Coventry Society member Peter James, who grew up in Chapelfields, reviews the story of the road that dominated his childhood. Peter writes …..
In March 1935 a provisional road building programme was announced by Coventry Council covering roads and bridges. Four Pounds Avenue was included with an estimated start date of 1937 at a projected cost of £25,000. By 1938 the avenue had not been built but on January 3rd 1938 the following article appeared in the Coventry Evening Telegraph :-
The Second World War prevented the building of the proposed Four Pounds Avenue new road. In June 1946 after the war Coventry Corporation decided to prioritise which roads and bridges would be built. Chief priority would be a bridge at Coundon Road level crossing. Next would be the construction of Four Pounds Avenue – to provide a badly needed link between the Allesley Old Road and Holyhead Road.
By 1949 there was a rough track running along the proposed Four Pounds Avenue route with a flat wooden bridge spanning the River Sherborne. Barriers on the bridge meant that cyclists had to dismount and remount at the bridge. This caused much annoyance and frustration among the cycling community as demonstrated in the following letter featured in the Coventry Evening Telegraph dated 14th January 1950.
Four Pounds Avenue eventually opened in 1956. The road embankment used 20,000 tons of rubble from blitz damage in the centre of the city. This was in addition to what had been deposited before the war. An article in the 3rd January 1938 edition of CET stated that tipping of material for the embankment “had been proceeding for some considerable time.”
Near the junction of Allesley Old Road and Four Pounds Avenue was a farm where Frederick Green, his wife and two daughters lived. The farmhouse and land were sold and developed for housing. This enabled Prince of Wales Road to be extended beyond its junction with Merrivale Road and connect to Four Pounds Avenue. Houses were also built between Four Pounds Avenue and Allesley Old Road.
It was quite common in the late forties and early fifties to see Freddie Green the farmer pushing a pram along Prince of Wales Road. However there were no babies in it, it was full of milk bottles! This was how he delivered milk locally.
The word pound derives from the Anglo-Saxon word pund meaning a pen or enclosure.
So eventually after about 20 years Four Pounds Avenue was built in Coventry. Adjacent to Four Pounds Avenue is Lake View Road. Unfortunately the residents have a view of Sherborne Valley but as yet there is no sign of a lake.
Many thanks to David Fry for the photograph and newspaper articles