Coventry Cathedral


The Cathedral Church of St Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is Christopher Cocksworth and the current dean is John Witcombe.
The city has had three cathedrals. The first was St Mary's, a monastic building, of which only a few ruins remain. The second was St Michael's, a 14th-century Gothic church later designated cathedral, which 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.

St Mary's Priory

The first cathedral in Coventry was St Mary's Priory and Cathedral, 1095 to 1102, when Robert de Limesey moved the bishop's see from Lichfield to Coventry, until 1539 when it fell victim to Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. Prior to 1095, it had been a small Benedictine monastery, Shortly after 1095 rebuilding began and by the middle of the 13th century it was a cathedral of 142 yards 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 one of the largest parish churches 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 of 14 November 1940 by the German Luftwaffe. Only the tower, spire, the outer wall and the bronze effigy and tomb of its first bishop, Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs, survived. The ruins of this older cathedral remain hallowed ground and are listed at Grade I. Following the bombing of the medieval cathedral in 1940, Provost Richard Howard had the words "Father Forgive" inscribed on the wall behind the altar of the ruined building. The spire rises to 90 m and is the tallest structure in the city. It is also the third tallest cathedral spire in England, with only Salisbury and Norwich cathedrals rising higher.

Present structure

The current St Michael's Cathedral, built next to the remains of the old, was designed by Basil Spence and Arup, built by John Laing and is a Grade I listed building.
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.
Spence 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 use of Great Gate sandstone for the new Coventry Cathedral provides an element of unity between the buildings.
The foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid by Elizabeth II on 23 March 1956. The unconventional spire is tall and was lowered onto the flat roof by a helicopter, flown by Wing Commander John Dowling in April 1962.
The cathedral was consecrated on 25 May 1962, and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, composed for the occasion, was premiered in the new cathedral on 30 May to mark its consecration.
Coventry's new cathedral adopted a modernist design. The interior is notable for its huge 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 designed by John Piper, of abstract design that occupies the full height of the bowed baptistery, which comprises 195 panes, ranging from white to deep colours. The stained glass windows in the Nave, by Lawrence Lee, Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke, face away from the congregation. Spence's concept for these Nave windows was that the opposite pairs would represent a pattern of growth from birth to old age, culminating in heavenly glory nearest the altar—one side representing Human, the other side, the Divine. 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.
A pane of the Hutton window, depicting The Angel with the Eternal Gospel, was smashed during a burglary, in January 2020. The foundation stone, the ten stone panels inset into the walls of the cathedral called the Tablets of the Word, and the baptismal font were designed and carved by the émigré German letter carver Ralph Beyer.

Theological emphasis

As the cathedral was built on the site of a Benedictine monastery, there has always been a gentle Benedictine influence on the cathedral community. A number of the cathedral staff become third order Benedictines and there are often cathedral retreats to Burford Priory. Since the opening of the new cathedral in 1962 there has been a gentle evangelical emphasis. This has been strengthened by the former Dean, John Irvine, who was involved in creating the Alpha Course and previously served at Holy Trinity Brompton, and also as vicar of the first Brompton church plant, . The cathedral has a strong emphasis on the Bible and aims to be a centre for good preaching and training for the diocese. It runs regular mission events such as the innovative Spirit of Life days where over 2,000 local residents are encouraged to explore their faith in God through Christian spirituality.
The cathedral is also known for innovation in its services. As well as the expected traditional services, there is a 6:30 p.m. Sunday service with contemporary music, preaching and prayer ministry. The Cathedral Youth Work runs Goth church and Urban Church outreach congregations for local groups of young people, an equipping and supporting cell group for youth workers within Coventry churches as well as a number of other regular groups. There continues to be a strong influence of reconciliation within the theology. This is present throughout the ministry of the cathedral but is most clearly seen in the International Centre for Reconciliation and the International Network of Communities of the Cross of Nails. The reconciliation work exists locally in reconciling churches and community groups but also internationally working with terrorists and dictators as well as local churches, tribes and gangs.
Justin Welby established a special day for bereaved parents in the cathedral after the death of his own daughter. There is now an annual service commemorating the lives of children who have died. A book with the names of lost children is on display in the cathedral and anyone who has lost a child under any circumstances can ask for their child's name to be added to the book.

Symbols of reconciliation

The old cathedral grounds are home to a number of symbols of reconciliation, to complement the churches mission.

The Charred Cross

The Charred Cross was created after the cathedral was bombed during the Coventry Blitz of the Second World War. The cathedral stonemason, Jock Forbes, saw two wooden beams lying in the shape of a cross and tied them together. A replica of the Charred Cross built in 1964 has replaced the original in the ruins of the old cathedral on an altar of rubble. The original is now kept on the stairs linking the cathedral with St Michael's Hall below.

The Cross of Nails

The Cross of Nails, also created after the Blitz, was made of three nails from the roof truss of the old cathedral by Provost Richard Howard of Coventry Cathedral at the suggestion of a young friend, The Rev. A.P. Wales. It was later transferred to the new cathedral, where it sits in the centre of the altar cross. It has become a symbol of peace and reconciliation across the world. There are over 330 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. When there were no more of these nails, a continuing supply have come from a prison in Germany. They are co-ordinated by the International Centre for Reconciliation.
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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 bombing and is also kept as a ruin alongside a newer building. A replica of the cross of nails was also donated to the Chapel of Reconciliation which forms part of the Berlin Wall Memorial.
A medieval cross of nails has also been carried on board all British warships which subsequently bear the name. The cross of nails was on board the Type 42 destroyer when she was sunk by enemy action in the Falklands War. The cross was salvaged by Royal Navy divers, and presented to Coventry Cathedral by the ship's Captain and colleagues. The cross was subsequently presented first to the next in 1988 until she was decommissioned in 2002, and then to, which is affiliated to Coventry, during her commissioning ceremony on 6 May 2011 by Captain David Hart-Dyke, the commanding officer of Coventry when she was sunk.

The ''Stalingrad Madonna''

A copy of the Stalingrad Madonna by Kurt Reuber that was drawn in 1942 in Stalingrad is shown in the cathedrals of all three cities as a sign of the reconciliation of the three countries that were once enemies.

The statue of ''Reconciliation''

In 1994 the cathedral received a copy of the statue Reconciliation, by Josefina de Vasconcellos. Originally created in 1977 and entitled Reunion, it had been presented to the University of Bradford's Peace Studies department. After repairs and renaming, a bronze cast of the statue was presented to the cathedral in 1995, to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. Similar copies are held at the Hiroshima Peace Park in Japan, at the Stormont Estate in Northern Ireland, and at the Chapel of Reconciliation in Berlin.
The BBC broadcast a documentary in 1962 entitled Act of Faith, narrated by Leo Genn, detailed the history of Coventry Cathedral, its destruction and rebuilding.

Music

The precentor of the new Coventry Cathedral at the opening service was Joseph Poole. The service was televised and watched by many.

Organ

The cathedral has a pipe organ by Harrison & Harrison dating from 1962. A specification of the organ can be found on the .

Directors of Music

Assistant organists

As of 28 January 2019: