attractions and days out
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral, also known as St. Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry.
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 on November 14, 1940 by the German Luftwaffe. Only the tower and 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 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.
