Coventy’s oldest surviving building firm has been based in the Walsgrave area of Coventry for eighty eight years, firstly under the direction of Bob Hall and now his son Robert. The enterprise has made a major contribution to housing in the North East of the city. The company now builds for rental purposes only. This means that it is in the firm’s interest to build well and to reduce future maintenance costs, by putting a priority on quality rather than speed, therefore ensuring that tenants have the benefits of lower costs and sustainable homes.

Currently under construction, this development comprises sixteen two bedroom apartments situated in a quiet close just off Brade Drive. The apartments will be built to the usual high standard of construction and environmental considerations, and will enable cost effective living in a desirable location. Local amenities comprise a major superstore, easy access to bus and transport routes, local doctors’ surgeries and Coventry’s major hospital.

This development is fast approaching completion. It comprises sixteen one bed and three two bedroom apartments, set around an open planted area. These elegant modern apartments contain substantial lounge/kitchens and adjacent bedrooms. Each apartment is well equipped with Shaker design kitchens, the latest Quantum storage heaters, enabling sophisticated heating control, and direct cylinders for copious hot water supply. The bathrooms are fitted with instantaneous electric showers.

Situated adjacent to an Asda superstore, there are plentiful amenities in the area, with excellent transport connections to the City and motorway network. The development is very convenient for UCHW hospital, Walsgrave Triangle, Cross Point and the Ansty Technology and Business Park. Thus this is an ideal location for young professionals or those of more mature years.

Over   the   years   the   firm   has   developed   and   built   many   commercial   properties   in   the   health,   leisure, retail    and    religious    sectors    in    addition    to    specialised    accommodation    for    adults    with    learning disabilities.

Hall Bros has developed a substantial property portfolio in the North East of Coventry, including studio apartments, one and two bedroom apartments and three and four bedroom houses. All have been built to exacting standards and provide different amenities for a wide variety of tenants. The interactive map below indicates the approximate locations of the main properties. Details are available by running the mouse over the buttons.

Over the years the company has been responsible for many developments in the Walsgrave area. The company continues to create housing developments in the Walsgrave area of the City, using local skilled tradesmen and at the same time employing young apprentices who are learning their craft.

At the commencement of your tenancy you will be given a Tenancy Agreement which you must sign. The Tenancy Agreement is a legal document that sets out the terms of your tenancy. You should therefore keep it safe. On signing your tenancy agreement you will be provided with a copy of the agreement, our Tenant’s Handbook, which provides essential information about the management of your home. You will also be provided with a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate for the dwelling, the current Electrical Inspection Certificate and and the booklet “How to Rent” - which is provided by the government.

On completion of your tenancy you must carry out the procedures given in the Tenant’s Handbook . You can read or download the End of Tenancy Checklist here. This is important for both parties so that your tenancy ends as smoothly as possible.

Any difficulties or complaints about your property should be reported to the office. You can do this by sending us the online Notification Form or, if the problem is urgent, by ringing the office telephone number 024 7661 2121. We endeavour to deal with emergency repairs within 24 hours of notification and the repairs will be carried out in a timely manner, depending upon their nature.

Your tenancy is governed formally by your Tenancy Agreement, but there is a lot of useful infromation in the Tenant’s Handbook which you can read here or download.

Robert Hall MBE Director

Tina Peasland Office Administrator

Ben Carless Financial Controller

Corinne Spencer Property Manager

Pete Brady Operations Manager

Jimmy Singh Foreman Carpenter

Gary Dyer Foreman Bricklayer

Eric Hunter Joinery Manager

Keith Chapman Consultant

A Group of Our Workforce

In   1933   Charles   supported   his   sons,   Bob   and   Bill,   in   setting   up   a   building   and   joinery company   known   as   “Hall   Bros”,   based   in   Walsgrave,   Coventry.   Bob   had   served   a   seven year   apprentice   as   a   bricklayer   and   they   set   up   the   business   with   a   bank   loan   that Charles   had   underwritten   with   the   deeds   of   the   family   home   in   Stoke.   The   business was   closed   during   the   war whilst   Bob   served   as   a   sergeant   in   the   Royal   Air   Force, building airfields in Iceland and the Hebrides.

