Sitting in the south-eastern corner of Coventry, West Midlands, Stoke Aldermoor is a suburban area bounded by two waterways: the River Sowe and the Coventry Canal. The suburb of Stoke lies to the north, Whitley to the south-west, and Ernesford Grange to the east. A small estate alongside the north-east of Pinley Fields carries the local name Pinley and forms a distinct pocket within the broader Stoke Aldermoor area.
Wartime Industry and Later Commercial Use
During the Second World War, the Rootes No 1 Shadow Factory operated in Stoke Aldermoor, producing four-wheel-drive scout cars, tank engines, truck engines, and aero engines. Rootes also ran a training school in the area alongside the factory. In later decades, the same site became the Peugeot UK head office, a function it held until 2008, when the company relocated to purpose-built premises a short distance away in Pinley.
On Screen and in Popular Culture
Stoke Aldermoor holds a notable place in British film history. The famous Mini sewer chase sequence from The Italian Job (1969) was shot here, with the Minis lowered into newly built sewers on the outskirts of the suburb and driven through to the Finham Sewage Works. The area also appeared in the long-running BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, where exterior shots around Daisy and Onslow’s council house were filmed on its streets. In terms of local government, Stoke Aldermoor falls within the city council ward of Lower Stoke, which has been consistently represented by Labour since the mid-2000s.