Stoke, Coventry

Stoke Heath is a residential area of Coventry, West Midlands, England. It is situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north east of the city centre. It borders Courthouse Green to the north, Wyken to the east and Stoke to the south with its western edge demarcated by the A444.

The area merited no special mention in medieval records and seems to have been open country and grazing land held by the manors of Wyken and Caludon until the late 17th century. The civil parish of Stoke Heath, created out of 74 acres (300,000 m²) in the west of Wyken in 1920, became part of Coventry in 1928. The city of Coventry's population expanded by 90,000 in 1928 due to significant boundary changes. Prior to that date, the district seems to have been referred to as 'Wyken Heath' or 'Wyken Knob'. A vague reference to a Stoke Common around 1700 being one of the first references.

Clay and sand for brickmaking were excavated in Stoke Heath in the early 19th century on sites close to the Coventry Canal. But the approaching First World War in 1914 would be a major catalyst in Stoke Heath's development.

The district was built up between 1900 and 1920 and was closely tied into the need for munitions workers during the era of Anglo-German rivalry. During the First World War, Stoke Heath played host to a significant population of Belgian refugees. The area was dominated by the popular red brick Stoke Heath Junior & Infants School, built at the end of 1915. The school provided a central focus for the original 689 homes built by 1915. The school was demolished in the 1990s and a new school erected on the same site. The local parish church is St Albans, Church of England, situated in Mercer Avenue and built in 1929 by the architect Harry Bulkeley Creswell.

The original street design for Stoke Heath included large numbers of elm trees, often lining the streets, such as Heath Crescent and Common Way. These became victims of the Dutch elm disease blight which plagued the UK at the end of the 1970s, although the pastoral beginnings of the district are retained in such street names as Blackberry Lane, Little Field, Watersmeet Road and Valley Road.

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