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Our History

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Tel: (024) 7679 1000 Email: [email protected] Website: www.covcollege.ac.uk

Swanswell Centre Swanswell Street Coventry CV1 5DGButts Centre Butts Coventry CV1 3GD

G6915 CITY COLLEGE - COMMEMORATIVE BROCHURE V5 1/7/08 10:11

My thanks to Carol Bloxham, who with the help of Claire Hodge has compiled this brief history of Coventry with particular

reference to City College Coventry.

Paul Taylor, Principal

Contents

Ye Olde Cofantree 03

Coventry in the Middle Ages 04

Coventry’s RoyalConnections 05

Coventry’s Coat of Arms 06

Early Education inCoventry 07

The Origins of the College 08

A Study in Time 08

The Birth of the Butts College 11

Recollections of my Time at the JuniorTechnical School 15

Apprenticeship Courses 19

The College 2008 21

The Theatre 23

Last Year at the Butts 24

Acknowledgements 26

IntroductionMy name is Carol Bloxhamand I started attending ITcourses for blind people atCity College Coventry inFebruary 2003. I enjoyed it so much that I havecontinued, it is now 2008.

The courses started in1999/2000 with four studentsat the Resource Centre inEarlsdon and moved to theButts in 2002 for technicalreasons. Now there are four classes per week withapproximately 30 students.The courses are for blindand partially sighted people,from beginners who havenever used a computerbefore to people wanting to gain a further ITqualification. The class is forall ages and we use varioussoftware packages such asJaws which is a speechpackage and Supernovawhich is a magnificationpackage. This softwareenables us to do things wenever dreamed of doingbefore, such as sendingEmails, internet browsingand word processing.Everyone in these classesneeds a support worker on a one to one basis to betheir eyes when we or the computers go wrong, which can be quite often!My support worker is Claire Hodge.

It was suggested by amember of staff that I triedmy hand at writing a historyof this college, in its finalyear as it will be closing inDecember 2008 and will be

developed into a nine storeytower block with over 550flats and a range of cafes,bars and restaurants. Part of the site is also going tobecome home to the Quality& Curriculum Agency, whoare moving theirheadquarters from London.The only thing to remainfrom the college is thetheatre, which will have acomplete revamp by thedevelopers. The new CityCollege will be situated inthe Hillfields area of the citywithin the SwanswellLearning Quarter and isbeing built in two phases.Phase one is already in useand Phase two is due forcompletion by the end of 2008.

While I was researching thehistory of the college I cameacross some very interestingfacts about Coventry anddecided to include them aswell, because this will thenshow how the early stages ofeducation in Coventry cameinto being and resulted inthe system we have today.

During my research Irealised that the address of the new college building is 50 Swanswell Street,which is rather a strangecoincidence as my mothergrew up at this address afterthe First World War.

I would like to take thisopportunity to say a very bigthank you to all the staff atthe City College Coventry for their help and supportduring this project.

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G6915 CITY COLLEGE - COMMEMORATIVE BROCHURE V5 1/7/08 10:11 Page 3

Ye Olde Cofantree

It is widelythought that thename Coventrywas derived from a great tree known as “Cofa’s tree”which was withinthe Anglo Saxonsettlement ofBarrs Hill.

Cofa was a Saxon magnateand trees were often used asmeeting places. The namewas spelt in many differentways during the first fewcenturies but the mostcommon spelling used until 400 years ago was“Coventre” before evolvinginto what we know it as today.

In 1043 Coventry was ascattered settlement whenLeofric, Earl of Mercia, andhis wife, Godgifu, founded aBenedictine monastery foran abbot and 24 monks. The early development ofCoventry owed much to this famous couple. Godgifu(pronounced Godgivu)meaning ‘God’s gift’ was apopular name at that time.Today she is remembered asLady Godiva, although shenever held the official title

of ‘Lady’ however she wasreferred to by many as‘Countess’. Even beforemarrying Leofric, Godgifuwas a woman of high statusand owned much land.Leofric was one of the threemost powerful men in thecountry, reporting directly toKing Cnut. King Cnut wasone of the most famous ofEnglish kings although hewas not English and wasprobably the most powerfulking ever to rule over Anglo-Saxon England. His namehas been incorrectly spelt forgenerations (Canute) and ofcourse he is best known forsitting on his throne on theseashore and ordering thetide not to come in (but ofcourse it did not obey him!).

Leofric died in 1057 andwhen Godgifu died ten yearslater, she was the mostpowerful lady landowner inEngland. Leofric was buriedwith great ceremony in oneof the porches of the Abbeychurch and many believethat Godgifu was buriedthere too, although there isno evidence of this and it is actually recorded that her final resting place was Evesham Abbey.

