Former resident gets emotional returning to historic Coventry abbey - The Coventry Observer

Former resident gets emotional returning to historic Coventry abbey

Coventry Editorial 16th Aug, 2022   0

MEMORIES came flooding back for a Coventry Grandmother, who returned to her childhood home, Coombe Abbey.

Ali Carter, aged 66, returned to show two of her grandchildren the place where she spent her formative years.

Ali was born at Coombe Abbey in 1955, and is believed to have been the first baby to have been born there for over a hundred years.

Her dad, Len Grice, was a manager at General Electric Company (GEC) at a time that Coombe Abbey was leased by them for apprentice accommodation.




Ali said: “Bringing my granddaughters to Coombe Abbey for the first time was incredibly nostalgic and reminded me of the great times I had at the Abbey as a resident over half a century ago.

“Our links to Coombe Abbey go back a long way, and my cousin got married at the hotel in part due to his memories of visiting us at Coombe when he was a child.


Len and his family moved from the Abbey to Kenilworth in 1960, after five years in Binley.

Ali has since returned with her own children and now in the next stage of her life as a grandparent.

On the day of her visit, Ali shared some nostalgic photography from the five years they spent living in the Abbey.

The family collection included photographs of the opening of ‘Coombe Bar’ – a now defunct facility that her dad Len helped create with his apprentices back in December 1959.

“My family’s relationship with the Abbey, through my dad’s role with GEC, whose telecommunications headquarters were in Coventry, has been unique.

“Since my dad died, it’s taken on extra special meaning, and it was wonderful bringing the next generation of my family to see the place where everything started for me and where our family has such strong roots.

Visit https://www.coombeabbey.com/ for more information.

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