COVENTRY, anciently “Coventre,” and in Domesday, “Coventrey,” is conjectured, by Dugdale, from the termination “tre,” a place, or dwelling, to have been a British settlement. In 1451 it was constituted by Henry VI. a county of itself, and this privilege continued until February 3rd, 1843, when it was abolished by an Order in Council. It is a city and union town, head of a petty sessional division, a parliamentary, county and muncipal borough in the North-Eastern division of the county, rural deanery and archdeaconry of Coventry and diocese of Worcester, 18 ½ miles south-east from Birmingham, 10 north from Leamington, 10 north from Warwick, 25 ½ north-east from Stratford-on-Avon, 21 south-east from Tamworth, 26 ½ south-east from Walsall, 27 ½ south-east from Dudley, 110 from Liverpool, 100 ½ from Manchester, 31 from Wolverhampton, 44 from Derby, 27 ½ from Leicester, 32 ½ from Stourbridge, 42 from Worcester, 34 ½ from Burton-on-Trent, and 29 from Lichfield, and 94 miles from London by rail and 91 by road, and has a station on the London and North-Western railway, with a branch to Nuneaton, and) another to Leamington, there joining the Great Western railway. It is also on the direct road from London to Holyhead, and has the advantage of a canal to Fazeley, joining at that place the Trent and Mersey and Birmingham canal. An electric tramway from the railway station to Bedworth, a distance of six miles, will be opened during 1895. The river Sherborne runs through the city, passing hence to Baginton, where it unites with the Sowe, a feeder to the Avon, at Stoneleigh. The city comprises part of Holy Trinity parish, and of the parishes of St. John the Baptist and) St. Michael. The parliamentary boundary, by the Act of 1868, includes also the parish of Stoke. The city returned two members to Parliament until the passing of the “Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885,” when the number was reduced to one, and under the provision of the “Local Government Act, 1888,” the city is declared a county borough. The corporation consists of a mayor, who is the returning officer, ten aldermen, who preside over the five wards into which the city is divided, thirty common councilmen, a treasurer, town clerk and other officers: the council form the urban district authority, and the city has a commission of the peace. The city is: lighted with gas from works in Gas street, but arrangements are now (1895) being made for the introduction of the electric light: the water supply is derived from artesian wells in the New Red Sandstone at various depths down to 428 feet, with a pumping station at Spon end, and a reservoir to hold 800,000 gallons, there is also a reservoir at Barr’s hill holding 1,200,000 gallons, and the water is pumped a height of 142 feet from Spon end into this reservoir. The works were erected in 1846, and cost originally £33,000. An additional well is now (1895) approaching completion at Whitley, about 2 ½ miles south-east of city, and two new reservoirs have been constructed in Barker’s Butts lane, about 1 ½ miles from the city in a north-west direction: the reservoirs will hold about 3,000,000 gallons, and the water will be pumped into them from Whitley and Spon end. The Sewage Precipitation Works at Whitley are under the control of the City Council.

A convent appears to have been founded here at an early period, of which, in 1016, St. Osburg was abbess, when Edric, invading Mercia, destroyed it. At a later period, in the time of the Confessor, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and his countess Godiva, erected and munificently endowed a monastery on the same site, for an abbot and twenty-four monks of the Benedictine order, bestowing upon them one-half the town in which the monastery was situated, together with twenty-four lordships in this and other counties. Earl Leofric died in 1057, and, together with his countess, was interred in the church of the monastery. The famous legend) connected: with the names of Leofric and Godiva appears to have been first recorded by Matthew of Westminster, 250 years after the death of Leofric; and since the more ancient authors, although they mention the Earls foundation at Coventry, and the concurrence and benefactions of the countess, make 110 reference whatever to this remarkable event, it is most probable that the chronicler obtained it from some vulgar tradition: to what authority may bo assigned the additional embellishment afforded by the story of Peeping Tom seems uncertain, but it is in entire contradiction to the story as related by Matthew of Westminster, who represents. Leofric as requiring Godiva to ride through the town “populo congregato,” and not, as popularly believed, while the inhabitants were kept within doors on pain of death.

