Earlsdon was in its heyday during the Edwardian period. What is particularly striking in the pictures of this era is the lack of motor vehicles cluttering the streets, and the uniformity in appearance of the recently built housing. Here is a suburb that had only recently taken off in popularity with the opening of Albany Road in the late 1890s and the subsequent creation of a direct tram route to the city centre in 1905.
The photographs show a neighbourhood in its prime — neat terraced streets, local tradesmen, and a community identity that was still being formed. Shop fronts such as those of J. West and J. Thomas on Earlsdon Street give a flavour of the commercial life of the period.
The 'new' Albany Road was the artery that opened up Earlsdon to the rest of Coventry, enabling rapid growth in the years that followed.
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