Coventry
City Council is looking for buyers to restore one of its most magnificent mansions to its
former glory.
Coundon House in Southbank Road, Coundon, has been vandalised and fallen into ruin
since it was last used in 1986, but the council says it has already had contact with
prospective buyers.
One inquirer estimated it would cost about £290,000 to restore. Mark Singlehurst,
conservation officer at the city council, said however:
"We think it would need about £500,000 spending on it. We are not demanding that
everything should be put back as it was and we realise that any prospective buyer would
need to look at possibly building houses in the grounds to cover his costs."
Coundon House began life as a farmhouse which was replaced by the mansion in about
1829. Set just below the brow of a hill it commanded south facing views over green fields.
One of its earlier inhabitants was Richard Caldicott 3rd, a military man who
took a keen interest in the volunteer movement in Coventry until he suffered serious
injuries in a railway accident.
From 1899-1912 it was home to Walter Turrall, whose brother Edgar lived at nearby
Coundon Hall, which is now the ‘Old Hall’ eating house on the Tamworth Road.
He was succeeded by a member of the Iliffe family, owners of Coventry Newspapers and
various other publications throughout the country. He was William Coker Iliffe, whose
brother Lord Iliffe, lived at Allesley Hall nearby.
Then from 1933-60 Alex Turner, a city councillor, was the last private owner of the
great house. On his death it was compulsorily purchased by the council and was used
firstly by Coventry Overseas Students and then Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry
University) as accommodation.
Since it became empty in 1986 many of the buildings treasures, such as fireplaces and
light fittings, have been stripped out and lost.
