Photo mystery: Short Street 1948

[dutchman]

What on earth are those chimneys and staircases behind the houses? I've never seen anything like those before! I'm guessing the staircases are to give access to flats on the upper floors? The chimneys however don't appear to serve any purpose? It was not unusual for houses in Coventry to have kitchens or boiler houses out the back but these don't appear to have any such outbuildings.

As an aside, I suspect the earth covered mounds on the right of the picture are bomb shelters to serve the nearby Armstrong-Whitworth factory.

[rebbonk]

I don't think they're chimneys, but tanks for catching rainwater. I think they're sitting on top of outdoor toilets. - My granddad had a similar set-up

[Melisandre]

I agree Rebbonk the house I was bought up in at Sadler Rd still has these above the out side toilet coal house and out house a pipe leads down with a tap at the side so you could water your garden or attach a hose to wash your car seems they had better sense back then than now..
When I was 3 yrs old Hill Farm school nursery use to have one on the grass for us to paddle in around the side facing Beake Avenue prior to the school building an out door swimming pool in the in the infants now covered over. My nans house in Browns Lane had one to the tap was in the kitchen giving her three taps it was used to wash your hair.

[dutchman]

I don't think they're chimneys, but tanks for catching rainwater. I think they're sitting on top of outdoor toilets. - My granddad had a similar set-up

Interesting, thanks I've seen water tanks on shed roofs but nothing like those before.

[Jock Strapp]

I believe they are rain water tanks, We had one in Bell Green that covered the coal house and toilet. Ours was about ten feet off the ground. It collected all the rain water from the roof and then an overflow pipe from the tank to the drain in the yard. Dad had the tank removed about 1950 and the coal house and toilet combined to make a down stair bathroom. As for those stairs, are they for real, no obvious hand rail, look a bit dodgy to me.
Is that Jimmy Price's scrap yard across the road. I knew the Price boys back in the late 40s early 50s. One of the brothers was killed while cutting up an underground petrol tank where the police station is now.

[dutchman]

Is that Jimmy Price's scrap yard across the road. I knew the Price boys back in the late 40s early 50s. One of the brothers was killed while cutting up an underground petrol tank where the police station is now.

I wish I knew Jock? I knew Ken Price and heard the story of his brother many times but had no idea of the location of the scrap yard. I do know it belonged to Ken's father at the time.

[Jock Strapp]

The Google image below is from the front of Billy Lane's fishing tackle shop start of London Rd. Across the road, the red brick building with OXO on the wall is where Price's scrap yard was. How that relates to Short Street I am not sure.
I knew Reg Price mostly, he lived and had a small holding out Honily way. The family also owned the retirement home, the Squirrel on Allesley Old Rd.
At the time of decimalisation, Reg bought most of the brass weights that banks once used to weigh coins and he gave me about a dozen assorted weights.I still have them.
I first met the Prices when they had a horse and cart and gave gold fish for rags. Reg asked if we had any scrap. Dad gave him a jumble of cast iron pieces that had been in our bottom shed since granddads days.. Between them they assembled the pieces then asked if we knew what the assembled item was. Ken told us that it was a Queen Anne stove and I have wondered if it had more value than just scrap.

[dutchman]

This is a map of the area circa 1953. By 1960 the east-west section of Much Park Street had been orphaned by Ringway St John and appended on to Short Street.

[Jock Strapp]

I am now certain that the vacant plot on the corner of Short St was Price's scrap yard. There was an entrance from Short St and an exit on London Rd. Reg told me that if he was having one of his frequent visits from the police it was not uncommon for a vehicle to enter the yard and drive straight through and exit in London Rd indicating that the vehicle's contents were rather warm if not very hot.
Interesting to note that those steps rear of the cottages in the first photograph are also seen on the road map.

[dutchman]

in case of any confusion and despite the impression given by the map, the stretch of road between Short Street and Whitefriars Street was at the time actually part of Much park Street.