Coventry

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Image:Coventry precinct and spire.jpg

For alternative meanings see: Coventry (disambiguation)

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Coventry is the ninth largest city in England with a population of 304,746 (2002 estimate).

Coventry is famous for its involvement in the British motor industry, its Cathedral and the legendary exploits of Lady Godiva. Over the years Coventry has developed an international reputation as a city of peace and reconciliation and holds an annual Peace Month. [1]

The current Lord Mayor of Coventry is Councllor Ram Lakha. His wife Meto Lakha (a former city Councillor herself) is the Lady Mayoress.

Contents

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History

City of Coventry
Image:EnglandCoventry.png
Shown within West Midlands
Geography
Status:Metropolitan borough, City (1345)
Region:West Midlands
Ceremonial County:West Midlands
Area:
- Total		Ranked 246th
98.64 km²
Admin. HQ:Coventry
Grid reference: SP333790
ONS code:00CQ
Demographics
Population:
- Total (2006 est.)
- Density		Ranked 17th
304,459
3,087 / km²
Ethnicity:84.0% White
11.3% S.Asian
1.8% Afro-Carib.
Politics
Image:Coventry-coa.png
Coventry City Council
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/
Leadership:Leader & Cabinet
Executive:Conservative
Main article: History of Coventry

Coventry is traditionally believed to have been established in the year 1043 with the founding of a Benedictine Abbey by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva. Current evidence suggests that this abbey was probably in existence by 1022, therefore Leofric and Godiva most likely endowed it around 1043. In time, a market was established at the abbey gates and the settlement expanded. Image:Coventry spires.jpg By the 14th century Coventry had become an important centre of the cloth trade, and throughout the middle ages was one of the largest and most important cities in England. Coventry was granted city status in 1345, and later became a county in its own right.

Hostile attitudes of the cityfolk towards Royalist prisoners held in Coventry during the English Civil War is believed to have originated the phrase "sent to Coventry", which in Britain means 'to be ostracised'.

There is another unverified local story which says that Cofa had his enemies and prisoners executed by being hung from the tallest tree on his land, this being known as Cofa's Tree which became corrupted in the word Coventry we now know. Being hung until dead was the penalty for being sent to Cofa's Tree; this is why no words are spoken to those "Sent to Coventry" as they are dead and unable to speak.

In the late 19th century Coventry became a major centre of bicycle manufacture, with the industry being pioneered by Rover. By the early 20th century bicycle manufacture had evolved into motor manufacture, and Coventry became a major centre of the British motor industry.

Coventry suffered severe bomb damage during World War II, most notoriously, a massive German air raid on the 14th November 1940, destroyed most of the city centre and Coventry's historic Cathedral.

In the post war years Coventry was largely re-built, gaining a new pedestrianised shopping precinct and a new much celebrated Cathedral. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Coventry remained prosperous. However the decline of the British motor industry during the 1970s and 80s hit Coventry hard, and in the early 1980s up to 20% of the workforce was unemployed. A hit record about Coventry , "Ghost Town", by local band The Specials, summed up the situation in the city. In recent years Coventry has largely recovered, undergoing significant regeneration and encouraging newer industries to locate in the city.

On March 1, 2003, Coventry was granted Fairtrade City status.

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Places of interest

Image:Coventry Cathedral ruins.jpg Coventry Cathedral is Coventry's most well known landmark and visitor attraction. The original 14th century cathedral was largely destroyed by German bombing during the war, leaving only the outer walls and spire. The new Coventry Cathedral was opened in 1962 next to the ruins of the old. It was designed by Basil Spence and contains the tapestry, "Christ in Majesty" by Graham Sutherland and the bronze statue of St Michael and the Devil by Jacob Epstein. Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, regarded by some as his masterpiece, was written for the opening of the new Cathedral.

Another major visitor attraction in Coventry city centre is the free-to-enter Coventry Transport Museum, which has the largest collection of British made road vehicles in the world. The most notable exhibits are the world speed record breaking cars, Thrust2 and ThrustSSC. The museum received a major refurbishment in 2004 which included the creation of a striking new entrance as part of the city's Phoenix Initiative project. The revamp saw the museum exceed its projected five-year visitor numbers within the first year alone, and it was a finalist for the 2005 Gulbenkian Prize.

