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Coventry Cathedral, also known as St. Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England.
The city has had three cathedrals. The first was St. Mary's, a monastic building, only a few ruins of which remain. The second was St Michael's, a Church of England church, later designated Cathedral, that remains a ruined shell after its bombing during the Second World War. The third is the new St Michael's Cathedral, built after the destruction of the former and a celebration of 20th century architecture.
St Mary's Priory
The first cathedral in Coventry was St Mary's Priory and Cathedral, which held such status from a date between 1095 and 1102, when the infamous Bishop Robert de Limesey moved the Bishop's see from Lichfield to Coventry, until 1539 when it fell victim to King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Prior to 1095, it had been a small Benedictine monastery (endowed by Earl Leofric and Lady Godiva in 1043), but shortly after this time rebuilding began and by the middle of the 13th century it was a cathedral of 425 feet in length and included many large outbuildings. Leofric was probably buried within the original Saxon church in Coventry. However, records suggest that Godiva was buried at Evesham Abbey, alongside her father confessor, Prior Aefic.
St Michael's Cathedral
First structure
St Michael's church was largely constructed between the late 14th century and early 15th century. It was the largest parish church in England when, in 1918, it was elevated to cathedral status on the creation of Coventry Diocese. This St Michael's Cathedral now stands ruined, bombed almost to destruction during the Coventry Blitz on November 14, 1940 by the German Luftwaffe. Only the tower, spire, and the outer wall survived. The ruins of this older cathedral remain hallowed ground
The new St Michael's Cathedral, built next to the remains of the old, was designed by Basil Spence and Arup, built by John Laing[1] and is a Grade I listed building.
Basil Spence (later knighted for this work) insisted that instead of re-building the old cathedral it should be kept in ruins as a garden of remembrance and that the new cathedral should be built alongside, the two buildings together effectively forming one church. The selection of Spence for the work was a result of a competition held in 1950 to find an architect for the new Coventry Cathedral; his design was chosen from over two hundred submitted.
The foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid by the Queen on March 23, 1956. It was consecrated on May 25, 1962, on the same day as the new Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, composed for the occasion, was premiered in the new cathedral on May 30 to mark its consecration. Like its German counterpart in Berlin, its modernist design caused much discussion, but on opening to the public it rapidly became a hugely popular symbol of reconciliation in post-war Britain. The unconventional spire (known as a flèche) was lowered onto the flat roof by helicopter. The interior is notable for a large tapestry of Christ, designed by Graham Sutherland, the emotive sculpture of the Mater Dolorosa by John Bridgeman in the East end, and the Baptistry window by John Piper, of abstract design that occupies the full height of the bowed baptisery, which comprises 195 panes, ranging from white to deep colours. The other stained glass windows, by Keith New, are generally regarded as less successful. Also worthy of note is the Great West Window known as the Screen of Saints and Angels, engraved directly onto the screen in expressionist style by John Hutton. (Although referred to as the West Window, this is the 'liturgical west' opposite the altar which is traditionally at the east end. In this cathedral the altar is actually at the north end.)
The wooden cross and the cross of nails were created by Provost Richard Howard of Coventry Cathedral after the cathedral was bombed during the Coventry Blitz of World War II. He found two wooden beams and made a simple cross from them. The wooden cross has remained in the ruins of the old cathedral.
Another cross was made of three nails from the roof truss of the old cathedral. It was later transferred to the new cathedral, where it rests on its altar. The cross of nails has become a symbol of peace and reconciliation across the world. There are over 160 Cross of Nails Centres all over the world, all of them bearing a cross made of three nails from the ruins, similar to the original one.
One of the crosses made of nails from the old cathedral was donated to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, which was destroyed by Allied bomb attacks and is also kept as a ruin alongside a newer building. A copy of the Stalingrad Madonna by Kurt Reuber that was drawn in 1942 in Stalingrad (now Volgograd) is shown in the cathedrals of all three cities (Berlin, Coventry and Volgograd) as a sign of the reconciliation of the three countries that were once enemies.
The cross has also been carried on board all British Warships to subsequently bear the name HMS Coventry.
