Where is it? - Gold Coin tiles on houses at Shelburne Street, Stoke

The story of Gold Coin in Shelburne Street..

"Now, there’s nothing out of the ordinary about this row of excellent 19^th century terrace houses except that each has two lines of gold-glazed bricks running above and below the upper windows. And on each brick the words ‘Gold Coin’ is scrolled. Local window-cleaner Geoff Smith offers a strange explanation.

“My father who had the window round before me told me that the man who built the houses was a familiar face at the Racecourse at Sideway,” says Geoff. “Apparently one day he won a lot of money which he invested in building these houses. Being pleased with his success he incorporated the line of gold bricks all the way up the street telling the tenants that he’d put a gold sovereign behind one of the bricks of each house for luck. But he didn’t say which brick. Amazingly after all these years very few bricks have been disturbed. And the name of the winning horse was – as you’ve already guessed – Gold Coin.”

Fred Hughes

Although this is an interesting story there is no independent proof that this story is true - Andrew Dobraszczyc writes......

"I'm sure you know the story about the reputed owner of the houses winning a bet (or a horse race; or variations of the same.) I have never seen any documentary evidence or a contemporary newspaper report to verify this story and until I see such evidence I will assume that this has no more foundation than the stories of tunnels under various parts of the Potteries or houses built for the mistresses of the Duke of Sutherland"