Earlsdon Lane (or Elsdon Lane) was originally a winding gated lane. The gate in the historic photograph once stood on the boundary between Earlsdon and the Gregory Estate, close to the existing disused drinking fountain at the junction of the Firs and the footpath to Morningside. The house close to this spot, on the corner of Belvedere Road, is in fact called 'Gate House'. The view looks towards Earlsdon along Earlsdon Lane (now Earlsdon Avenue South).
Before the construction of Albany Road, this and the opposite route via Hearsall Common were the only access for horse-drawn vehicles between Earlsdon and Coventry.
By the start of the 20th century it was being rapidly developed as the leafy suburb we know today. Narrow Earlsdon Lane became a broad boulevard, neatly kerbed and pavemented, guttered and drained. Still only one parked car in the early photographs — pedestrians could still choose to use the road instead of the pavement if they so wished!
