Coventry, UK

Visit to Coventry, UK

After we picked up Lori's Mom and Dad in London, we stopped by Coventry and spent the afternoon at the cathedral before heading onward to Derby.  

Lori's parents arriving at Heathrow airport

 

A little history lesson..... Coventry's earliest cathedral, dedicated to St Mary, was founded by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and his wife Lady Godiva in 1043. 

On the night of 14 November 1940, the city of Coventry was devastated by bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe.  The Cathedral burned with the city, having been hit by several incendiary devices. Shortly after the destruction, the cathedral stonemason, Jock Forbes, noticed that two of the charred medieval roof timbers had fallen in the shape of a cross.  He set them up in the ruins where they were later placed on an altar of rubble with the moving words 'Father Forgive' inscribed on the Sanctuary wall.

The Surviving Tower of the Coventry Cathedral

 Remains of the roofless cathedral. Most of the walls are still standing  

 Picture of the Cathedral after the bombing

 Replica of the the two roof timbers that formed a cross

Sculpture of St. Michael's victory over the devil

Tapestry in the new cathedral (75' x 40')

The theme of the cathedral is reconcilliation