I’ve recently started researching, for reasons that will become apparent later this spring, a feature for CC that includes some views of the post war shopping and business centre of Coventry, England, and could not let this one go by without note.
Coventry was very heavily bombed in November 1940, and the city took the opportunity to recreate and re-plan the centre in what was then perceived as being the modern, futuristic style of precincts rather than streets, and roof top parking for cars in many places. The long term success of this can be discussed another day, but how many of these can you recognise, and how many are local products, built in Coventry? Click the picture for a bigger view.
Usual CC prize offered, RHD version. Good luck.
I’ll post my answers in a couple of days.
NICE ! .
I love LBC’s and so want some of those pictured here .
-Nate
Roger,a great pic.I can identify most of those cars,Ford Consul,Austin A40,Citroen ID/DS,Ford Anglia,Morris Oxford,Ford Zodiac,Vauxhalls,Rovers,Hillmans,Jaguars,etc.Bottom right corner is either a Hillman or Sunbeam two door,a car a late friend and car nut said were a great driving machine.He owned a MK V1 Bentley and later a black 1954 Riley RME.I drove that Riley quite a few times,very impressive.Back in 1986 in Adelaide,South Australia,on a busy inner city street the Riley failed to proceed,flat battery.So I hopped into my 1965 white Citroen ID19 with the jumper leads and parked the ID19 nose to nose with the black Riley.What a sight,wished I had my camera with me.The Rileys side hinged bonnets open and the vast bonnet of the Citroen open,many people stopped to look.To think the Cit was revealed in 1955 and the Riley was 1954,worlds apart in design,both wonderful cars.
CCs ? ( Coventry Cars)
On the left row is a Hillman Minx( just beyond the chap in the dark suit ) and near the top is a Standard Vanguard.
The right hand row begins with a Sunbeam Rapier, and includes a Hillman Husky, Jag Mk 1X, fairly new Hillman Minx, 1940s Standard 8, and a 1940s Jaguar.
Ah, the wonder of Woolies. My big sister worked on the biscuit counter as a teenager..
I used to live in Coventry while I did my automotive design MA. The post-war redesign was a sad failure. They ended up with a street system unalligned with the buildings. The pity was that pre-war Coventry was very richly endowed with fine buildings. Freiburg, Germany was bombed almost flat but they rebuilt in the old mode and today it is a lovely town. Modern town planning has been a disaster for which, sadly, the motor car carries a fair amount of the blame.
You are right sir.
Rain pooling attractively on top of the Woolworths canopy. Tip-top modern architecture.
R/H from the bottom (Manfacturer & perhaps brands – I would have to spend much longer otherwise!): Rootes Sunbeam, Vauxhall, Rootes Hillman, Vauxhall, Hmmm (older Rootes?), Jaguar, Rootes Hillman, Morris?, Ford, Ford, Austin, pre-war Wolsely or Riley? Austin, Ford, Ford, Ford Thames van in the road, Austin, beyond that . . .
L/H from bottom: Ford, Ford, Austin, Citroën, Ford, Morris, Rootes, Morris, Wolsely, Austin, Ford, Morris, Ford, Ford, Ford, Morris . . .
Well, I tried!
Nice picture! Well, some of these are probably wrong, but my guess list is as follows:
LH side to distance
Ford Consul Mk.II lo-line
Ford Anglia E494A (large headlights so Anglia)
Austin A40 Mk.1
Ciroen DS
Ford Anglia 105E
Morris Oxford s.III
Hillman Minx. Mk.VII
Morris Oxford s.II
Riley Pathfinder
Standard Ten van
Ford Zodiac Mk.II (or Zephyr?)
Morris Cowley 1200
Morris Ten ? (pre-war design but also built post-War)
Ford Anglia/Popular 103E
Morris Cowley 1500
Austin A30 or A35
Hillman Husky s.I
Vauxhall H?
Standard Ten van
Vauxhall PA?
Riley or Wolseley 1.5
Ford Anglia or Popular 100E
Bedford CA lwb
Ford Consul or Zephyr Mk.I
Austin A40 Mk.I
Back end of a Triumph Herald?
In the road: Ford Thames 10/13cwt van
RH side to distance
Sunbeam Rapier s.II or III
Vauxhall Victor F s.I
Hillman Husky Mk.1
Vauxhall Wyvern or Velox E
Ford Prefect 100E
Jaguar Mk.VII
possibly Singer Gazelle
Wolseley 15/50
pre-war Ford Anglia ?
Standard Eight (pre-War design)
Austin A35
Bentley Mk.V
Morris Minor convertible?