The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is a major art gallery in the city. Just outside Coventry is the Lunt Fort; a reconstructed Roman fort. And nearby is the Midland Air Museum next to Coventry Airport.

Major improvements continue to regenerate the city centre. The Phoenix development reached the final shortlist for the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize and has now won a total of 16 separate awards.

Coventry City football club have also recently started playing at their new home, The Ricoh Arena, in the Foleshill area of the city.

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Education

Coventry is home to Coventry University, and the University of Warwick which is several miles to the south of the city centre, mostly within the city boundaries, on the border with Warwickshire. Many of the schools in and around Coventry are specialist colleges, such as Finham Park School, which is a highly esteemed Maths and IT college and now a teacher training school.

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Arts and culture

Image:Whittle Arch.jpg

  • During the early 19th century Coventry was well known to the famous author George Eliot who was born near Nuneaton. The city was the model for her famous novel Middlemarch (1871).
  • During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Coventry was the centre of the Two Tone musical phenomenon, with bands such as The Specials coming from the city.

Venues

Theatre, art and music venues in Coventry include:

  • The Belgrade Theatre: one of the largest producing theatres in Britain, the 866 seat Belgrade was the first civic theatre to be opened in the UK following World War II.
  • Also currently being built is Belgrade Plaza, which will hopefully be a great new development.
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Sport

Sporting teams include Coventry City (Football), Coventry Rugby Club (Rugby Union), Coventry Blaze (Ice Hockey), Coventry Bears (Rugby League), Coventry Godiva Harriers (Athletics), Coventry Bees (Speedway) and Coventry Crusaders (Basketball)

In football, Coventry City won the FA Cup in May of 1987.

In 2005, Coventry became the first city in the UK to host the International Children's Games.[2]and [3]

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Famous people

Image:Godiva statue.jpg Coventry's most famous resident was Lady Godiva, who according to legend, rode through the city naked on horseback (actually, she likely rode the horse bareback, not barenaked), in protest at high taxes being waged on the cityfolk by her husband Leofric. According to the legend, the residents of the city were asked to look away as she rode, but one man didn't and was allegedly struck blind, he became known as Peeping Tom thus originating the term. There is a statue of her in the city centre.

Other famous people from Coventry include Frank Whittle the inventor of the jet engine, the poet and novelist Philip Larkin, the actors Nigel Hawthorne and Clive Owen, the record producer Pete Waterman, Jason John (also known as Jason Herbert) of the boy group Big Fun, the athlete David Moorcroft, Ian Bell, the Ashes winning cricketer and the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup winners Neil Back and Danny Grewcock. Jerry Dammers writer of the song "Free Nelson Mandela" and Hazel O'Connor, a pop star and actress of the early 1980s, were also from Coventry.

In the 19th century the inventor James Starley and his nephew J.K. Starley lived in the city, and were both instrumental in the development of the bicycle, and for starting the British bicycle industry. J.K Starley was also responsible for founding Rover.

The late politician Mo Mowlam who was famous for being a Northern Ireland secretary grew up in Coventry. Joseph Paxton, the designer of the Crystal Palace, was a Member of Parliament for the city from 1854 to 1865.

Two Tone ska bands The Specials and The Selecter are both from Coventry - one of The Specials' best known hits, Ghost Town was written about the city.

The city's list of more infamous individuals includes porn star Debee Ashby, who achieved notoriety during 1983 when she appeared nude with her mother in an adult magazine.

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Economy

Image:Coventry Skyline.jpg Coventry has long been a centre of motor and cycle manufacturing, dating back from 1896, the car and cycle industry has been a strong centre point for this town. Starting out with some less familiar names such as Coventry Motette, Great Horseless Carriage Co, Swift and more familiar names like Humber, Riley and Daimler and the Triumph motorcycle having its origins in 1902 in a Coventry factory. Although the motor industry has declined, the Jaguar company has its headquarters and a factory in the city, and a large Peugeot car factory is located in Ryton just outside the city. The famous London black cab taxis are also produced in Coventry by LTI

Coventry's main industries include: cars, electronic equipment, machine tools, agricultural machinery, man-made fibres, aerospace components and telecommunications equipment.