Lady Godgifu of course isremembered these days forher naked ride through thetown on horseback, whichwas allegedly in an attemptto persuade her husband tolower taxes. This story hasspanned many centuries but it is unlikely that it everhappened at all. Coventry atthat time was a small hamletso it would have been a veryshort ride and it was notwritten about until over 100 years later by Roger of Wendover, a man notknown for his accuraterecording of historicalevents. And the story ofPeeping Tom the boy whostole a peep at Lady Godgifudid not emerge until severalyears after her death.However the stories remainpart of the city’s legend anda Godiva procession is stillheld each year. Visitors toCoventry are directed to thestatue of Lady Godiva onhorseback and the PeepingTom mechanical clock bothsituated in Broadgate.

Coventry inthe MiddleAges

At the time of the DomesdayBook in 1086 Coventry hada population of about 350.The Domesday Book wascommissioned in December1085 by William theConqueror and the first draft was completed inAugust 1086.

At this time Coventry had a castle which was built inthe 11th century by RanulfMeschines, Earl of Chester. It is believed that it stoodwhere the Cathedral Lanes shopping centre is now situated.

The castle was razed to theground in the 12th centuryand then rebuilt again, thecastle then fell into disrepair.It is rumoured that thecrumbling hulk of the castlewas used as a quarry forstone to build other townstructures and the city wall.

Archaeologists have foundthe defensive ditch to thecastle. This is referred to as the Red Ditch whichprobably gets its name fromthe red sandstone used tobuild the walls.

From the early 12th centuryCoventry was divided intotwo halves; the northern halfwas controlled by the Priorand the southern half wascontrolled by the Earl ofChester. From 1265 the Priorslowly lost his power andrented his half of the town to the Earl.

In the Middle Ages Coventrybecame famous for itsweaving and dyeing industry(which is where we got theCoventry sky blue colourfrom). There were manyworkers in the cloth trade,drapers, fullers, dyers andweavers. There were alsomany other craftsmen suchas millers, bakers, butchers,blacksmiths, carpenters,coopers, cutlers andgoldsmiths. In 1340 themerchants of Coventry wereformed into a guild, whichlooked after their interests. A meeting hall, St Mary’sHall, was built for the guild.This beautiful buildingsurvived the blitz and is stillused today for specialfunctions.

Coventry was granted a Royal “Charter ofIncorporation” in 1345 byKing Edward III. This meantthat Coventry could nowhave its own council andelect its own mayor.Coventry was now officially

a city and in 1348 JohnWard was duly elected asthe city’s first Mayor. The Charter effectivelyexcluded the Prior from anyinvolvement with the morepowerful Earl’s half of thecity and in 1355 the Priorgave up all his claims on it.

Coventry’s central locationfavoured its growth and theRiver Sherbourne providedwater supplies and powerfor the mills. In 1329Coventry became so richthat it was felt it was worthprotecting with a wall andmoney to pay for it wasraised by “murage” whichwas a tax on goods cominginto the city. The building ofthe wall began in 1355 andwas finally completed in1534. At this time it was 2miles long, 8 feet thick, over12 feet high and had 20towers and 12 gates. It wasthe most substantial towndefence outside London. It took 179 years to buildand it only stood for 128years before King Charles IIin 1662 ordered it to bedemolished leaving only thegates and part of the wallintact. Some of the wall canstill be seen today.

03 04Key to Map:

1. St Michael’s Church

2. Holy Trinity Church

3. St Mary’s Hall

5. Greyfriar’s Spire


Coventry’sRoyalConnections

Queen Isabella wasconsidered by manyas a champion forCoventry. Shesuffered greatly at

the hands of her husband,Edward II, who showered hisattention and her jewelleryon his homosexual lover,Piers Galveston, while totallyneglecting Isabella. She fledto France where her brother,Charles, was King and it wasthere that she met her loverRoger Mortimer. With hishelp they invaded Englandand forced her husband toabdicate in favour of hiseldest son, Edward III.

As Edward III was only 14 at the time, Isabella andMortimer ruled as regentsuntil 1330 when she had her husband, Edward II,murdered. Edward III alsoturned 18 in this year andwas able to rule in his ownright. He staged a coup andtook Isabella and Mortimerprisoner. Mortimer wasexecuted for treason andIsabella was banished by herson to her estate at CastleRising in Norfolk. At this timeshe also inherited the manorand manor house ofCheylesmore from Robertand Emma Montalt, and shetook up residence there. Sheremained powerful and wasresponsible for The RoyalCharter of 1345 mentionedpreviously, which was thefirst of its kind in England.

The ogee-headed doorway(still in place today) is anoriginal entrance into theManor House from theGreyfriars monastery ofwhich only the churchsteeple still stands. The opentimber roofs had scarcelybeen altered since they were built and enough of the original framework had survived to assure authentic restoration.’

