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Jul 12, 2015 · Want more? Check these out:20 great things Coventry and Warwickshire gave the world: http://bit.ly/1Sh38jd50 heroes of Coventry and Warwickshire: http://bit....
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- CoventryLive
- Early History
- Civil War and Aftermath
- Industrialisation
- 20th Century
- Historic Population
- Benefactors and Founders
- Images For Kids
Beginnings
Little is known of the earliest history of Coventry, but prior to its existence there were settlements in nearby Corley and Baginton, which came to be occupied by the Romans, and later by Saxon invaders. These locations were probably chosen because they lay on early trackways, and were situated on light, easily worked soil free from thick forest and undergrowth; unlike the heavy clay soil, covered in marsh and forest near the north-eastern reaches of the Forest of Ardenon which Coventry would...
Origins of St. Mary's Priory and Cathedral
The first chronicled event in the history of Coventry took place in 1016 when King Canute and his army of Danes were laying waste to many towns and villages in Warwickshire in a bid to take control of England, and on reaching the settlement of Coventry they destroyed the Saxon nunnery. Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva (a corruption of her given name, "Godgifu") rebuilt on the remains of the nunnery to found a Benedictine monasteryin 1043 dedicated to St. Mary for an abbot and...
Coventry's castle
Coventry Castle was originally built towards the end of the 11th century by Ranulph le Meschin, 1st Earl of Chester, but was razed to the ground in the 12th century. It was rebuilt around 1137 to 1140 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester, who successfully held it against King Stephen during the civil war known as The Anarchy("Barons Wars" or "The Nineteen-Year Winter"). Although the exact location of the castle is unknown, Broadgate, Coventry's city centre, refers to the "broad gate" or...
A sumptuous banquet was prepared in honour of King James I's visit to the city in 1617, but relations between the monarchy and Coventry deteriorated later when protests were made against his son's request for a considerable contribution of "ship-money" in 1635. Consequently, when the English Civil War broke out between King Charles I and Parliament...
During the industrialisation phase of Coventry's evolution, connections were made with the expanding national transport networks. The Coventry Canalwas opened in the late-18th century, and one of the first trunk railway lines, the London and Birmingham Railway, was built through Coventry and opened in 1838.
Industrial developments
The city continued to produce ribbons, woven labels and other small textile items, and 1904 heralded the opening of Courtaulds' first silk works at Foleshill in Coventry. The company was the first to produce nylon yarn in Britain in 1941. The first British motor car was made in Coventry in 1897 by The Daimler Motor Company Limited, and a growing number of other small motor manufacturers began to appear. The progress of this new industry was slow at first, but within 10 years the motor trade w...
Changing character
Construction of a new Council House to take on the administration duties performed by St. Mary's Hall, and designed to be in keeping with its medieval surroundings, began in 1913 but was delayed during World War I. It was completed by 1917, but was not officially opened until 11 June 1920 by H.R.H. the Duke of York – later to become King George VI. As late as the 1920s, Coventry was being described as "The best preserved Medieval City in England". On visiting the city (before the devastation...
IRA attack
Nine days before the outbreak of World War II, on 25 August 1939, Coventry was the scene of an early mainland bicycle bomb attack by the IRA. At 2:30 in the afternoon, a bomb exploded inside the carrier basket of a tradesman's bicycle that had been left outside a shop in Broadgate. The explosion killed five people, injured 100 more and caused extensive damage to shops in the area. The victims were John Corbett Arnott (15), Elsie Ansell (21), Rex Gentle (30), Gwilym Rowlands (50) and James Cla...
16,000 (1801)62,000 (1901)220,000 (1945)258,211 (1951)Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva were responsible for the first major act of benevolence when they founded a monastery in the early settlement of Coventry, and some of the more notable benefactors and people that have since aided its development are listed as follows: Thomas Bond 1. draper, founded Bond's Hospital in 1506, and mayor...
Map of Coventry by John Speed, published around 1610, showing the city wallsDemolition work in central Coventry in 1936The new cathedral and ruins of the old (photo 2011)Jan 11, 2016 · Do you know the history of your city? Did you the first settlement round here was called Coffantree? We’ve produced a video that takes you from Coffantree to Coventry in less than two...
Are you ready for this, Coventry? The history of YOUR city in 99 seconds. There have been ups and downs but there's plenty to be proud of. Want more?
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- Coventry Live
Education. Teaching Activities. How has Coventry changed over time? Through a series of five questions, pupils will learn how Coventry has changed from prehistoric times to the present day.
Coventry, a city in the West Midlands, England, grew to become one of the most important cities in England during the Middle Ages due to its booming cloth and textiles trade.
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Jul 11, 2014 · World War One: When 35,000 local men went off to war. With smiles on their faces and pride in their hearts, thousands of young men from Coventry and Warwickshire went off to war to fight for...
