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COVENTRY CATHEDRAL

ALTERNATIVE NAME:

ST MICHAELS CATHEDRAL, CATHEDRAL OF ST MICHAEL

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Coventry Cathedral is commonly seen as a symbol of post-war revival.
The cathedral's origins date to the medieval period as the church of St Michael and 1918 it was granted cathedral status. During an air raid on 14 November 1940 the cathedral was ruined. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed 'an ambitious scheme' to rebuild the cathedral but this was abandoned in 1946 and four years later a competition was held for a new design. There were no restrictions concerning style, materials or retention of building fabric, however the tower and two crypts had to be incorporated into any new design.

The competition was won by Basil Spence whose design was oriented at right-angles to the ruins which were incorporated into the new building as a forecourt. Intended to be a stone structure, the design was altered in 1955 due to a shortage of funds. It was therefore decided that concrete would be used to build the Chapel of Unity and Guild Chapel and concrete blocks for the cathedral interior. Spence also redesigned the porch as a means of visually linking the old and new structures.

Artworks commissioned by Spence in 1951-3 included the east-end tapestry by Graham Sutherland, the etched west window by John Hutton and ten nave windows by Laurence Lee, Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke. Further works were commissioned in 1954-55 and include the baptistry window by John Piper, a sculpture of St Michael by Jacob Epstein and Ralph Beyer's carved inscriptions for the nave recess in 1957. Final commissions in 1960 were the altar candleholders by Hans Coper, the high altar cross from Clarke, and the lectern eagle by Elisabeth Frink. Through its works of art the cathedral demonstrates the influence of the Festival of Britain held in 1951.

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(SP 33617908) Coventry Cathedral Church of St Michael [NAT] (1)

Cathedral of St. Michael. Designed by Sir Basil Spence following an architectural competition in 1951. Constructed in 1951-62 of red sandstone ashlar with green slate cladding to chapels, and a concrete roof. The cathedral is aligned North-South at right angles to the old cathedral (SP 37 NW 93). Grade I. (2-5)

See sources for details. (6-7)

Coventry Cathedral is commonly seen as a 'symbol of post-war revival'. Its origins date to the medieval period as the church of St Michael and 1918 it was granted cathedral status. During an air raid on 14 November 1940 the cathedral was ruined. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed 'an ambitious scheme' to rebuild the cathedral but this was abandoned in 1946 and four years later a competition was held for a new design. There were no restrictions concerning style, materials or retention of building fabric, however the tower and two crypts had to be incorporated into any new design.

The competition was won by Basil Spence whose design was oriented at right-angles to the ruins which were incorporated into the new building as a forecourt. Intended to be a stone structure, the design was altered in 1955 due to a shortage of funds. It was therefore decided that concrete would be used to build the Chapel of Unity and Guild Chapel and concrete blocks for the cathedral interior. Spence also redesigned the porch as a means of visually linking the old and new structures.

Artworks commissioned by Spence in 1951-3 included the east-end tapestry by Graham Sutherland, the etched west window by John Hutton and ten nave windows by Laurence Lee, Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke. Further works were commissioned in 1954-55 and include the baptistry window by John Piper, a sculpture of St Michael by Jacob Epstein and Ralph Beyer's carved inscriptions for the nave recess in 1957. Final commissions in 1960 were the altar candleholders by Hans Coper, the high altar cross from Clarke, and the lectern eagle by Elisabeth Frink. (8)

According to Feaver, 'Coventry became the Mecca of the Festival style'. This 'Festival style' was a reference to design elements which were inspired by the Festival of Britain held in 1951. He goes on to say that 'Coventry Cathedral marks the apotheosis of the Festival'. (9)

Coventry Cathedral is a listed building and information used to create this record has been taken from the National Heritage List for England - for a full description of the site please go to this source. (10)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:2500 1961

(2) by Nikolaus Pevsner and Alexandra Wedgwood 1966 Warwickshire

The Buildings of England Page(s)249-59

(3) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Coventry, 29-MAR-88

(4) General reference

Phoenix at Coventry 1962, (B. Spence)

(5) edited by W. B. Stephens 1969 A history of the county of Warwick: volume VIII: the City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)355-6

(6) by John Thomas 1987 Coventry Cathedral

New Bell's cathedral guides

(7) Louise Campbell 1996 Coventry cathedral : art and architecture in post-war Britain

Clarendon studies in the history of art

(8) Elain Harwood 2000 England: a guide to post-war listed buildings

Page(s)2.24-2.26

(9) edited by Mary Banham and Bevis Hillier 1976 A tonic to the nation : the festival of Britain 1951

Page(s)54

(10) World Wide Web page

English Heritage. (2011). The National Heritage List for England http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1342941 [accessed 15-JUL-2011]

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