Ford Anglia or Popular 100E
Ford Zephyr Mk.II (light on roof? police car?)
Austin A40 Mk.I
Hillman Minx Mk. (early?)
Ford Anglia or Popular 100E
Austin A40 Devon
Ford Anglia E494A or Popular 103E?
A convertible, so guessing Rootes Audax
Ford Anglia or Popular 100E?
Austin A40 Mk.I?
Ford Zephyr Mk.I?
Morris Cowley or Oxford?
Standard Eight or Ten?
Morris Oxford Traveller ?
Some towards the back are tentative and I’m not so good at pre-War designs!
I just realised I’ve spent 1 1/2 hours doing that!! LOL
Great stuff but unfortunately not a rare Riley Pathfinder on the LS, its a Mg Magnet ZA 1200cc (see the curving front chrome strip round the wheelarch)
Ah yes – looking at it it’s probably too short for the Pathfinder too. The one on the RHS had a bonnet mascot so had to be the Wolseley.
Considering they weren’t made in Coventry, there’s a surprising number of Fords even in these pre-Cortina days.
And – assuming the Citroen came from Slough – every one of those cars was built in England.
Before the UK joined the European Union imported cars were subject to heavy import duties. Cars like Porsche, Mercedes, Lancia, sold in very small numbers to people with deep pockets. Mass market cars didn’t sell. Citroens were assembled in Slough to get around the import duty.
Most foreign cars on the street in the 50s and 60s were pre-war models “liberated” from mainland Europe in 1945.
Great effort Bernard!
I’ve matched my suggestions to yours on the attached, and we seem pretty close.
I will nominate you for the award of the CC Missing Hub Cap of Honour!
Thanks Roger, that was fun and absorbing. I might be able to find a similar challenging selection from my family photo collection if that’s of interest – well, maybe not quite as good or as many as that photo!
I reckon that Jag must be the Mk.VIII having both the split screen and the extra chrome trim. The adjacent Rootes Audax I said ‘Gazelle’ because of the colour split was like that on the earliest ones, usually just below the window line on Minxs, but I note some s.III had the same waist-height split. I am still surprised at the number of Fords, though.
Glad you enjoyed it. I’m looking for another shot to do it again!
Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen pictures of cars parked at right angles to the sidewalk before. Did they ever do that here in the ‘states?
Saw a TR6 on a local Craigslist last night for only $4,995. I was tempted to call even though I could see at least 1 silver dollar sized hole in the passenger rocker. This time of year when the temperatures are still mild and the rains aren’t too heavy, I think about my first of 2 Triumphs, a 72 Spitfire.
Actually that picture has surprisingly few Morris Minors in it! (possibly just one).
One thing that stands out is the dominance of Rootes. Previous commenter noted the lack of Minors, and Vauxhalls are also rare. Just about half of the cars and trucks are Hillmans, and the other half are Fords.
IIRC Rootes had factories in Coventry; Morris and Vauxhall were from out-of-town. Maybe they wanted to support the local brand?
Very much so.In 1964 there was a huge row when Coventry’s bus undertaking went to Leyland not Daimler.
Bernard Taylor – Wow !, well done. I thought I could get my teeth into this, but I’ve been outflanked before I even started.
I think the ‘light’ you see on the Zephyr’s roof is actually a girls’ head. Remember the beehive ??
I could possibly nitpick a couple, maybe even add 1 or 2, but I won’t. Whoever judges this, it’s over, game, set and match.
As per The Open (golf), start engraving the trophy now, no-one will catch him.
A beehive hair-do, yes, of course. I should have gone back out to the whole picture, close-up it was just confusing. Oddly enough I’m doing a model figure with that type of cut.
Speaking of uncommon English cars , I have a mate who’s looking for late 1950’s to early 1960’s Anglia and Ford Consul parts , is willing to buy rusted out junkers and will travel anywhere in North America (this means Canada too) to inspect , purchase .
Mostly he needs drivline parts , a tranny for the Anglia , it has a flathead engine , a modern bolt up tranny from anything will do ….
The Consul is a 1,700 C.C. engine .
I know there these cars sitting quietly some where in America….
-Nate
Here is a Consul.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/red-deer/ford-consul-capri-would-make-a-great-race-car-project/1149699968
Here is an Anglia with a rebuilt engine
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/edmonton/1959-anglia-110e-2-door-coupe/1139100883
If he expands to Canada he might have some more luck.
THANX David ! .
Canada is O.K. , that’s where the Anglia he has came from….
-Nate
So MK Consul and 100E Prefect/Anglia, look in NZ these are still quite common in paddocks and under hedges.
