Henley Green

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henley Green is a former council estate in Coventry at grid reference SP366815 adjacent to Wood End, bordered by Deedmore Road, and about a mile from the area of Bell Green. Henley Green now consists of a mixture of private and social housing.

This housing estate was mostly built by Wimpey around 1955, the majority of properties were built out of no fines by a method of cast pouring. The 'pour' contains 'no fine' particles (sand) and as such is a mixture of crushed pebbles and cementitious liquid slurry.

Some three storey (four bedroomed) houses were built in Deedmore Road of a more traditional brick design, these are similar structures to the houses in Foxglove Close and Leeder Close off Everdon Road, Holbrooks built around the same time and are early town houses with a utility room and storage on the ground floor, living area on the first floor and bedrooms above. More three bedrooomed houses built of traditional brick, stand in Deedmore Road, Eccles Close and Petitor Crescent Henley Green.

The no fines building process allows for the quick construction of structures. Henley Green, Wood End and other 'council estates' were built to house an influx of workers who were mostly arriving in Coventry during a boom in the Car and other local industry. Street names in Henley Green include Roselands Avenue, Chudleigh Road, Monkswood Crescent, Luscombe Road, Lynmouth Road, Logan Road, Widdecombe Close and Ashburton Road.

Several houses were built in Clennon Rise and Roselands Avenue in the early 1990s, these are modern red-brick properties belonging to a social landlord. Several blocks of flats have now been demolished. Some of these stood in Clennon Rise some in Monkswood Crescent and this included the removal of several no fines built 1950s 'Star Blocks' (four storey blocks of 12 flats). One such Star Block still remains in Watcombe Road Henley Green. These flats formerly Coventry Council properties were passed onto the ownership of Whitefriars Housing Group in 2001 and then demolished due to their poor condition which was making them hard to let. The area now has several empty spaces awaiting re-development.

Part of Luscombe Road faces onto open ground,this ground has now been granted Village Green status after proposals to build houses on this land failed, all due to local pressure. Local residents hold fund raising events on the village green. This land also leads onto what is locally known as the Black Path. The Black Path is close to where a railway line once passed through the area. This railway line would have crossed Henley Road and this 'line' can still be walked. The Black Path leads towards Woodway Lane and the Woodway Park residential area of Coventry.

Henley Green has a small row of shops which have three bedroomed 'houses' above, shops there include a Post Office, Butchers shop, and a Supermarket. There is also a Public House and a fairly recent children's play area installed to improve the area.

A large leisure centre is currently being built near to Winston Avenue, which will improve the local facilities. A new modern medical centre now stands near to this, and where 'The Live and Let Live' public house was (until its demolition in the late 1990s) wedged between Deedmore Road and Hillmorton Road.