Keresley End is a village in Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England. It is about half a mile north of Keresley

Keresley

Keresley is a village and civil parish in the City of Coventry, West Midlands, England, about north of Coventry city centre. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 791...

, a suburb of Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, and being near to the former Keresley colliery, it was where many coal miners lived.

History

Keresley End was a pit village which began in the early 1900s, when the first shaft was created. There was a hut opposite the pit, on Bennett's Road, which was a dormitory for miners travelling to the site. (later donated to St. Thomas' Church and used as a Mission Church for the village.)
The village grew from a few houses built for miners and their families, to the village of today, over the century. In 1954, Howat Road was built, by Nuneaton and Bedworth Council. Around that time, the infant and junior schools were built. A little later, the senior school was built in Grove Lane. That has been demolished and a small housing estate was put on that land. The pit closed in the 1980s and the site, too, is now covered in houses.

1960s

During this period, the village had several shops. There was Gilkes general stores on the corner of Thompson's Road and Bennett's Road North. Mr and Mrs Jilks ran the shop. The window facing onto Bennett's Road was full of sweets of all varieties. Further down the road, opposite Howat Road, was the Co-op, the Co-op butchers and a fish and chip shop. Down in the village was a set of shops which included the Post Office, Chemist, a toy shop, wool shop and other general stores. There were two houses that had lean-tos used for small retail sales-one in Thompson's Road and one near the pit on Bennett's Road North. Further along that Road, across the Corley border, was an off license. The Golden Eagle at the end of Howat Road also had an outdoor where snacks could be purchased as well as alcohol and soft drinks.

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