Work on the scheme to open up the River Sherbourne in the city centre has revealed some interesting history.
The photographs above, taken by Joe Rukin of Sky Blue City Walks, show the current state of work on the site.
Excavations have revealed a blocked-up bridge underneath the Illingworth Building, next to the culvert that the river is currently flowing in.
The blocked-up bridge shows the original course of the River Sherbourne and was known as Slaughter Bridge.
It linked the original Smithfield Cattle Market where animals were bought and sold, with Butcher Row, where they were killed and “processed”.
A visiting historian wrote that you could hear the screams of the animals being taken from the Market across the bridge to Butcher Row where the animals would become distressed at the smell of blood.
Until 2010 a pub known as the Smithfield Tavern stood on part of the site of the ancient market. It is now the site of a student residence known as Millenium View.
Butcher Row and Little Butcher Row were demolished to make way for the construction of Trinity Street in the 1930s. The river was diverted and culverted as part of that scheme.
Older maps of the area show a building on the bridge. Was this perhaps a pub?
The archaeology on the site is being monitored by Archaeology Warwickshire, although nothing ancient has been discovered to date. The city’s archaeologist has told us that he is discussing with the design team whether some of the recovered sandstone blocks can be re-used in the scheme.
The aim of the scheme is to create a riverside area with restaurants and cafes as well as public spaces
where people can enjoy the view.
As part of the scheme the former Illingworth Building, which is built above both the original bridge and the culvert, is to become an “Arts Café”.
Ian Harrabin, chair of the Historic Coventry Trust, says “The plan that we are working on at the
moment is to turn it into an arts cafe, it will be part art gallery, part café.”
“We have a potential operator and we are just packaging together the funding and hopefully we will be able to start work as soon as the contractors are out of the way.”
Ian Harrabin has told the Coventry Society that although funding is not yet secured, he is hopefully of
having things in place by October or November when the construction work on the river is due to be completed.
The Illingworth Building looks to be in seriously poor condition from the outside, but Ian told the Society
“Illingworth isn’t as bad as it looks. The steel frame is sound, but the rusting is pushing out the brickwork which is only a skin.”
It is rumoured that the proposed café might be a vegan café, which would be an interesting use for a building on Slaughter Bridge.
