1
HPL Building, Allesley
This factory with a fine art deco frontage greets travellers approaching Coventry along the A45 from Birmingham. It dates from the late 1930s, according to the Heritage Gateway site https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCT6355&resourceID=1029 and is locally listed; see the Coventry City Council site https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/17245/local_list_of_buildings_of_architectural_or_historic_interest.pdf . It was built for Triumph, the motorcycle manufacturers, for their service division, and was known as the 'Model Garage', according to Dave Gleed, who worked there and is quoted by Our Warwickshire https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/old-standard-triumph-buildings : "I loved my job, working with a great bunch of lads. It was like being in the army again, a band of brothers. I mean, you spend more time with them than with your wives."
On reflection, I think the style is more art moderne than art deco, like the Tollgate pub not far away on Holyhead Road in Allesley - a sleek, streamlined style for the new motor roads of the 1930s. The strong horizontal lines, curved corners and glass bricks all suggest art moderne; see the Architectural Styles blog https://architecturestyles.org/art-deco/ .
Image: © A J Paxton
Taken: 15 Oct 2023
0.06 miles
2
Path leading to Black Hill Lane
Image: © Ian S
Taken: 28 Aug 2019
0.10 miles
3
Pond to the west of Allesley
Image: © Ian S
Taken: 28 Aug 2019
0.10 miles
4
Path leading to Black Hill Lane
Image: © Ian S
Taken: 28 Aug 2019
0.11 miles
5
Pond on Windmill Hill, Allesley
A public footpath that crosses the ridge, roughly parallel to the Birmingham Road, runs past this pond. The Coventry Hill Hotel can be seen in the distance.
Image: © A J Paxton
Taken: 15 Oct 2023
0.11 miles
6
Footpath junction at Allesley
Two footpaths; one runs between Allesley and Pickford, the one to the left heads off to Alton Hall Farm.
Image: © Richard Law
Taken: 14 Apr 2011
0.12 miles
7
Pond and footpath at Allesley
Image: © Richard Law
Taken: 14 Apr 2011
0.12 miles
8
Quality Hotel, Allesley
Situated on the Birmingham Road on the western approach to Coventry, this building has a 1930s appearance, with a pair of Dutch gables and two pairs of gate piers topped with prancing horses. The A45 bypass, which runs past it, was built at this time.
Image: © A J Paxton
Taken: 15 Oct 2023
0.13 miles
9
Pickford Brook and the A45
Pickford Brook is in the depression; the A45 is just this side of the skyline. The large hotel on the right is a landmark when driving into Coventry from Birmingham.
Image: © John Winterbottom
Taken: 28 Dec 2005
0.13 miles
10
Frozen pond with bulrushes
This pond is by the footpath across farmland near Allesley and is marked at SP287815 on the 1:25,000 OS maps.
Image: © E Gammie
Taken: 7 Feb 2007
0.13 miles