Richard Shaw chose….

Butcher Row, 1914, by M Baynes

Old Palace Yard, 1918 to 1936, by Kenneth Wootton  

I chose these two drawings because they reflect the reason I got involved with the Herbert – the fact that there is so much “hidden history” in Coventry.  Both show scenes which unfortunately are no longer seen in the city and so are examples of many of the changes which have occurred.  I feel that many visitors and others who think they know the city have no idea that the city is so much older than it seems.  

Richard Shaw is a trustee of the Herbert

What the curator says:

Butcher Row, 1914, by M Baynes

Old Palace Yard, 1918 to 1936, by Kenneth Wootton

Both of these drawings show scenes that have disappeared. Butcher Row was one of the oldest streets in Coventry. As its name suggests it was the site of butchers and slaughterhouses from the 1300s.  When Baynes captured this view, the buildings had changed very little from the medieval period. Butcher Row was demolished to make way for Trinity Street, which opened in 1937. 

Palace Yard was a fine house that stood on Earl Street. Parts of it dated from the 1400s, but the house was rebuilt by Sir Richard Hopkins in the 1650s. King James II stayed there during his visit to Coventry in 1687. The building  was destroyed by bombing in 1940.