1st August, 2019 in
By Peter Walters
If becoming the UK’s City of Culture in 2021 does anything for Coventry, it ought to dispel the notion that the city that sits astride the centrefold of England is a shadowy, dull place that has contributed very little to the nation’s history. On the contrary, Coventry holds plenty ofevents and characters that have shaped its story and made the city one of England’s hidden jewels.Read on to discover some fascinating titbits from the rich history of Coventry.
1.
Lady Godiva was a real person but never rode naked through the streets to free the people from taxation. The story emerged 250 years after her death, probably invented by Benedictine monks.
2.
Coventry has two universities, Warwick and Coventry, and three cathedrals – the ruins of St Mary’s, destroyed by Henry VIII, St Michael’s, blitzed in November 1940, and Basil Spence’s new cathedral, consecrated in 1962 and voted Britain’s most popular 20thcentury building in a national Millennium poll conducted by English Heritage and Channel Four.
3.
Coventry pioneered town twinning in Europe and now has 26 towns and cities, including Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), Dresden and Jinan in China. Its first German twin city was Kiel in 1947.
4.
The first smokeless zone in Britain was introduced in Coventry in 1948 and the city is also the birthplace of the Green Party in this country, originally called the People Party and founded by two solicitors.
5.
Legend has it that the city was the birthplace of St George, dragon-slayer and patron saint of England. St George was a central figure in Coventry’s medieval processions, long before Godiva featured.
6.
Coventry was also the birthplace of jet pioneer Sir Frank Whittle and the poet Philip Larkin. Whittle patented his ideas for a jet-powered engine while living in the city in 1930.
7.
Two-Tone music, British Ska, came out of Coventry in the late 1970s, through bands like The Specials and Selecter. Ghost Town, the Specials’ biggest hit, was actually written about Glasgow, not Coventry.
8.
The writer George Eliot lived and went to school in Coventry. Her greatest novel Middlemarch, set in an old weaving town on the cusp of modernity, was modelled on the city she knew in the 1830s and ’40s
9.
In 1966, Britain’s first ethnic minority policeman, Mohammed Daar, started work out on the beat in Coventry.
10.
All modern bicycles are descended from JK Starley’s Rover safety cycle, invented in Coventry in 1885. A decade later the city became the birthplace of the British motor industry, producing the first cars under licence from Gottlieb Daimler in Germany.
11.
Sir Henry Parkes, five times Premier of New South Wales and the father of modern Australia, was born at Canley, then just outside the old city, in 1815. Parkes in New South Wales is one of Coventry’s twin towns.
12.
The phrase ‘Sent To Coventry’ had its origins during the Civil War, when captured Royalist soldiers from the King’s defeated Scottish army were imprisoned in the heavily fortified and strongly pro-Parliament city and given a hard time by locals.
13.
In 1948, work started on Coventry’s traffic-free shopping centre, the first in Europe. Rotterdam’s opened for business months later.
14.
The 500-year-old Coventry Tapestry, on the north wall of the city’s medieval guildhall of St Mary, is the oldest in the country still hanging on the wall for which it was made. It features King Henry VI and his wife Margaret of Anjou, surrounded by many of the people they knew in life.
15.
Weavers in 14century Coventry invented a high quality dye that gave rise to the expression ‘true blue’. By the 1370s Coventry was the fourth wealthiest town in England, after London, York and Norwich.
16.
As a young actor, William Shakespeare performed in St Mary’s Hall and as a boy is thought to have been among the crowds to witness Coventry’s famous cycle of Mystery Plays, which also entertained every ruling monarch from Henry V to Elizabeth I, except the boy king Edward VI.
17.
Film star Clive Owen and pop impresario Pete Waterman were born in Coventry, while Labour politician Mo Mowlam, architect of the historic Northern Ireland peace accord, spent her childhood in the city.
18.
The spire of St Michael’s Church, the old cathedral, at 295 feet is the third tallest in England, after Salisbury and Norwich. The city now has three spires. In the Middle Ages it had six.
19.
Joseph Paxton, creator of the Crystal Palace, was Liberal MP for Coventry in the 1860s. In the 1840s, his architectural practice designed the city’s London Road cemetery, now regarded as one of the top five Victorian cemeteries in Britain.
20.
Coventry once boasted the only unfortified royal palace outside London. The palace’s surviving gatehouse, parts of which date back to the 13th century, is the oldest building in Britain to be used as a Register Office.
More articles you might like
12th August, 2024 in History,
Castles of Northumberland: a gazetteer and history of the county’s castles.
