Sitting within the southeast corner of Stivichall, one of Coventry’s southern suburbs, Fenside occupies a quiet residential pocket in the West Midlands. The broader Stivichall area lies astride the Leamington Road, and Fenside forms part of its southeastern reach, close to the course of the River Sherbourne – an intermittent stream that rises in Allesley and flows along the eastern boundary of this part of the city before joining the upper tributaries of the River Avon.
Surrounding Area
The wider neighbourhood Fenside belongs to is bordered on several sides by places of distinct character. To the north and northwest lies the War Memorial Park, a nationally Grade II listed civic park and garden that separates Stivichall from the residential suburb of Earlsdon along Coat of Arms Bridge Road. The district of Cheylesmore merges into the area to the northeast, while Whitley Common – a flood meadow – sits to the east, separating Stivichall from Whitley. The A45 dual carriageway marks the southern boundary, beyond which lie the Finham and Green Lane neighbourhoods.
History and Name
The Stivichall area, of which Fenside is a part, has a long history as a rural parish on the outskirts of Coventry. The Styvechale manor was held by the Gregory family from the 16th century until 1919, when Coventry Corporation purchased the land. Part of it was used to create the War Memorial Park, with residential development of the remainder continuing through to the 1970s. The main roads connecting Coventry to Leamington Spa and Kenilworth pass through Stivichall, and during the Gregory family’s ownership, travellers were charged a toll of one penny per horse and sixpence per vehicle to use them. The toll house at the road junction was demolished in 1964. The western section of Stivichall, called Styvechale Grange, was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s to accommodate Coventry’s population, which reached a peak of 340,000 in 1971. The name Stivichall itself is thought to derive from the Old English words ‘styfic’, meaning tree stumps, and ‘healh’, meaning nook or corner – a nod to the ancient woodland character of the land before it became the suburb it is today.