QueenIsabella’sgrandson,Edward, wasknown during

his lifetime as Edward ofWoodstock. In 1337 hebecame the first Duke ofCornwall then in 1343 hebecame the Prince of Wales.He never became King, ashe died a year before hisfather, Edward III. It was only after his death that hewas known as the BlackPrince, which probablyreferred to the black armourhe wore. Edward usedCheylesmore Manor as hishunting lodge and reputedlyvisited the area frequently.

Coventry’sCoat ofArmsIt is believed that theelephant on the coat of arms stood for strength,redemption and protectionand the ability to slaydragons.

Some have said that thecastle relates to the wall thatsurrounded the city but earlyseals with both elephant andcastle predate the wall. Thecoat of arms also containsthe crest known as ‘Cat-a-mountain’ which was theemblem carried by the BlackPrince on his helmet. Themotto beneath the arms‘Camera Pricipis’ means“The Prince’s Chamber”.

In 1959 the coat of arms wasenhanced by two supporters:the Black Eagle of Leofric on the left and the Phoenixon the right representing theancient town and Coventry’srise from the ashes after the blitz.

Coventry’s other claim tofame arising from royalconnections is encapsulatedin the expression “sent toCoventry” which means to be completely ignored byeveryone. The most popularbelieved reason of how thissaying came about is thatduring the Civil War OliverCromwell sent many Royalistprisoners to the city andwhilst they were exercising in the streets, it was said that they were completelyostracised by the strongparliamentarian folk ofCoventry. Therefore legendhas it that people shunned inthat way were said to havebeen “sent to Coventry”where nobody talks to you.

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A plaque located on theoutside of the manor states:

‘A manor house atCheylesmore was firstmentioned in the year 1250.In 1320 it passed to QueenIsabella. In 1385 the RoyalManor was enclosed withinthe city walls. In the 16thCentury John Leland, theKing’s Antiquarian, wrote“the King has a Palace atCoventry now somewhat in ruin”.

In 1661 its other buildingswere repaired by Sir RobertTownsend. In 1738 a weaverasked permission to make atenement of one of them.

In 1955 most of the southwing which had become arange of industrial top-shopswas demolished. In 1965Coventry Corporationundertook restoration of thegatehouse and the survivingbays of the north and south wings.

The work completed in 1968revealed important historicalfeatures for example thesouth wing probably belongsto the original manor houseof the 13th Century.

Broadgate is named after thegate at the entrance of thecastle. The only part of theold castle which remainstoday is called Caesar’sTower and it is part of StMary’s Guildhall.

There were 12 gates dottedaround the walls of the town namely New Gate, Hill Gate, Little Park Gate,Cheylesmore Gate, WellStreet Gate, Gosford Gate,Bishop Street Gate, SponGate, Swanswell Gate, CookStreet Gate, Greyfriars Gateand Bastille Gate (laterknown as Mill Lane Gate).This gate stood in what isnow Cox Street and ispositioned under the sportscentre. The wall adjacent tothis gate suffered from waterpenetration problems in the16th century resulting fromthe proximity of the nearbypool in what is now PoolMeadow. Today there areonly two surviving gates:Swanswell Gate and CookStreet Gate.

This map shows the route of the City wall

The two surviving gatesSwanswell Gate andCook Street Gate

The manor is now a gradeII listed building and hometo the Registry Office for births, deaths and marriages

Original route of wall

Final route of wall

City wall remains

...---...

Part of the city wall as seenfrom Lady Herbert’s Gardens

St Mary’s Caesar’s Tower


Until the 19th centuryeducation was notcompulsory and only thewealthy could afford to paythe fees where educationalfacilities existed. In 1303 themonks at the priory started aschool for poor children andthey also maintained apublic grammar school. A typical school day ranfrom 6am to 5pm with briefholidays. The main subjectswere music and the classics.

The old Bablake School inHill Street was founded in1560, but the educationalinstitution possibly originatesfrom 1344 when the Bablakelands were granted byQueen Isabella for thebuilding of the original StJohn’s (or Bablake) Church.

It is thought that the schoolwas suppressed under theChantries Act in 1548 and itwas reopened by the city in1560 with 41 boys inattendance. The school wasmostly dependent oncharitable gifts until 1563when Thomas Wheatleyendowed it with much of hisestate. It is rumoured thatThomas Wheatley hadordered some steel wedgesfrom Spain but he receivedby mistake in their place achest of silver ingots. Beingan honourable man andunable to discover to whomthis cargo rightly belonged,he decided not to profit from

the mistake himself but togive to the needy. At thistime the school committeditself to giving free board,clothing and education topoor boys who were tobecome apprentices.Bablake moved to its presentlocation in Coundon Road in 1890.