Northumberland has more castles, fortalices, towers, peles, bastles and barmkins than any other county in the British Isles. Castles of all periods were the private residences and fortresses of kings and noblemen. Read an extract from the new book Castles and Strongholds of North…
15th July, 2024 in History,
Bracknell – the new town with a unique history
Bracknell is one of the post war New Towns so you would be forgiven for thinking there is no history to the settlement. Bracknell’s history is unique. Early traces of people in the area date to around 10,000 BC. With fertile land, a ready water supply from streams, and a natural…
9th July, 2024 in History,
Essential historical facts about Kent
Kent truly is the gateway into England and the whole of the history of this “Sceptred Isle” has passed through the ancient kingdom of Kent. Its very name goes back into the mists of time. A Greek traveller who sailed the Channel twenty four centuries ago recorded in his records t…
13th June, 2024 in
“A Gallery of Sculpture”: Bath Abbey, Bath’s forgotten Georgian tourist attraction
Dr. Oliver Taylor author of the new book Bath Abbey’s Monuments: An Illustrated History tells the full story of Bath Abbey’s monuments for the first time and highlights the significance of the collection. By the beginning of the 1800s, Bath had one of the largest populations in B…
11th June, 2024 in History,
Has the dragon become a daffodil?
Our national history helps shape our personal identity, but history does not accrete like permanent stratigraphic layers. Serendipitous research can sometimes shatter received assumptions, and we may find that we are not quite the product of a past that was taught to us. Chris Bu…
29th May, 2024 in History,
Ten things, or thereabouts, you may not have known about Derbyshire
I tend to think of Derbyshire’s landscape as a beautiful patchwork quilt stitched together by its dry-stone walls. The fabric of the past may be reused or altered but look closely and traces of the people and cultures who have lived here for thousands of years are still visible.…
13th March, 2024 in
Rediscovering the lost back-to-back terraces of Woodhouse in Leeds in the 1960s and 70s
Authors Colin and Elizabeth give us the back story of how they collected the photographs for their new bookTheLost Back-to-Back Streets of Leeds: Woodhouse in the 1960s and 70s. Featuring nearly 140 of those photographs in black and white, plus some 30 more in full colour. We h…
19th January, 2024 in , Women in History
The Last Women of the Durham Coalfield – Hannah’s grand-daughter
This is the last book in the trilogy that started with my great great grandmother, Hannah Hall in the 1820’s as she re-located with her family to a new coal mine opening up in Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham. No-one at that time could have known the importance of that move. By 1822…
6th December, 2023 in
Historical facts you might not know about Cheshire
Roger Stephens author ofThe Little Book of Cheshireprovides some interesting historical facts about the county of Cheshire, for those who are residents or tourists visiting the area! It seemed too good to be true; a chance to get on a soap box and sing the prais…
20th October, 2023 in Folklore,
The Storm Witches of Rocqueberg in the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands have a rich legacy of interwoven folklore, an antique tapestry full of faery creatures and mythical beasts.Channel Island Monsters, the new book from authorErren Michaels,weaves a web of deliciously dark stories from centuries of fables and their fragments….
16th October, 2023 in
A brief history of milk stout
Milk stout was first produced by the Mackeson brewery in Hythe, Kent in 1909 and was a runaway success. Part of its popularity was undoubtedly due to the way in which it was advertised. This was not just another beer to be drunk by men in their local pubs, but a beverage which co…
7th September, 2023 in
The writing process of Sussex Writers in their Landscape
Brian Short re-accounts the early writing process with author Peter Brandon for the bookSussex Writers in their Landscapeand his important legacy. Way back in October 1963 – 60 years ago as I write this – I saw Dr Peter Brandon for the first time. I had arrived at the North-Wes…
11th July, 2023 in
Coastal places: The Central North Coast in Norfolk
During the summer months, the north coast is susceptible to a chilly mist that rolls in from the North Sea. Known as a sea fret, this cold fog is caused by warm air, normally between the months of April and September, passing over the cold sea. The frets are restricted to the coa…
5th June, 2023 in , Natural World
Wild times in a London park
Nick Stewart Smith author ofThe Thousand Year Old Gardenunlocks the gates and invites us to wander through a beautiful park‚ situated between the urban bustle of Peckham and the busy streets of Camberwell in London. Early every Saturday morning, there is organised run with hund…
3rd May, 2023 in Folklore,
Crankies in Wales: The man who brought moving panoramas to the Welsh Valleys
Peter Stevenson author ofIllustrated Welsh Folk Tales for Young and Oldtells the extraordinary tale of the man who brought moving panoramas to the Welsh Valleys in the form of a ‘crankie’. Years ago I started telling Welsh folk tales with a crankie, a wooden box the size of a l…
13th April, 2023 in
A potted history of Worcestershire
Vanessa Morgan author of new bookThe Little History of Worcestershiretraces the potted history of Worcestershire. Many years ago, when I was a youngster at school, I remember a teacher telling the class that Great Britain resembled a man riding a pig. So if that’s the…