The diocese of which Coventry formed a part, included, at the time of the Conquest, the cities of Chester, Coventry, and Lichfield: Peter, elected bishop in 1075, moved the see to Chester; and Robert de Limesey, in 1102, probably attracted by the wealth, and reputation of the abbey founded by Leofric, again removed) the episcopal seat to Coventry, where it remained during the lives of the five succeeding bishops: in 1188 the see was restored to Lichfield, and until the Restoration the prelate was styled Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, Dr. Hacket, appointed in 1660, being the first to adopt the former title only. The Cathedral of Coventry, which was also the Priory church, occupied a place called) Hill Close, on a descent north of St. Michael’s and Trinity churches, and was said to have been built on the model of the cathedral at Lichfield, but on the surrender of the priory in 1538, both it and the cathedral church, notwithstanding the efforts of Dr. Rowland Lee, then bishop, were dismantled and destroyed by order of Henry VIII.: some faint traces of the cathedral, and of the episcopal palace, which faced the north-east corner of St. Michael’s churchyard, still remain.

In 1891 the assistance of a Suffragan Bishop for the diocese being considered desirable, it was decided that on creation he should take the title of Bishop of Coventry, this place having, until 1660, been united with Lichfield as the head of the see, and the Right Rev. Edmund Arbuthnot Knox D.D. vicar of Aston, is the present bishop, having been consecrated 28 Dec. 1894, in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The more ancient town of Coventry, from extensive foundations which have been discovered in that direction near the spot termed St. Nicholas’ churchyard, is believed to have stood north of the present city. At a later date it was one of the chief seats of the, Earls of Mercia, and shortly after the Conquest the lordship became vested in the Earls of Chester, through Lucia, granddaughter of Leofric. In the contest between Stephen and the Empress Maud, Earl Ranulph sided with, the latter, and thus lost his castle at Coventry, which was taken and occupied by the forces of the king: this earl procured in 2 Henry III. (1217-18) a charter for a yearly fair, to continue for eight days, and it was during this fair that the celebrated Godiva procession, instituted in 1677, took place: the commemoration is now only occasional, but is liberally supported and produced with much laborious preparation: the houses are whitewashed and painted, and the figure of “Peeping Tom,” fixed in a window of the King’s Head hotel, at the comer of Hertford street, is newly dressed; ribbons and cockades are plentifully distributed to those engaged in the procession, which includes various singular effigies and a female slightly clothed to represent Lady Godiva, forming altogether one of the most remarkable pageants in England. In the reign of Henry III. during the siege of Kenilworth, a convention of nobles and prelates assembled here and decided on the terms of the decree known as the “Dictum de Kenilworth.” By the time of Richard II. the fortifications of the city were completed, and the king granted the city various privileges. The same monarch, in 1397, appointed Coventry as the scene of the single combat between the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk, prevented, however, by the banishment of the combatants. In 1411, Henry, Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry V., was arrested by the mayor for rioting. Previously, in 1404, Henry IV. held a parliament here, called, from the exclusion of all lawyers, “Parliamentum Indoctum.” Henry VI. resided here in 1450, and by charter constituted Coventry a county, and its bailiffs sheriffs of the same: in 1459 he held a parliament in the chapter house of the priory, which, from the number of its attainders against the Duke of York and others, was by the Yorkists called “Parliamentum Diabolicum.” In 1465 the king and queen kept Christmas here, and in 1469 Earl Rivers and his son John were beheaded on Gosford Green. Edward IV. and his queen again visited the city at the festival of St. George in 1474, as also Richard III. during that of Corpus Christ. After the signal victory at Bosworth, Henry VII. came here and lodged with the mayor; and in 1510 Henry VIII. and Queen Katherine were at Coventry, when three pageants were set before them: in 1525 came the Princess Mary: in 1565 Queen Elizabeth, making a progress through the country, was received by the city with great honour and splendid pageants. Mary Queen of Scots was a prisoner here for a short time in 1566 and 1569. A terrible flood in 1607 destroyed 257 houses, and caused much other damage. King James I. visited Coventry in 1617, as at other times did the Princess Elizabeth and Prince Henry. During the Civil War Coventry declared for the Parliament, and on the 13th of August, 1642, the townsmen closed their gates against Charles I., but on the Restoration of Charles II. immediately proclaimed him with great acclamation, and sent a deputation to him bearing propitiatory gifts, notwithstanding which, on the 22nd of July, 1661, came the Earl of Northampton, with other persons of distinction, and as a punishment for the disloyalty of the citizens, almost wholly destroyed the walls encompassing the city. James II. was at Coventry in 1687, and was presented with a gold cup valued at £170.