King Henry VIII School wasfounded on 23rd July 1545by John Hales as the FreeGrammar School. For over300 years it was situated inthe former Hospital of StJohn the Baptist, which wasfounded in 1155 byLaurence, Prior of Coventry,for the poor and infirmpeople of the city. At the dissolution of themonasteries the crowngranted the property toJohn Hales. This building still stands on the corner of Bishop Street and HaleStreet. It is such a shamethat Coventry people havelet this beautiful old buildingfall into a derelict state.

In 1885 the school moved toits present site at WarwickRoad.

The earliest elementaryschools in Coventry werecharitable foundations,founded from the end of the17th century onwards. Forgirls these were the BlueCoat School, Southern &Craner’s and the Freemen’sOrphan School. Baker,Billing & Crow’s, KatherineBayley’s and Fairfax Schoolwere for boys. A growinginterest in education in thelate 18th century gave rise tothe movement to provideSunday schools for poorchildren. In 1785 severalschools were opened inrented rooms. After someyears the variouscongregations undertook theprovision of the schools andnew buildings, the first ofwhich was the Hill StreetSchool built in 1799 by WestOrchard CongregationalChapel. In 1838 there were15 Sunday schools inCoventry with a totalattendance of more than3,500. By 1900 Bablake hadabsorbed Fairfax, Bayley’s,Baker, and Billing andCrow’s schools.

A Study in TimeThe Technical Institute ran classes inscience, textiles, shorthand, typewriting,modern languages and horology.Horology was an important subjectbecause of Coventry’s history of watchmaking which started in the city in1720. By the 1840’s it was one of themain watch making centres in Englandand for a short time it was Coventry’sprinciple source of employment. Mostwatch makers worked from home withtheir workshops at the back or on thetop floor of the house. These wereknown as “top shops” and can still beseen to this day in and around thestreets of Coventry.

07 08

Early Education in Coventry

Free Grammar School

Watch making Rotherham’s 1910

Watchmakers’ houses Holyhead Road

The Origins of the CollegeThe College can trace its origins back to 1828when the MechanicsInstitution was foundedin the city. This wasinitially located in ahouse, at 69 HertfordStreet, (which nowhouses the YorkshireBuilding Society) with a library, reading room,lectures and classes.

In 1855 the Mechanics Institution wasreformed as the Coventry Institute. Its programme included courses ininorganic chemistry, electricity, French,German, agriculture, geometry, animalphysiology, building construction,hygiene, botany, advanced arithmeticand shorthand. Much of the Institute’sother work was to give an elementaryeducation to adults who had missed out on schooling.

Courses in horology were offered at the Technical Institute under localwatchmakers such as Player,Rotherham, Bonniksen and Fridlander.These courses included history, theory,geometry and technical drawing inaddition to the usual practical work.This was an attempt to broaden theknowledge of students who wished tostudy the subject.


Silk weaving was another of the main industries inCoventry at the beginning ofthe 19th century. It was theHuguenot refugees, fleeingfrom persecution in France,who brought the art ofJacquard weaving to thecity. At this time weaving,like watch making wascarried out in top shops andthey were paid a fixed pricefor the finished article. Theywere known as outworkers.

In the early 1840’s John and Joseph Cash, sons of a Quaker merchant set up asilk ribbon business whichoperated on the outworkersystem. By 1846, J&J Cashhad become so successfulthat the brothers built theirfirst factory, supplied largelywith Jacquard loomspowered by steam and by1856, 200 weavers wereemployed in this factory.J&J Cash became some ofthe first pioneers of a moreenlightened approach toemployment, encouragingemployees out of theirhomes and into a centralplace of work.

In the 1880’sCoventryexperiencedenormousindustrial changes with new engineeringproducts ofcycles, motorvehicles andmachine tools.

James Starley produced thefirst ‘bone-shaker’ in 1868and built an electric car in 1890. In 1896 the firstmotorcar was produced inthe city, manufactured byDaimler Motor Syndicatewhich eventually developedinto Jaguar. Triumphmotorcycles startedmanufacturing in 1902 and Courtaulds textiles wereformed in Foleshill in 1904.As the engineeringtechnology became morecomplex the construction ofmachine tools became morespecialised and a trainedworkforce was needed.

In response a new TechnicalInstitute was opened in 1888in an old textile warehousein Earl Street, which DavidSpencer had dedicated tothe City Council on thecondition that it should beused for technical schoolsand a school of science.Courses at this time includedtextiles, horology, modernlanguages, shorthand,typewriting and science.

Local industry wasresponsible for supplying themajor equipment needed forthese courses, often free ofcharge, and The AmericanWriting Machine Companyloaned typewriters to thecommercial departmentuntil 1893.