Yes and they did sell some here in America….
there’s got to be a few sitting ’round awaiting salvaging .
-Nate
Great photo, I could look at it all day long. I am not up on British cars, so I can’t put together a list like I can with American cars.
I do like that Hillman Husky in the right foreground. My parents bought one of those when I was a year old. It was so reliable that it became a legend, and stayed in the family for about ten years. That was in the Territory of Alaska, or at least the first few years were.
I recognize most of them as I have owned many of those present or ridden or worked on the remainder, The Thames 800 van rear facing the camera is a very rare sight here these days, but the rest are about in moderate numbers.
Woolworths now sadly gone. My younger sister & I had Saturday jobs at Woolies. I love this site so many things to bring back happy memories
Is this from Practical Classics? Im sure Ive seen this somewhere…
I think so
Unfortunately getting a good picture would have meant trespassing, so I can’t share it here, but I saw a mini-version of this scene in the near the ghost town of Darwin in the California desert last weekend: two of those tail finned Vauxhall Victors in someone’s yard. And a Renault Dauphine as well. I’m surprised there no Renault in this picture … I would have expected to see one here, more than an expensive DS. And no small (MkII?) Jaguar,, which I recall as being very prevalent in early ’60’s England when I lived there as a child.
@DingleyDave.
Ha ha. That’s exactly what I thought… Practical Classics (the long-running UK classic car magazine) have used this concept for years for their regular feature “Memory Lane”. Just print an old period photo of some busy street scene in Post-war England and have fun listing out the various cars you can spot. I’m pretty sure they’ve done one on Coventry, with its obvious British motor industry connections….. hmmm, maybe they should have copyrighted the idea.
Well done everyone – I know it wasn’t an easy one, especially for readers outside the UK.
My answers are
on the left from the front
Ford Zephyr 1956-62
Ford Popular 1953-59
Austin A40 Farina 1958-67
Citroen DS 1956-76
Ford Anglia 105E 1959-68
Morris Oxford Series III 1956-59
Hillman Minx Mk VI 1953-4
Morris Oxford Series II 1954-56
MG Magnette ZA 1953-56
Standard 10 van 1954-59 C
Ford Zodiac 1956-62
Morris Oxford Series II 1954-56
Austin 8 1939-40, 1945-48
Ford Popular 1953-59
Ford Anglia/Prefect 1953-59
Morris Oxford Series II 1954-56
Standard 8 or 10 1954-59 C
Standard Vanguard Phase III 1955-58 C
Vauxhall 10-4 H Type 1937–40, 1946–47
Standard 10 van 1954-59 C
Ford Anglia 105E 1959-68
Standard Vanguard Phase III 1955-58 C
Ford Anglia/Prefect 1953-59
Bedford CA van 1952-69
Ford Zephyr 1951-56
Not clear
Austin A40 Farina 1958-67
Austin Cambridge A55/Morris Oxford Series V Farina saloon 1959-61
On the right from the front
Sunbeam Rapier 1955-68 C
Vauxhall Victor F Type 1957-61
Hillman Husky Audax Series 1954-57 C
Vauxhall Wyvern 1951-57
Morris Oxford Series III 1956-59
Jaguar Mk VIII or Mk IX 1956-61 C
Hillman Minx Series I/II/III 1956-59 C
Morris Minor 1948-1970
Not clear
Ford Popular 1953-59
Austin A30/A35 1951-59
Jaguar 3 ½ Litre 1948-51 C
Austin A40 Farina 1958-67
Ford Anglia/Prefect 1953-59
Ford Zodiac 1956-62
Austin A40 Farina 1958-67
Ford Zephyr 1956-62
Hillman Minx 1948-53 C
Ford Anglia/Prefect 1953-59
Humber? C
Ford Popular 1953-59
Ford Anglia 105E 1959-68
Hillman Minx 1948-53 C
Austin A40 Farina 1958-67
Ford Anglia/Prefect 1953-59
Austin A40/A50 Cambridge 1954-57
Hillman Minx 1948-57
Morris Oxford MO Estate 1948-54
Van in the middle Ford Thames 1957-65
C after the date denotes a car built in Coventry – 13 or over 20%. Many (the Austins) were built in Birmingham, just a few miles away, Luton (Vauxhall) and Oxford (MOrris) are not that far away either.
Great photo. If I could use a time machine to go back to 1961, I’d visit the toy department of that Woolworth’s and buy as many Matchbox cars as I could and carry them – mint and boxed – back to 2016. I’d have a nice little nest egg!
Oh man, a DS19… *swoon*…
Got them all, of course. Where’s my prize?