It can be seen from this brief history that the company is very much woven into the fabric of the Walsgrave community.

First houses built in 1933

Bob Hall in 2001

Factory for AP Metalcraft

Marsh House

Hall   Bros   is   a   unique   enterprise   which   has   been   based   in   the   Walsgrave   area   of   Coventry   for   over   eighty years,   under   the   direction   of   Bob   Hall   and   his   son,   Robert.   The   company   has   made   a   major   contribution   to housing   and   infrastructure   in   this   part   of   the   city   and   the   workforce   has   been   an   integral   part   of   the community.     As well as developing a reputation for solid construction work of high quality, the company has continually supported training and development, with a huge number of local apprentices and trainees passing through the firm.

In 1900 Charles Adolphus Hall left Barbados to find work in the “mother country”. He arrived in the Stoke area of Coventry in 1908, via Scotland and Newcastle-on-Tyne and became the first African Caribbean to settle in the City. He worked as a millwright at the Daimler works for forty years, earning an award of merit and a gold medal from the engineering union. In spite of the extensive racial prejudice prevailing at the time, Charles played a full and active life in the local community, playing cricket for Foleshill Albion and regularly attending Stoke St. Michael’s church with his wife, Sarah Ann. His is an extraordinary story of perseverance and endeavour in the face of difficult circumstances.

The Early Years

Early motor car bodies were made of wooden frames and the firm’s first venture in joinery manufacturing was to supply these frames to the Daimler works from their joinery factory. Eventually the brothers moved on to construct many hundreds of flats, houses and factory units, mainly in the Wyken, Walsgrave and Holbrooks areas, contributing enormously to the post-war reconstruction of the city. The very first houses were built in Woodway Lane, adjacent to Sowe Common in 1933. Bob never neglected to remind anyone that he had laid every single brick in all four properties! Before the war the brothers built more houses in Farren Road, Ansty Road and elsewhere in the city.

1945 to the 1960s

On demobilisation in 1945 the business resumed trading in an era of rapid redevelopment, building primarily council houses to house the ever growing population of the City. There were several other significant developments around this time: Hinckley Road, Shirley Road and Regina Crescent were the first private developments after the war of semi- detached houses and bungalows, built by the company in 1955.

The company was also engaged in contracting and a major project was a new factory for the expanding AP Metalcraft, a local company specialising in pressed metal work, doing much work for the Admiralty and for Coventry’s rapidly expanding industrial base. The relationship with this company continued for over sixty years. Another project of which Bob was particularly proud was the construction of the new Salvation Army Citadel in Camden Street, Stoke. Shulman’s Walk, Mardol Close and Gresley Road were developments principally of bungalows, some of which were intended for nuclear families, which at the time was an innovative development.

The Stoke Hill Estate and the Primrose Park Estate were constructed in the early 1970s and were a mixture of semi-detached and terraced houses for sale, followed by flats in Earle Court and bungalows in Regis Walk. Wootton Court was a significant entry to the private lettings arena, in the days of rent regulation. This is a three storey block of apartments on the corner of Henley Road and Wyken Croft. It remains typical of the construction of that period.

1970s to the 1990s

Wootton Court

In 1970 Bob’s son Robert entered the business full time and became General Manager of the company. The late 1970s also saw the start of the Mount Pleasant Estate, following many years of discussions with the planning authorities. This is a major mixed development which incorporates family homes, sheltered accommodation, shared ownership apartments, and retail and leisure development. The final phase of this development is currently under construction.

An early phase was the construction of family homes in Manfield Avenue, followed by sheltered accommodation at Marsh House, built for the New Hestia Housing Association. This was followed by detached houses in Turlands Close and more houses, bungalows and maisonettes in Shuna Croft and The Kintyre. The naming of the roads on many of the developments reflected old Bob’s deep affection for Scotland where he spent many holidays.