At this time the institute hadproved so successful that anadditional block of buildings,including a large lecturetheatre, was built at a cost of£5,000. In 1896 Mr J HopeBelcher was appointed asPrincipal and he continueduntil 1918. He was paid £250per year. One of the firstthings he had to do wasmake cuts because of theshortage of money andspace. He did this bycombining and closingclasses.

09 10

Textile Workshop

A page from the 1891 prospectus – the earliest

issue in the College’s possession

Leaving certificate woven in silk in the Textiles

Department Circa 1900


The Institute’s Earl Streetbuildings had beenunsuitable for many years soin the early 1900’s, planswere drawn up for flatteningthe building and replacing it on the same site, but thiswas too expensive. Variousother city centre sites were considered and PoolMeadow was decided upon because of its central location.

The design of thenew building wasdecided bycompetition in1913 and thisdesign above byMr A.W. Hoare(LRIBA) wasselected.

The outbreak of the FirstWorld War the next yearprevented any furtherprogress. When the Warended in 1918 there were937 students enrolled at thecollege and it was decidedthat the site was now toosmall. In 1919 a JuniorTechnical School was alsofounded and moved intorooms in the Institute andthere were 80 apprenticestaking part time day courses.The apprenticeship schemecould be undertaken byboys who were notacademic enough for aNational Diploma. In thisyear the city councilacquired three acres of landat the corner of AlbanyRoad and the Butts, as a sitefor the new building. Thename ‘butts’ comes fromwhen the land was used byarchers for practice and

involved using mounds ofearth known as butts. Thebutts comprised a level flatarea of land, up to 200metres long, forming a rangealong which the archerscould shoot. Originally theywould contain a number ofcircular flat-topped, turf-covered target mounds,often arranged in pairs. The mounds provided alevel platform for the targetsand were usually positionedat one or either end of therange. Edward IV passed a law in 1477 making itcompulsory for all males to own a longbow and topractice on Sunday after church.

11 12

Engineeringworkshops

(nowdemolished)

The Birth of the Butts College In 1926 the Institute qualifiedas a Technical College and changed its nameaccordingly, free from feesfor children aged 5-11 and a senior school for over 11year olds. At this time peoplewanted to take up moretraining to get better jobsand Coventry led thecountry in day releaseapprenticeships with 500registered in 1931. At thistime the Institute wasproviding courses for everylevel up to final honoursdegree.

There was a delayof 14 years beforework began onthe building of thenew college inAugust 1933,when the CityCouncil agreed to build the newcollege with aloan of £142,228.

During the construction theworkmen decided to includea time capsule in the form ofa message in a bottle, whichthey buried underneath the front steps. This messageincluded their names and

trades: bricklayers GeorgeMonday and Walter Sproon,apprentice bricklayer HarryRoberts and labourer Harry.This time capsule wasdiscovered when work wascarried out to renew thesteps in 1995.

On the 10th of July 1934,HRH the Prince of Wales,made a tour of inspection of the building while it wasunder construction and a bronze tabletcommemorating this visit and anothercommemorating theopening by the Duke of York the following yearare situated in the main entrance.

The new building wasopened on 10th December1935 by the then Duke of York who later becameGeorge VI. Thousands ofpeople turned out to greetthe Duke and Duchess asthey arrived at CoventryStation and then made theirway via the Council Houseto the Technical College.During his opening speechthe Duke said “After visitingsome of the less fortunatetowns, it is very cheering to be here in the midst ofmanufacturing activity and development”.

The photo shows men constructingthe archery butts

The photo shows the Duke arrivingat the Butts Stadium

Here we can see men working onthe inside of the building

Gymnasiumunderconstruction

Aerial view of the college under construction


The Second World War soonintervened and in 1939trenches were dug on theButts sports ground and staffbegan fitting blackouts towindows. Some staff werelost to the War effort but thecollege began to run specialclasses for the armed forceson radar and vehicleelectrical equipment andgave instruction to coppersmiths and other tradesmen.Courses were also run insuch subjects as fuelefficiency, economical breadproduction and the makingof war-time gym shoes.Another thing the collegelost to the War effort was its £600 iron railings whichwere sacrificed to thenation’s need for scrap ironfor just £30. Staff andstudents made gauges forBofor guns and welded partsfor electrical equipment forthe General ElectricCompany Limited. Duringthe War years and throughall the bombing, the collegenever closed. At first, staffand students went to theshelters when they heard airraid warnings but this wastime wasting so it was madeoptional and most peopleworked through the alerts.Army field kitchens wereplaced on the roof of thebuilding for emergencyfeeding and some of the staffbecame temporary cooksserving more than 1,000lunches a day.

