Coventry – A Tale Of Two Cathedrals

Last month I took my first ever proper visit to Coventry (I have once been to watch the Coventry Blaze Ice Hockey, but got there under the cover of night, so I didn’t really see the city.). I was seriously impressed by how vibrant and lively it is, how nice the central shopping area is, and by how much heritage there is to see in a city that was bombarded nightly during the Blitz. But, most of all, I was impressed by the tale of the two cathedrals, one now a ruin, the other rising like a Phoenix from the flames of a dark December night in 1940.

The original Coventry Cathedral was the church of St Michael. It was left a shell after a bombing raid of 1940 which left just the West Tower and Spire intact. Everything else – the roof, the beautiful stained glass windows, was destroyed on that night, and it would’ve been easy to have demolished the rest of the building to make way for a new Cathedral. But Coventry instead decided to keep the ruined shell as not only a reminder of the horrors of war (all the more poignant in our current times) but also as a place of hope, for though much of the cathedral was destroyed, it’s heart remained.

There is something rather incredible about a building with a roof of only sky, with windows without glass, of doorways that lead to open air whichever way you enter or exit. The incredible architectural beauty of the original cathedral is still plain to see, and you can still get a feel for what a majestic building the Cathedral of St Michael would’ve been at its height. Adding sculptures from Jacob Epstein adds a link to the new building that stands alongside it as a beacon of light and hope.

The new cathedral opened in 1962, and for architecture lovers, it is a triumph of modern design. Designed by Basil Spence it is a beautiful, elegant building, with the most incredible stained glass windows that just allow the natural light to flow in. On the outside there is another Jacob Epstein sculpture, St Michael’s Victory over the Devil, and inside your eyes are drawn everywhere, from the stunning, cavernous roof, to the huge tapestry by Graham Sutherland, and the incredible lectern. It is an incredibly moving place, a real haven of beauty in the middle of a busy city centre.