29th March, 2023 in ,
My Disappearing Uncle: A scattered family history
Among the assortment of things I’d inherited from the ancestors – the big forehead, height, double-jointed fingers, a tendency to sadness, a cupboard full of tins and the certainty of belonging to more than one place (or was it no place at all?) – stories were everywhere. There…
11th November, 2022 in
10 Hampshire pioneers who changed the world
Each county has a few inspiring pioneers if you look hard enough, but Hampshire, with it’s royal heritage, naval base, maritime and aviation industry and beautiful natural assets is a fertile ground for inspiring world-changers. Here are just a few… 1.Gilbert White Admired by…
25th July, 2022 in History,
Re-enactment and research: How modern recreations can help us visualise the past
John Fletcher author of The Western Kingdom: The Birth of Cornwalldiscusses re-enactment and its relation to research and history. There is something extremely visceral, extremely real, about holding a sword. When you feel the weight of the blade and the rough leather of the gri…
21st July, 2022 in
Teach Yourself Palaeography: Five top tips for reading old handwriting
Anyone who is interested in genealogy as a serious pursuit will eventually need to tackle the abundance of records that either add interesting context to a family history, or extend research back to the sixteenth century or earlier. This will inevitably mean addressing the docume…
1st July, 2022 in
Life on the edge of land and sea in Norfolk
Ajay Tegala author of The Unique Life of a Ranger gives us a glimpse into life at Blakeney Point in Norfolk. If you’re anything like me, then you’ll always be looking for an excuse to head to the coast. There’s something soothing and restorative about waves gently lapping on the…
10th June, 2022 in
A brief history of Somerset
Find out more about Somerset, the seventh largest county in England by area. A place full of history, mystery, myths and legends. Joseph of Arimathea, for example, is said to have visited Glastonbury with the young Jesus. Legend also has it that he planted his walking staff on We…
11th April, 2022 in ,
Ask the author: Mark B Roe discusses the Dublin Foundling Hospital
The Dublin Foundling Hospital is the subject of a fascinating new book The Least of Theseby Mark B Roe. We caught up with the author to ask him about his approach to the work. Why did you find the story of the Dublin Foundling Hospital so compelling? Firstly, its sheer scal…
25th March, 2022 in History,
My Grandfather’s Knife: How ordinary objects tell extraordinary wartime stories
A knife, a diary, a recipe book, a string instrument, and a cotton pouch. Each belonged to an individual in their twenties during the Second World War: I talked to elderly family members, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances – people drawn from everyday life – asking them the s…
26th January, 2022 in , Military
Norwich in the Second World War
Neil R. Storey author ofNorwich in the Second World Wartells the story of the city and its people, as far as possible, in the words of those who were actually there. When the acclaimed Norfolk author George Borrow described Norwich as ‘a fine old city’ in the nineteenth century…
10th January, 2022 in ,
Workhouse buildings – whatever happened to them all?
Historian and author Peter Higginbotham showcases the history of workhouse buildings. Read more in his latest book Workhouses of Wales and the Welsh Bordersincluding new research on the many parish and union workhouses that operated in that area of the UK. Facilities that we wou…
26th November, 2021 in , Maritime
MS Pilsudski: The largest shipwreck off the Yorkshire coast
Richard M. Jones, author of Britain’s Lost Tragedies Uncovered, tells the story of MS Pilsudski. Over 80 years ago, on 26 November 1939, the Polish ocean liner Pilsudski was off the coast of Yorkshire at the start of a long journey from the River Tyne to Australia. At the outbrea…
9th November, 2021 in
Hiding out on the margins: Was Robin Hood a hero from Sheffield?
What do you know about Robin Hood? Most likely that he and his band of brothers hung out in the depths of Sherwood Forest, coming out from time to time to harass the Sheriff of Nottingham? This is the usual scenario portrayed in film and TV, and on the back of this general percep…
8th November, 2021 in
Norfolk’s rich history
Our knowledge of the past is gathered from a whole range of sources. For the most recent times this may include oral memories and photographs, while looking further back there are written records. But of equal importance is the evidence in the landscape around us and nowhere is t…
5th October, 2021 in
The making of ‘Artisan Stroud’
Sitting on zoom with ‘Dave the bodger’ (chair maker) is not the way I expected to research my book. I imagined I’d be there in the garden on this sunny day that I’d be able to smell the chippings on the floor of his garden studio, the linseed oil on the wood, sit in the finished…
Books related to this article
Great War Britain Coventry: Remembering 1914-18
Peter Walters, Culture Coventry (With),
The Little History of Coventry
Peter Walters,
The Story of Coventry
Peter Walters,
Coventry
Geoff Barwick,
Coventry’s Bicycle Heritage
Damien Kimberley,
Sign up to our newsletter
Sign up to our monthly newsletter for the latest updates on new titles, articles, special offers, events and giveaways.
© 2024 The History Press
Website by Bookswarm
Search
Basket
Your Basket
Your basket is emptyReturn to Shop
Continue Shopping
