Sitting adjacent to Wood End and about a mile from Bell Green, Henley Green is a former council estate in the east of Coventry, bordered by Deedmore Road and positioned at grid reference SP366815. The area now has a mixture of private and social housing, and falls within the Henley ward.
Origins and Construction
Most of the housing in Henley Green was built around 1955 by Wimpey, using a technique known as “no fines” construction. This method involves cast pouring a mixture of crushed pebbles and cementitious liquid slurry that contains no fine particles such as sand. The absence of sand allowed structures to be raised quickly, which suited the pace of building required at the time. Henley Green, along with Wood End and other nearby estates, was put up to house workers flooding into Coventry during a boom in the car industry and other local manufacturing. Some three-storey, four-bedroomed houses in Deedmore Road were built to a more traditional brick design, with a utility room and storage on the ground floor, a living area on the first floor, and bedrooms above. Further three-bedroomed brick houses can be found in Deedmore Road, Eccles Close, and Petitor Crescent. Streets in the area include Roselands Avenue, Chudleigh Road, Monkswood Crescent, Luscombe Road, Lynmouth Road, Logan Road, Widdecombe Close, and Ashburton Road.
Changes Over the Decades
In the early 1990s, modern red-brick properties belonging to a social landlord were added in Clennon Rise and Roselands Avenue. Several blocks of flats, including four-storey “Star Blocks” containing twelve flats each, have since been demolished. One Star Block still stands in Watcombe Road. The former Coventry Council properties passed to Whitefriars Housing Group in 2001 before being cleared due to poor condition, leaving a number of open spaces awaiting redevelopment. Part of Luscombe Road faces open ground that has been granted formal village green status after proposals to build on it were rejected following local pressure. Residents hold fund-raising events on the green. The land connects to a path known locally as the Black Pad, which follows the course of a former railway line that once crossed Henley Road. The route can still be walked today and leads towards Woodway Lane and the Woodway Park residential area.
Local Facilities
Henley Green has a small row of shops with three-bedroomed houses above them. Among the businesses are a post office, a butcher’s shop, and a supermarket. There is also a burnt-out public house and a recreation ground in the area.