About 2.5 miles northwest of Coventry city centre, just east of the A45 Coventry bypass, Allesley Park is both a public green space and the name of the residential suburb that grew up alongside it. The park itself has roots going back to the 13th century, when Henry de Hastings laid it out as a deer park – a space that was roughly five times the size of what exists today.
From Deer Park to Public Green Space
After its origins as a medieval deer park, the land was later used as a large gentleman’s farm of more than 400 acres, owned by the church. Coventry City Council purchased it in the 1960s and preserved it as a public park. The residential area of Allesley Park was built between the 1950s and 1970s, spreading south of the park itself. It sits between Chapelfields to the east, Mount Nod to the west, and Whoberley to the south.
Allesley Hall
Within the area, Allesley Hall has a layered history. The original hall was built in the mid-17th century, then rebuilt before the mid-19th century, when Thomas Wyles acquired it to establish Allesley Park College, which ran until 1886. That second structure was demolished in 1908, and the present mansion was constructed in 1909 for the Iliffe family, prominent newspaper magnates. The building served as a sanatorium during the 1950s and is now used as a retirement home.