Ivy Farm Lane fail to maintain the enclosure of the lane. It is considered that the unique rural character and appearance of the area are worthy of preservation and enhancement.
New Development in the Conservation Area Converted Coach House at Ivy Farm - May-1988    A total of four acres of land and some of the barns within the old hamlet of Canley were declared surplus to the requirements of the former Leisure Services department of the City Council in the 1980s and were disposed of for residential development.  The designation of the Conservation Area took these developments into account, as well as improvements that were being made to the roads and sewers within the area.  The designation of a conservation area does not necessarily mean the prevention of further development; rather, it is a means of ensuring that new development accords with the special architectural and visual qualities of the area.  The aim is to encourage new buildings to be designed as part of a wider whole, in sympathy with the area's unique character.  In addition, the further control which conservation area designation gives a local planning authority over the demolition of most buildings within it was used to prevent the demolition of the surplus barns and other farm buildings, which contributed so much to the character of the area, and to encourage instead their sympathetic conversion to residential use. Much of this conversion work, along with some new housing development in similar style, has now been completed.  Road improvements and traffic calming measures, introduced as a prelude to the new housing development, have unfortunately destroyed some of the former rural character of Ivy Farm and Shultern Lanes, some of which will hopefully return with the passage of time.   Also see Ivy Farm Lane Photos  for further recent photographs.