IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Butts, COVENTRY, CV1 3BJ

One of three pubs in the Spon End area to have closed recently. Opened in the mid 19th century as the Summerland Tavern, it became the Fob Watch in 1981 ( Image ), reverted to the Summerland, then became the Butts Retreat in 1999. Closed November 2010. Re-opened in 2011. Closed again 2013.

Looking along the road.

Looking towards the road junction with Butts B4101.

Ellison's Patent Push Preventive Turnstile. Sole makers W.T.Ellison & Co, Limited, Irlams O' Th' Height, Manchester. Provider of Turnstiles at sports grounds all over the country.

The Qcda (Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency) sign adorns the new offices in the Butts. It has been there a couple of months. The new government intend to introduce legislation in autumn 2010 to close the agency. Context: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1885221 Update 2013: The Qcda sign has gone from the wall, the name on the door reads 'Department for Education' and it appears to be the Standards and Testing Agency.

The new office building in the Butts was completed and occupied in early 2010 by the Qcda (Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency) which relocated from London. On 27 May 2010 it was confirmed that the new government would introduce legislation to close the agency in the autumn of 2010. Meanwhile, next door, the old Tech is surrounded by blue fencing with little sign that the redevelopment to offices/residential use is progressing. See also (2009): http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1182067

Looking along Butts Road.

Astonishing as it may seem, traffic can still pass through the maze of cones in the Butts. The route westward along the Butts, Spon End and Allesley Old Road from the city centre is undergoing widening works related to air quality improvement, the aim being to relieve the pressure of traffic on Holyhead Road which has been causing a drop in air quality in the area. The building displaying the name 'The Hamptons' was formerly a pub known variously as The Summerland Tavern, The Fob Watch, Summerlands and The Butts Retreat and, since 2017, The Hamptons but seems to have been boarded up for a while.

In October 1981, this public house had only recently become the Fob Watch, having been the Summerland Tavern up to 1981 (the Butts used to be the Summerland Butts). Some years later it became the Summerland and in 1999, the Butts Retreat ( Image ) - a name it still holds although closed and boarded up at the time of posting this photo. In the background, left, is Spon Gate House flats, constructed in the early 1960s.

The Butts Retreat. Called 'last orders' along time ago. More details can be found on Image