Tile Hill
Tile Hill is a neighbourhood within Woodlands Ward in the west of Coventry.
Historically, Tile Hill was part of the Forest of Arden and some of the original woodlands still exist in Plants Hill Wood, Pig Wood, Limbrick Wood and Tile Hill Wood. These collectively give the name to the political ward of “Woodlands”. Much of the area was under the control of the Stoneleigh Estate, until it was purchased by the Corporation in 1926. It was primarily a rural area with scattered dwellings.
Tile Hill may have taken its name from a medieval tile manufacturer in the area. The area has connections with the Civil War and names such as Banner Lane, Cromwell Lane and Red Lane suggest that Cromwell may have been in the area around the time of the taking of Kenilworth Castle.
Today Tile Hill is primarily a residential neighbourhood with a mixture of private and social housing. Tile Hill village with its adjoining railway station is the most prosperous part of the ward. The former Massey Ferguson tractor factory was in its heyday the largest tractor factory in the western world is currently being redeveloped for housing purposes. The demolition of the Massey tower block was well reported on local media.
Today the neighbourhood can claim fame as the subject of the painting of George Shaw, an artist shortlisted for the Turner Award in 2011. Although he now lives and works in Devon, he was brought up in Tile Hill and the neighbourhood forms the subject of most of his paintings.