Client:- Coventry City council
Project:- Commission to produce a series of reconstruction illustrations.
An in depth analysis depicting all the different trades that have taken place in Spon Street from 12c to 18c.
They were then installed on a permanent 30+ metre long display in Spon Street.
Spon Street is an historic street in central Coventry. The street was once part of a route that ran from Gosford to Birmingham – a route which remained intact until the 1960s.
Spon End started to form in the 12th and 13th centuries, when dyers and tanners congregated just outside the city wall next near the River Sherbourne. A fortified gate was built across the road in this area soon after 1391, which became known as Spon Gate. Dyers and tanners chose the area because it was far enough out of the city that they wouldn’t disturb the residents with the foul smells of the substances used in their trades. They also needed easy access to clean water, provided by the river Sherbourne. Through the 14th and 15th centuries Spon Street continued to be dominated by the cloth and leather trades, with tanners, dyers and saddlers making up the majority of the residents. By the 19th century, the balance had shifted & at the 1851 census, as many as 137 households in Spon Street were involved in the watchmaking trade.
Spon Gate, described as the most beautiful gate in the city wall, was demolished in the late 18th century to improve access into the city centre.
