Revealed: The Blitzed pub where Coventry City were born

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The only known photo has emerged of the pub where eight pals went for a few pints after work 129 years ago – and founded the football team that was to become Coventry City FC.



The picture of the Lord Aylesford Inn, in Hillfields, was discovered after a five-year search by club historian Lionel Bird, who described the find as “momentous”.

“The pub has a unique place in Coventry City’s history,” he said.

“We can finally see where the club was formed all those years ago.

“A few mates left work at the Singer cycle factory between four and five o’clock on Monday, August 13, 1883, went straight to that pub in Aylesford Street, went upstairs to the clubroom and, over a beer and a sandwich, formed Singers FC.”

In 1898, the club changed its name to Coventry City. Lionel said: “That’s the origins of Coventry City Football Club in that room, in that pub. It’s momentous.

“Not every club has this kind of information into how they were formed, so we are very fortunate to have that.”

The photo was provided by Alma Wager, daughter-in-law of Clement Wager, who became the pub’s licensee in 1936.

It is thought the photograph shows Clement standing proudly in the doorway on the day he took over. The pub was destroyed in the Coventry Blitz in 1940 and is now the site of the Aylesford Intermediate Care Centre.

Lionel said: “I am extremely grateful to Alma for her kind generosity in providing these important images.”

The pub was built around 1861 and the licensee in 1883 was George Wale.

The pub had a brewing house, several outbuildings and a yard, and the interior comprised a bar, lounge and a smoke room.

After the Blitz, the site became subject to local authority planning control and Atkinson’s Brewery complied with a compulsory purchase order that was issued in 1958. Possession of the land was finally taken by the local authority on January 23, 1961.

Four years ago, a memorial plaque was put up near the care centre to help commemorate the football club’s humble beginnings.

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There's some doubt whether the pub was destroyed in the November 14th Blitz or in an earlier raid on October 20th.

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Rare photo emerges of first Coventry City 'clubhouse'

After the only known picture emerged of the pub where the team was founded in 1883, a photo has now been found of its first base.

The White Lion Hotel, in Gosford Terrace, was a short walk from the club’s first pitch in Dowell’s Field, where Gosford Park Primary School now stands.

Licensee Henry French gave the players a backroom to use as a dressing room, and a water pump and a tin bath to wash in.

To reach the pitch players had to cross Gosford Green and Binley Road and walk along a public footpath.

The first match was a 9-0 defeat against Coventry Association FC.

Gate receipts were obtained by “going round with a hat” with revenue varying from two shillings (10p) to five shillings (25p).

The photo of the hotel was supplied by Coventry historian David Fry.

Club historian Lionel Bird said: “I have always wondered what the original White Lion Hotel looked like.

“From the photograph we can see it was a prominent three-storey building facing Gosford Green.”

In 1887 Singers moved to a new pitch between Paynes Lane and Swan Lane, called the Stoke Road ground.

Singers’ first major success came when they won the Birmingham Junior Cup in 1891.

In 1894 Singers joined the Birmingham and District League, and in 1898 changed their name to Coventry City.

In 1899 they moved to Highfield Road and in 2005 to the Ricoh Arena.

The club was formed in August 1883 at the Lord Aylesford Inn, in Hillfields, by a group of workmates from the Singer cycle factory.

The original White Lion Hotel was demolished in 1926 for a pub bearing the same name. That was demolished in 1987 for the construction of Sky Blue Way.