The Henley Industrial Estate was built by the firm in a joint development with AP Metalcraft Ltd in the mid 1980s. This consisted of fourteen new industrial units and eventually the conversion of the firm’s offices and joinery works into a further unit and the existing petrol station to a retail outlet. Willow Courtyard was a small private courtyard development for the over 55s in two storey blocks with mainly two bedroom apartments.

The Old Yard is a substantial single site development of eighty-six apartments on the site of the firm’s old building yard and joinery factory. This was designed primarily for young professionals, mainly associated with the nearby University Hospital. It is a proud boast that every single brick on the site was laid by a current or former student of City College, Coventry. The development was officially opened in 2004 by Sir John Gains, the then Chairman of the Construction Confederation and Group Chief Executive of Mowlem plc, and a former student at King Henry VIII School in Coventry.

More Recent Developments

Bronte     Walk     is     a     development     completed     on     the     site     of     former horticultural   nurseries   at   Longfellow   Road   which   had   fallen   into   disrepair and   was   causing   a   local   nuisance   to   neighbours.   The   much   sought   after eighteen   apartments   located   there   have   created   a   vibrant   community. Harmony   Court   and   Mull   Court   are   single   blocks   of   apartments   catering for   young   professionals   and   also   the   more   elderly,   completed   in   the   late 2000’s.

20 Houses on Hinckley Road

You sign your Tenancy Agreement and Direct Debit form more..

Hall Bros has a range of properties to suit all ages in various locations in North East Coventry. Our list of available properties is regularly updated - you may ring the office to enquire what is currently available. The stages in the process are as follows:

Office Address: Hall Bros 2, The Square Business Centre Manfield Avenue Coventry CV2 2QJ Office Hours: 0900 to 1700 Monday to Friday Telephone: 024 7661 2121 Email: info@hallbrothers.co.uk

Because of the Covid pandemic, please contact us by phone or email in the first instance.

Four employees at Hall Bros celebrate 200 years of combined service! Robert Hall recently presented four employees with long service awards. Jimmy Singh, Tina Peasland, Eric Hunter and Gary Dyer have clocked uo almosr 200 years Robert Hall recently presented four employees with long service awards. Jimmy Singh, Tina Peasland, Eric Hunter, and Gary Dyer have clocked up almost 200 years of service between them at the firm. All four completed their training at Coventry Technical College with Jimmy, Tina and Gary joining Hall Bros straight from school and studying for their advanced level certificates on a day and evening release at the College. Robert thanked them for their many years of loyal service and commitment. He said: “The company feels like a family, and staff staying with us for a long time helps so much to support this. It was a pleasure to formally acknowledge their dedication to Hall Bros and I deeply appreciate all the work they have done over the years which has contributed to the regeneration of Coventry. The fact that all of their working lives have been spent with the firm is something that I am enormously proud of, and hopefully it reflects well on the way we value our employees.” Jimmy Singh, who lives in Walsgrave said: “It’s incredible how fast the years have flown by. I was only a young lad of 16 when I first walked into the office at Hall Bros and asked Mr Hall Senior if there were any job vacancies. Over 50 years later I still work at Hall Bros and have seen many changes and advancements in the construction industry over the years”. Hall Bros was established in 1933 and has always built exclusively in Coventry. Since the mid-1980s the firm has concentrated on the build to rent market. Their newest development is Skye Court, at Lismore Croft in Walsgrave consisting of 19 one and two bedroom rental apartments aimed at young professionals and key workers.

(Left to right) Gary Dyer, Robert Hall, Jimmy Singh, Tina Peasland and Eric Hunter

It is always nice to receive comments from our tenants about how they enjoy living in our properties and benefit from the services they receive. A few are produced below:

“I was very impressed with your maintenance team”

“You guys are so amazing - you make life so easy”

“Thank you so much for renting a flat to us, we have enjoyed staying here with no problems.”