Coventry is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed by Coventry City Council.
Lady Godiva, in Old English Godgifu, was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly remembered for a legend dating back to at least the 13th century, in which she rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband, Leofric, imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend, in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.
The Cathedral Church of Saint 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.
This article is about the history of Coventry, a city in the West Midlands, England.
Greyfriars, Grayfriars or Gray Friars is a term for Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, in particular, the Conventual Franciscans. The term often refers to buildings or districts formerly associated with the order.
Greyfriars Kirk is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Bond's Hospital is an almshouse in Coventry, England, established for old bedesmen. It is a Grade II* listed building.
Greyfriars, in Bristol, England, was a Franciscan friary. The name Greyfriars derived from the grey robes worn by the friars. It was founded at some time before 1234, within the town walls and then moved to Lewin's Mead in 1250. The site included extensive gardens surrounded by a stone wall. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century, the premises were leased to the town council in 1541, who desired to use the stone to make repairs to the town walls, and the harbour facilities. In succeeding centuries many different uses have been made of the site, which is currently occupied by an office block and part of Bristol Dental School.
Greyfriars was a medieval Franciscan priory in Coventry, England. The original monastic buildings were lost in the Reformation; the spire standing on the site today was most recently part of a 19th-century church that was destroyed in an air raid in the Second World War.
The buildings known as Whitefriars are the surviving fragments of a Carmelite friary founded in 1342 in Coventry, England. All that remains are the eastern cloister walk, a postern gateway in Much Park Street and the foundations of the friary church. It was initially home to a friary until the dissolution of the monasteries. During the 16th century it was owned by John Hales and served as King Henry VIII School, Coventry, before the school moved to St John's Hospital, Coventry. It was home to a workhouse during the 19th century. The buildings are currently used by Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry.
In London, the Greyfriars was a Conventual Franciscan friary that existed from 1225 to 1538 on a site at the North-West of the City of London by Newgate in the parish of St Nicholas in the Shambles. It was the second Franciscan religious house to be founded in the country. The establishment included a conventual church that was one of the largest in London; a studium or regional university; and an extensive library of logical and theological texts. It was an important intellectual centre in the early fourteenth century, rivalled only by Oxford University in status. Members of the community at that time included William of Ockham, Walter Chatton and Adam Wodeham. It flourished in the fourteenth and fifteenth century but was dissolved in 1538 at the instigation of Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Christ's Hospital was founded in the old conventual buildings, and the church was rebuilt completely by Sir Christopher Wren as Christ Church Greyfriars after the original church was almost completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. The building now standing on the site, designed by Arup Group Limited, is currently occupied by Merrill Lynch.
John Bailey Shelton MBE was a British archaeologist who worked in the city of Coventry and a pioneer of rescue archaeology.
Greyfriars, Leicester, was a friary of the Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscans, established on the west side of Leicester by 1250, and dissolved in 1538. Following dissolution the friary was demolished and the site levelled, subdivided, and developed over the following centuries. The locality has retained the name Greyfriars particularly in the streets named "Grey Friars", and the older "Friar Lane".
There are 24 Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Coventry. In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a building or structure of special historical or architectural importance. These buildings are legally protected from demolition, as well as from any extensions or alterations that would adversely affect the building's character or destroy historic features. Listed buildings are divided into three categories—Grade I buildings are buildings of "exceptional" interest, Grade II buildings are buildings of special interest, and Grade II* buildings are Grade II buildings that are of particular interest. Coventry is an ancient city and a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. The city's history dates back to at least the 11th century (CE), and it was a thriving centre of commerce in mediaeval times.
London Road Cemetery is a 17-hectare (42-acre) cemetery in Coventry, England, designed by Joseph Paxton and opened in 1847.
Self Sacrifice, better known as the Lady Godiva statue is an equestrian statue of Lady Godiva in Broadgate, Coventry. The statue is bronze, on a plinth of Portland stone.
St Laurence's is the Church of England parish church of Foleshill, Coventry. It is a Grade II* listed building with features, including the tower, from the 15th century. It is located on Old Church Road (B4082) to the north-east of Coventry city centre.
The Friary, formally known as Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Friary, formerly All Saints Convent or St John's Home is a centre of formation for the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Cowley, Oxford, England. The building was constructed in 1873 as the convent of the Anglican Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor. It is situated between St Mary's Road and Cowley Road, next to St John's Care Home and Helen & Douglas House. The friary and its chapel are Grade II listed buildings.