After the heavy bombing ofCoventry in November 1940hundreds of homelesscitizens were housed in the

college, which for a whilebecame the largestdormitory in the city. A number of bombs weredropped on the building butit escaped with remarkablylittle damage. Also duringthe war the college was presented with anobservatory by CaptainSmith-Clarke, which is still in situ on the roof of thebuilding. It is accepted thatastronomy classes were held at the college butunfortunately there are no records of these.

The 1944 Education Actmeant a lot of reorganisationfor the College. Its functionof educating children wasgradually separated from its work with adults. At thesame time a College of ArtTechnology and GeneralEducation, later to becomeLanchester College (which isnow Coventry University)was started in the samebuilding. There was verylittle space with children’seducation, adult courses and the council’s HeadHorse Keeper all in the samebuilding until 1956 (becausethe Lord Mayor’s horse wasstabled here). The children’seducation courses movedfrom the college toWoodlands School. This led to some apprenticesdoing evening classes. On completion of theircourses some apprenticeswent to work at Humber and Standard Triumph car factories.

When classes began at the new college inSeptember 1935 Mr. D R MacLachlanwas principal and therewere 3,332 studentsenrolled as well as 1,400students under 16 yearsof age in attendance atthe Junior EveningSchools takingpreparatory coursesleading to the TechnicalCollege courses. In 1936Mr J Wilson becameprincipal and hecontinued until 1947.

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The opening ceremony took place atthe Butts Stadium

The Duke was presented with thiskey, which was decorated with theCity’s coat of arms

Lord Mayor, Charles Payne,greeting the Duke of York on thesteps at the front of the College

Two of the carved plaquesover the main entrance of the Butts building,symbolising (left) Precision inthe machine-tool and chainindustries and (right) speedin the air and on land

How the entrance to the collegelooked in 1935

Adverts from the Souvenir Programme December 1935


R N RoseJanuary 1940 – December 1941

Getting in

I sat the entranceexamination for JuniorTechnical School (JTS)whilst evacuated from FollyLane School to Binley. FollyLane School was consideredtoo close both to theHumber Hillman factory and the local trainline – both perceived as bombing targets.

Once I had passed theentrance examination, my father had to sign adeclaration undertaking to ensure my regularattendance for two years,followed by entrance intothe engineering trade.

Getting there

Up until September 1940(the period known as thePhoney War), the onlyinterruptions to study werethe occasional ‘hit and run’daylight bombings. Thesesent us off to spend time inthe air raid shelters – timemainly spent playing‘battleships’! But once nightraids started in September1940, the main problem wasactually getting to the Tech.Bomb damage andunexploded bombs meantwe never knew when we left

home on our bicycles whichroads would be passable.Our form started in January1940 with 26 pupils andfinished with 18 pupils –mainly due to boys beingevacuated to safer locations.

Getting on

My recollections are of concentrated study of English, History andGeography taught by Mr Nason. Maths, Metalworkand Woodwork taught by Mr Gough. Engineeringdrawing, Mechanics, Physics,Chemistry and Germantaught by Mr Dean. Duringour practical metal workperiods we undertook ‘warwork’. Before we could getstarted we sometimes had tohammer down the woodblock flooring in theworkshop. The blast fromnearby bombs travelledthrough the service channelsand lifted up whole sectionsof the blocks. We weren’ttold what the parts we wereturning were going to beused for, but felt a greatpride in contributing to the war effort.

Some of us joined 91Squadron of the Air TrainingCorps based at King HenryVIII Grammar School.

From this I achieved a sixmonth, pre-RAF entry, shortcourse at Oxford University,having been accepted foraircrew training. A majorproblem for me wasadjusting to metric unitsfrom imperial!

Getting into trouble

My final recollection of JTSis not so pleasant. Aroundthe back of the college bythe workshop block was ablind corner which oftencontained a large puddle. A practical joke was oftenplayed here, by lobbing astone over the wall into thepuddle as someone waspassing by. On virtually ourlast day at JTS, someonewas hit by a stone. Our formwas held to blame as wepassed that way betweenlessons. ‘Knocker’ West, thehead, said we would all becaned unless the culpritowed up. No-one did, so weall had to parade outside hisoffice on the first floor toreceive one stroke on eachhand! Mostly, we were muchmore concerned about whatfuture employers wouldmake of the record ofcorporal punishment on our final term report.

Getting out

I was accepted as anindentured apprentice at Humber Hillman as acoachwork draughtsman. I subsequently achieved myOrdinary National Certificate(ONC) and Higher NationalCertificate (HNC) throughpart time release, and muchlater various endorsements. I was staggered 20 yearsafter leaving JTS to receivea letter from Mr Westcongratulating me on theseachievements and saying hewas adding the informationto my record.

The basic grounding intechnical studies given to meat JTS, coupled with my fiveyear apprenticeship set meup for a career in the carbody design industry whichculminated with the positionof Chief Engineer, BodyExterior Trim and Hardwareat the Rover Company.