The city has long maintained a reputation as a manufacturing centre. In 1463 the making of caps and bonnets was extensively carried on, and the place was then famous for a particular kind of blue dye, whence came the saying, “true as Coventry blue." The manufacture of ribbons was introduced about the beginning of the 16th century, and in 1770 that of watches, both of which are still actively prosecuted, but the Coventry trade is not now so exclusively confined to these branches of industry, and includes in addition the making of cotton, worsted and elastic web, hearthrugs and carpets: large quantities of trimmings, such as gimps, fringes, muslin trimmings, frillings and chenille are produced here: to these may be added the weaving of alpaca and coach laces, silk throwing, and the products of the power loom: more recent inventions, such as bicycles and tricycles, have originated new and extensive factories watches are also manufactured very largely, and there are, besides, iron foundries, brickworks, and maltings.

St. Michael’s church, although it has many traces of being erected on foundations of earlier date, may now be said to be entirely in the Perpendicular style, of which the steeple is an early example; the tower is enriched with tracery and figures of saints and bishops in elaborately-carved niches, the whole being crowned with a tall spire supported by flying buttresses, and had the stone of which the tower is built been of a more durable character, this, in Rickman’s opinion, would have been the finest Perpendicular steeple in England: the spire has several stages, some of which are panelled, and at the base is arranged a lantern, which gives to it a peculiarly light appearance: the entire height is 303 feet, and when viewed at a distance the effect of this tower and spire is very satisfactory: the building of the tower was begun in 1373 and completed in 1394, and the bells, originally 6, were hung in 1429, recast in 1674 into 8 and again recast in 1774 and 2 added, making the present 10: in plan this church consists of an apsidal chancel of five sides, clerestoried nave, aisles, north, west and three south porches, a detached tower on the south side, with shire, and several adjacent chapels: northward of the north aisle are the Girdler’s chapel, connected with a company of that name, dissolved in 1667, and the Smiths’, or St. Andrew’s chapel, founded by that guild some time previous to 1449; a continuation of the north aisle eastward forms the chapels of St. Lawrence and Our Lady, or the Drapers’ chapel, the latter of which bore also the title “Capella supra montem,” or “the Chapel on the Hill,” and was erected about 1300; in it the consistory court was formerly held; a similar extension of the south aisle forms the Mercers’ chapel, concerning the early history of which 110 documents have been found; adjoining the centre porch on the south side of the church is St. Thomas’ or Cappers’ chapel, founded in 1467, or earlier, by the Fellowship of Woollen Card Makers; the Dyers’, or, as afterwards called, the Mourners’ chapel, is on the south side of the church, between the first and second porches, and is now used as a baptistery: the interior aspect of the church is fine, from the great breadth of the aisles and the lightness of the piers: the clerestory wall is panelled down to the arches, of which panelling the windows form part: the length of the nave is 157 feet by 52 feet 8 inches in width; and the entire length of the church internally is 293 feet 9 inches, its breadth at the west end 119 feet 3 inches, and its superficial area over 24,015 feet; there is 110 chancel arch, nor any indication of provision having been made for one: the ancient sacristy, divided into four chambers, extends round the north, south and east portions of the apse: traces of the rood-loft may be seen in the large pillar on the north side of the choir, within which are stairs anciently communicating with it and other lofts in the church: the earliest font was built by John Cross, mayor, 1394, and removed for another in 1645: the old pulpit dates from about 1409; the new one was presented in 1869 by Robert and Sarah Dalton, as a memorial of their only son; the brass eagle lectern was given to the church in 1867 by John Royle, solicitor, of Coventry: there appears to have been an organ so early as 1505; on a later instrument the famous Handel once or twice performed, and to this successive repairs and alterations were made in 1763, 1818 and 1835-6, but a new instrument was provided at the restoration in 1885-6; very little ancient stained glass of any interest or importance remains; and most of the modern glass is of a memorial character: the three east windows of the apse commemorate the late Queen Adelaide, and were erected at a cost of £700, contributed by the inhabitants of Coventry and nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood; the central north window of the Lady chapel was refilled by subscription in memory of the late Prince Consort, and there are many others of great excellence to mayors of the city, military officers and persons belonging to the parish: connected with