Visiting Coventry

You may be visiting Coventry on business or pleasure – here is a brief summary of some sights and activities you might like to visit during your stay in Coventry

Old Cathedral Ruins – try and get to climb up the tower if it is open. It miraculously survived the bombing. A great view of the City from here.

New Cathedral – a modern cathedral with striking stained glass windows and a giant tapestry.

Holy Trinity Church – a fine example of church architecture. With bits added over the centuries – some of the church dates back to the 13th century.

Priory Remains – and new visitor centre which opened recently to display the artefacts found during excavations for the Phoenix project.

The Millenium Arch – you will love it or hate it –

Lady Godiva Statue – worth a quick look – just to say you saw it. In Broadgate (unless it’s been moved again)

St Mary’s Hall – Bayley Lane – just beside the old Cathedral. A fine specimen of a medaeval guildhall – still in use today for Council functions and banquets etc.

Fords Hospital – Greyfriars Lane a good example of 16th century domestic architecture – a timber framed bulding.

Transport Museum – free entry to this large display of cars , bikes and more.

Near Coventry

Kenilworth Castle – a ruined castle but still plenty to see (charge) – call in to the park too while you are there for a lakeside walk.

Warwick Castle – a bit expensve – but enough here to fill a whole day for all the family..

Coombe Abbey – now a hotel but has a fine country park and childrens play area – (free entry – parking £3.50)

Leamington Spa – a nice victorian town with lots of smaller shops and nice park with a river.

The City of Coventry is located in central England – about 90 miles from London and about 20 miles from Birmingham.

Get a quote for Car Hire in Coventry Here

History of Coventry:

In 1086 Coventry was a small village with a handful of inhabitants – but by 1400 Coventry had become one of the main centres of trade and population in England. In 1377 it was the fourth largest town outside London.
Lady Godiva is probably the name most associated with Coventry. She rode naked – it is said – through Coventry to protest at the high taxes .
The first British motor car was made in Coventry – by Daimler in 1896. Coventry became a major centre in the UK for car production – Humber , Rover, Maudsley being some of the first companies. Triumph motor cycles were also first made in Coventry.

During World War 2 – Coventry developed an aircraft industry – with many of the motor car firms switching to aircraft manufacture. Ths was probably why it was so heavily bombed by the Germans in 1940. Much of the city was destroyed in these air raids – and almost the whole city centre had to be rebuilt.

The car industry flourished after the war agan – with Jaguar and Chrylser being the main firms. The car industry is not so important today as it used to be – Jaguar  still have bases in the City.

Coventry Today

Coventry is best known for its spectacular Cathedral – built to replace the old one destroyed in the War. Visitors come from all over the world to see this marvellous building.

The Ricoh Arena – opened in 2005 is a\popular attraction for Coventry. It is the home of  Wasps Rugby and Coventry City Football Club – and stages a few concerts every year and was used for the Olympics in 2012

Coventry is also home to two universities – although one is called Warwick University – it is actually in Coventry! The campus at Warwick University is home to the biggest arts centre outside London – and it’s open to everyone all year round.