15 16

Recollections of my Time atthe Junior Technical School

Recollection of my time at JTS by R N Rose

The following information was given by Norman Rose


17 18

Form Report

Letter fromWoodlandsSchool

Leaving Certificate


19 20

Apprenticeship Courses

I have also been given the followinginformation bymembers of TheCity of CoventryMale Voice Choir,who served theirapprenticeships atthe Butts duringthe 1940’s ‘50’sand ‘60’s.

Peter Corne 1944-1946Junior Technical coursefrom the age of 13 to 16years then he was anapprentice in Metallurgy. John Frizzwell 1946-1948General EducationBrian Stamper 1951-1955Pattern shop and FoundryRichard Barnet 1955-1961Ordinance SurveyorBrian Todd 1956-1962ElectricianNigel Ward 1959-1968Engineer

Apprenticeship courses arestill being run at the collegetoday and there are over600 apprentices at thecollege studying inconstruction, hairdressing,plumbing, engineering andaccounting. The Patternshop course, mentionedabove, was the only one ofits kind in the country whichwas run up until July 2007and so students came fromall over the UK.

In 1961 as a result of a white paper the College of Technology opened andmoved to new premises asthe Lanchester College ofTechnology, named after the engineer and carmanufacturer Frederick WLanchester. The TechnologyCollege stayed at the Buttswith 12,000 students under its new Principal, Mr R A Arculus.

The 1960’s brought a newdiversification of subjects tothe Technical College, asnew industries andtechnologies were appearingalmost overnight and thecollege had to move withthe times. New courses weredevised and a lot of moneywas spent on equipment formechanical engineeringcourses and the collegeestablished a reputation as acentre for technicianeducation. It became clearthat there was too muchwork for the college and thatwith the expansion of thecity’s population it was notconvenient for those livingon the edges of the city.There were now more than14,000 students, of whom6,000 were attending dayrelease courses supported byabout 600 firms. Plans weremade to build other collegesand in 1964 Henley Collegein Bell Green, whichspecialised in cateringopened and Tile HillCollege, which specialised inmotor vehicle engineeringopened in 1969.

In 1970 the Coventry Schoolof Music became part of theTechnical College.Uncertainties in theengineering industry meantthat there were fewerstudents in the technicalsubjects and this allowedmore development of homeeconomics, craft and artclasses. In 1985 the MaxwellCentre was custom built inUpper York Street to housethe Technical College’sconstruction courses andwas named after the formerLord Mayor, the late CharlesMaxwell. The three collegesremained part of the LocalEducation Authority untilincorporation in 1993.

During the 1990’s thecolleges faced financialpressures and these weremost acute at the TechnicalCollege. In 1991 it came tolight that the college had lostsomewhere in the region of£3 million in its accounts.This was probably due to thehuge task of adapting to newfunding arrangements whenthe colleges were taken outof local authority control. Asa result of this, the Principal,Mr John Temple, who hadbeen in office since 1984,resigned along with anumber of the seniormanagement team. In 1991Janey Rees was appointedPrincipal and she remainedin office until 1996. From1996 to 2000 Roger Deatswas Principal and TonyHolyhead took over for one year until 2001 whenPaul Taylor, who wasPrincipal at Tile Hill College,replaced him.


Today the college caters fora wide range of students andoffers a huge variety ofcourses from tailor-mademanagement andprofessional development to horticulture and lifestylecourses, through to art,drama and English forspeakers of other languages(ESOL) courses. The ESOLcourses cater for Coventry’slarge and eclecticcommunity of immigrants,refugees and asylum seekerswho help shape thecommunity and bring manyskills to industries lacking in a skilled and willingworkforce. These coursesteach them the essentiallanguage and social skillsneeded to integrate withinthe community.

Immigrants and refugeeshave always played a largepart in shaping Coventry’shistory, culture and industry,from the Huguenots fleeingfrom persecution in Francein the 17th century to thePolish prisoners of war whosettled here after the Second World War.

The college continues tohave very strong links withemployers across the variouscourses. In Vehicle andGeneral Engineering thereare the likes of Jaguar, LandRover, Aston Martin, BMWand Arriva. It also has strong employer links withcompanies in the Businessand Management, HealthCare and Early Years, Musicand Media and Hair andBeauty fields.

Skills for Life qualifications inthe workplace are provided for a number of city basedemployers including WalkersSnack Foods, Remploy,Palmer and Harvey andTravel Coventry.

21 22

The College 2008

By 2000/01 it becameclear that the mostproductive and efficientroute for the TechnicalCollege to take would beto merge with Tile HillCollege. This mergertook place in February2002 and City CollegeCoventry was born. Paul Taylor remained as Principal and is still in office today.

