Information AboutCoventry |
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Coventry is a City and Metropolitan Borough , in the West Midlands of England , Coventry is the eighth largest city in England with a population of 305,000 (2005 estimate) who style themselves 'Coventrians'. Coventry is famous for its involvement in the ), its Cathedral and the legendary exploits of Lady Godiva . Over the years Coventry has developed an international reputation as Europe's major city of peace and reconciliation and holds an annual Peace Month. {Link without Title} The current Lord Mayor of Coventry is Councillor Ram Lakha. His wife Meto Lakha (a former city Councillor herself) is the Lady Mayoress. HISTORY 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. 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. Cheylesmore Manor is the home of Coventry's Register Office. Parts of the building date back to 1250 and Edward the Black Prince and Henry VI were among the royals who lived there. Remnants of the main house survived the Second World War, but were demolished in 1955. Edward used Cheylesmore Manor as his hunting lodge. His grandmother, Queen Isabella -The she wolf of France -(the Queen of Edward II ), had gained the manorial rights when the Crown had acquired them from previous owners. It said that he was a frequenter of the area. Edwards armour was black, hence the Black Prince, and his helmet was surmounted by a "cat-a-mountain". The seal of the city bears the Motto "Camera Principis" or the Princes chamber which, it is said it owes to the close tie with the Black Prince. Also the Cat a Mountain of the Black Prince surmounts the Coat of arms as a crest. 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 hanged 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. Folk legend also links Coventry to the legend of St. George, the Patron Saint of England. In the 17th and 18th Centuries versions of Richard Johnson's 'Legend of the Seven Champions of Christendom' were being perfomed in England identifying the birthplace St. George as Caluden Castle in Wyken. The story goes that he travels to Egypt and slays the dragon, rescues an Egyptian princess with whom he has a son, purported to be Guy of Warwick, and is buried in state in Coventry. These traditional 'mummers plays' are still performed in the city on St. Georges day. 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 from a massive German air raid (the 'Coventry Blitz') on the 14th November 1940 . This 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. As a result, Coventry now shares the stereotype of 1960s architecture: concrete and ugly. 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. PLACES OF INTEREST 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 Glory'' by Graham Sutherland and the bronze statue ''St. Michael's Victory over 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; 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. The old stadium has now been demolished. EDUCATION Coventry has two universities, Coventry University (formerly Coventry Polytechnic) and the University Of Warwick , the latter being three miles to the south of the city centre on the border with Warwickshire . Many of the schools in and around Coventry are specialist colleges, such as Finham Park School , which is a Maths and IT college and now a teacher training school; and Blue Coat CE School which has recently became a College of Music, one of only few in the country. Bishop Ullathorne RC School became a specialist college in Humanities in 2006. Coventry is also home to the Coventry School Foundation, comprised of private schools King Henry VIII and Bablake together with Coventry Preparatory School . ARTS AND CULTURE ]]
Venues Theatre, art and music venues in Coventry include:
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 ), Coventry Crusaders ( Basketball ) and Coventry Cassidy Jets ( American Football ). In Football , Coventry City won the FA Cup in May of 1987 (In 1970 , '' Monty Python's Flying Circus '' mentioned Coventry City in a Trivia question on winning the F.A. Cup during " World Cup Forum / Communist Quiz " Sketch in the '' Spam '' Episode ). In 2003 , Coventry Blaze won the British National League and Playoffs. , playoff and Challenge Cup , the Jets won the BAFL Division 2 playoffs and were undefeated all season and the Bees won the Elite League playoffs. FAMOUS PEOPLE 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", George Coles who starred in '' The Caucasian Chalk Circle '' 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:
ECONOMY 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 in the city, and a large Peugeot car factory is located in Ryton just outside the city, although this is set to close in 2007. 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. In recent years the city has moved away from manufacturing industries towards business services, finance, research, design and development, creative industries as well as logistics and leisure. Coventry is an important university city, being the home of the University Of Warwick and Coventry University . TRANSPORT Coventry is near the M6 , M69 and M40 Motorway s. It is also served by the A45 and A46 Road s. 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 Airports are Birmingham International Airport , some 10 miles (16km) to the west of the city and Coventry Airport in Baginton , from which Thomsonfly operates commercial scheduled flights to more than 20 European destinations. The Coventry Canal terminates in the city centre. 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 . 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 Councillor s. Coventry has long been considered a stronghold or source of Safe Seat s for the Labour Party . The city council was for years described as a "one party state", but is currently 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:
NEARBY PLACES
SUBURBS OF COVENTRY Suburbs of Coventry include: Alderman's Green, Allesley , Ash Green, Ball Hill , Bell Green, Binley, Binley Woods, Canley , Cannon Hill, Cannon Park , Chapelfields, Cheylesmore , Copsewood, Coundon, Earlsdon , Eastern Green , Ernesford Grange , Finham , Foleshill, Green Lane, Henley Green, Hillfields, Holbrooks, Keresley, Longford, Lower Stoke, Park Hill, Potters Green, Radford, Spon End, Stoke Aldermoor, Stoke Heath, Stivichall (also spelled Styvechale), Tile Hill, Upper Stoke, Walsgrave , Whitley , Whoberley, Willenhall, Wood End, Wyken. 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 reconciliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Coventry is now Twinned with 26 places across the world: REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
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