The Definitive Guide to the History of
Pubs and Beerhouses in Coventry

Drinking in an Old English Town

Binley Oak, 74 Paynes Lane

Alternative Addresses:	27 Or 49 Paynes Lane
This pub was named from a local ancient oak tree. The date of 1850 was set in stone in the front of the pub and a new facade was put on in 1895. In 1859, a Mrs Kingston was murdered in a field near the Binley Oak Hotel. Sergeant Salmon acquired a door on which the body was placed and conveyed to the pub where the inquest was held, in the presence of the corpse, which was displayed in an outbuilding of the Binley Oak. In 1926 the pub was sold by its owners, Charrington's Brewery. Its annual rent at that time was £140 for the pub, a billiard hall to the rear and a hairdressers shop and living accommodation at 47 Paynes Lane. In the 1980s it was described as a large pub close to the football ground, almost in the shadow of the floodlights, that is Coventry City's old ground at Highfield Road. It was described as a Victorian pub with a central serving area and two small bars. Coventry City Football Club used to train at the rear (this must be in what became the billiards hall). It had closed by 2010 and was turned to Muslim community use.
LICENSEES: 1868 - 1890 James Butcher 1893 William Nightingale 1894 - 1896 F. W. Nightingale 1903 - 1927 A. Harris William James Penn 1931 - 1934 E. W. Mason 1935 - 1938 T. H. Benton 1939 - 1940 H. Hayfield 1984 Mick Moore