As part of the planning for the merger itwas realised that retaining three separatesites with approximately 35% overcapacity would lead to City College goingbankrupt within 10 years. So it wasdecided that a single site and a smallercollege was essential. After five years of planning and 18 months of constructionphase one of the new college at theSwanswell Learning Quarter opened inSeptember 2007, housing the coursespreviously run at Tile Hill and the Maxwell Centre.

The remainder of the courses willcontinue at the Butts centre until phasetwo is ready in December 2008 when themove to Swanswell will be completed.During the construction of phase one300,000 concrete blocks and 112,500bricks were used and 155km of datacabling was installed which if laid end toend would stretch from Coventry toLondon. The cost of the new building at£50M, will make it one of the largest evercapital projects in the further educationsector and it is at the leading edge of thebiggest urban regeneration in Coventrysince the end of the war.

Today there are over 13,000 students attending City College,following a total of 26,748 qualifications. 55% of thesestudents are male and 45% female. Their ages range from 11 to 93! The college employs 932 staff with an equal splitbetween full and part-time members. 349 of these are supportstaff and 583 are employed in teaching roles.

As well as the three main sites the college also runs courses at outreach centres in Balsall Common, Kenilworth, Station Tower, Canley Education Centre and the BBC Open Learning Centre.


The TheatreAnother contribution to thegeneral wellbeing, neverenvisaged as part of thecollege’s educationalfunction, has been the partplayed by its theatre. Thiswas originally used as alecture theatre, called theGreat Hall when the collegewas first opened. Later theCouncil for theEncouragement of Musicand the Arts used thetheatre in the War years toentertain the public withconcerts and other events.

Bottom right is a copy of an original programme from 1944.

After the War, the theatrewas used by the MidlandTheatre Company andbecame a well supportedlocal “rep”. The collegetheatre is well used today bymany local groups for showsand concerts and over70,000 people each yearvisit the theatre, where someof the city’s biggest starshave begun their performing careers.

Alan Biddle, son of JimmyBiddle mentioned in theprogramme opposite andchairman of the CoventryMusical Theatre Consortium,still carries on his father’stradition of producing showsand concerts at the theatreto this day.

The Butts site is to beredeveloped by Midland & City Developments Ltd(MCD) but the theatre withits art deco interior willremain for theatregoers. At a cost of approximately£110 Million a nine storeytower block is planned withover 550 flats built in smallblocks arranged around acar-free central courtyard,with a range of cafes, barsand restaurants beingdeveloped in the old collegebuilding and an open airsquare. Planning permissionwas given in July 2007,subject to MCD agreeing to£950,000 of financial supportto revamp the theatre’sfacilities. Alan Biddle, saidthey were ecstatic with thenew improvements whichinclude better backstagefacilities and improveddisabled access.

The site will stretch from therailway line to the Butts andfrom Albany Road toCoventry Rugby Club’s newstadium. The façade of thebuilding will remain and beenhanced and the theatrewill be improved internallyto allow for more flexible useof space. The developersand people of Coventryhope that it will continue tobe a landmark building formany years to come.

Last Year at the ButtsMCD started workduring October 2007 on demolishing W Block to make way for theconstruction a new65,000 sq ft state of theart, highly sustainablebuilding on the sitewhich will be home tothe Qualification andCurriculum Authority(QCA), which is movingfrom London and willemploy more than 500 staff.

The QCA hope to be operating fromthe new headquarters during 2009.

Meanwhile the students and staff whopreviously occupied W Block havemoved to the Maxwell Centre and they will have to move yet again oncephase 2 of the Swanswell building iscompleted in December 2008. Those ofus whose courses are continuing in themain college building have had toadapt to studying to the sounds ofdemolition and construction and our guide dogs to negotiating newobstacles. However, it is a dailyreminder that the old college familiarto thousands of students andapprentices, is ending and the new one is already developing on theSwanswell site.

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City College Coventry Swanswell

Coventry Technical College, Great Hall

Original Programme from 1944

Phase 1

Phase 2 – Artists Impression


26

Acknowledgements

City College Coventry Staff

Paul Taylor – Principal

Dave Beckett – Clerk to the Corporation

Paul Chokran – Multimedia Developer

Claire Hodge – Additional Support Worker

Sally Pinfold – Marketing Manager

John Wischhusen – Quality Systems Manager

Other Contributors

Norman Rose – Past Student

Rosemary Line

Coventry Archives

Coventry City Library

The City of Coventry Male Voice Choir

www.localhistories.org/coventry.html

www.historiccoventry.co.uk

www.thecoventrypages.net

www.channel4.com/timeteam

© Copyright Carol Bloxham – Published 2008

This publication is also available on CD read by Rosemary Line


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