Coventry is an important university city, being the home of the University of Warwick and Coventry University.

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Transport

Coventry is near the M6, M69 and M40 motorways. It is also served by the A45 and A46 roads.

For rail, Coventry railway station is served by the West Coast Main Line, and has regular rail services between London and Birmingham (and stations beyond). It is also served by railway lines to Nuneaton via Bedworth. There is a line linking it to Leamington Spa and onwards to the south coast. Bus services in Coventry are operated by Travel West Midlands (under the name Travel Coventry) and Stagecoach.

The nearest major airport is Birmingham International Airport, some 10 miles (16km) to the west of the city. Coventry has its own airport, Baginton, which is largely a freight airport. However, since 2004, Thomsonfly have been operating commercial scheduled flights from Baginton to various European destinations.

The Coventry Canal terminates in the city centre.

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Politics

Traditionally a part of Warwickshire (although it was a county in its own right for 400 years), Coventry became an independent county borough in 1889 and later a metropolitan district of the West Midlands county in 1974. In 1986 the West Midlands County Council was abolished, and Coventry became administered as an effective unitary authority.

Unlike other towns in the West Midlands, Coventry is still strongly associated with its traditional county, Warwickshire. This may be because of its geographical location, forming a large protrusion into the county.

Coventry is administered by Coventry City Council. The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors. Coventry has long been a stronghold of the Labour Party, the city council was for years described as a "one party state", but currently the city council is Conservative controlled.

Certain local services are provided by West Midlands wide agencies including the West Midlands Police, the West Midlands Fire Service and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (Centro) which is responsible for public transport.

However, in 2004 Coventry's ambulance service was moved from the West Midlands Ambulance Service to the newly created Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Service.

Coventry is represented in Parliament by three MPs all of whom are Labour. These are:

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Nearby places

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Suburbs of Coventry

Suburbs of Coventry include: Allesley, Ball Hill, Bell Green, Binley, Canley, Chapelfields, Cheylesmore, Coundon, Earlsdon, Eastern Green, Finham, Foleshill, Hillfields, Lower Stoke, Radford, Spon End, Stoke Aldermoor, Stoke Heath, Styvechale (also spelled Stivichall), Tile Hill, Upper Stoke, Walsgrave, Whitley, Wyken.

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Twin cities

Coventry was the first ever city to 'twin' with another city and hence began the now common worldwide practice of twinning. It started after World War II when Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconcilliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war.

Coventry is now twinned with 26 places across the world:

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References

  • Coventry: History and Guide, by David McGrory (1993) ISBN 0750901942
  • A History of Warwickshire, by Terry Slater (1981) ISBN 0850334160
  • Some of the below websites were used as reference.
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External links


Districts of England - West Midlands Image:Flag of England.svg

Birmingham | Bridgnorth | Bromsgrove | Cannock Chase | Coventry | Dudley | East Staffordshire | Herefordshire | Lichfield | Malvern Hills | Newcastle-under-Lyme | North Shropshire | North Warwickshire | Nuneaton and Bedworth | Oswestry | Redditch | Rugby | Sandwell | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Solihull | South Shropshire | South Staffordshire | Stafford | Staffordshire Moorlands | Stoke-on-Trent | Stratford-on-Avon | Tamworth | Telford and Wrekin | Walsall | Warwick | Wolverhampton | Worcester | Wychavon | Wyre Forest

Counties with multiple districts: Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire


 
Cities in England		 Image:Flag of England.svg
Bath | Birmingham | Bradford | Brighton & Hove | Bristol | Canterbury | Cambridge | Carlisle | Chester | Chichester | Coventry | Derby | Durham | Ely | Exeter | Gloucester | Hereford | Kingston upon Hull | Lancaster | Leeds | Leicester | Lichfield | Lincoln | Liverpool | London (City of London | Westminster) | Manchester | Newcastle upon Tyne | Norwich | Nottingham | Oxford | Peterborough | Plymouth | Portsmouth | Preston | Ripon | Salford | Salisbury | Sheffield | Southampton | St Albans | Stoke-on-Trent | Sunderland | Truro | Wakefield | Wells | Winchester | Wolverhampton | Worcester | York
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