this church were a number of ancient charities, founded by different pious persons, who gave or bequeathed sums of money for the maintenance of a priest or priests to say daily mass at certain altars within the church for their good estate during life and for the health of their souls after death: these date variously from 1323 to 1536: during the period 1855-85, the exterior walls of the aisles were restored, and other repairs effected, but in June, 1885, a more extensive restoration was begun under the direction of Mr. John Oldrid Scott F.S.A. architect, the work undertaken comprising the restoration of the tower and spire, the whole of the roofs, the clerestories of the nave and chancel, and the apse with the sacristies round it: the tower walls are six feet in thickness, pierced on the western side by a doorway, and on the east by a fine and lofty arch opening to the nave: on examining the foundations of the tower it was discovered to have been built on the south side of an ancient quarry, the buttresses on the north side being actually built over and projecting into it; an entirely new foundation of concrete and Staffordshire bricks in cement, with massive Yorkshire stone landings, has been laid at considerable risk, the cost of this part of the work alone being about £17,000, since it was found by carefully applied tests that the structure moved every day for some time; the apex of the spire as tested in 1891, is 3 feet 5 inches out Of the perpendicular, leaning towards the north-west; the south porch and the two crypts underneath the north aisles are Early English, and there are traces of Norman work at the west end of the south aisle; the chancel has a great inclination towards the north, and the apse is irregular in plan, the aisle surrounding it being still more so, but the general effect is very picturesque; the total cost of the restoration, including that of the new organ, amounted to £44,000: in Oct. 1894 the Bishop of Worcester unveiled an episcopal memorial erected in the tower; the memorial bears the arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury, of the united bishopric of Coventry and Lichfield, and the Bishop of Worcester, and is inscribed with the names and dates of consecration of four Bishops of Mercia, twenty-six Bishops of Lichfield, six Bishops of Coventry, thirty-three Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, four Bishops of Worcester, and two Bishops Suffragan of Coventry; the date of the bishoprics set forth ranging from A.D. 656 to 1894: there are 3,700 sittings, 1,510 being free. The register dates from 1698. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £400, with residence, in the gift of the Crown, and held since 1888 by the Rev. James Robert Mills D.D. of Trinity College, Dublin, a surrogate, and acting Chaplain to the forces.

The Church of Holy Trinity, a handsome and spacious building, stands within 100 yards from St. Michaels, and though it suffers somewhat from the proximity of its loftier neighbour, the combination of the two spires at a distance is very fine; this is a cruciform church, and its general arrangement to some extent resembles St. Michael’s, but the design is not so good, although the architectural character of the interior is much more elaborate: the church consists of nave, aisles, north and south transepts, a central tower with spire, containing 8 bells, a choir of unusual length, several dependent chapels, vestry, a large north porch, and a western entrance; there appears to be 110 distinct evidence as to the period of its foundation, but Dugdale finds it appropriated to the Priory in 1259; in 1522 the clergy serving this church consisted of a vicar, 11 parochial, and two chantry priests, and on the dissolution of the Priory in 1536, a special Act of Parliament, passed in 1557, provided new and sufficient emolument for this vicarage; the nave is 70 feet 9 inches long, by 20 feet 6 inches wide, and is divided from the aisles by three and a half arches: the clerestory, as in the choir, is a subsequent addition, and not in uniformity with the nave, being divided into eight bays, each containing two windows, filled with Perpendicular tracery, these forming, as in St. Michael’s, a series of stone panels below the windows: the west end has a noble window of seven lights, with Perpendicular tracery: during the repairs of 1831 some ancient fresco paintings were discovered at the west end of the nave roof, which is richly illuminated after the original design: the transepts are lofty and well-lighted, and appear at one time to have had high-pitched roofs: the central tower has a lantern of two storeys, with a groined roof: the chancel, including the sanctuary, is 86 feet 4 inches in length, and 20 feet 10 inches in breadth, separated from its aisles by four arches on each side; a beautiful reredos was erected in 1873 from designs by the late Sir Gilbert Scott R.A., in memory of Mr. John Bill: like St. Michael’s, this church is environed by a number of chapels: on the north side, west of the porch, is Archdeacon’s chapel; east of the porch and uniting it with the north transept, is St. Thomas’s chapel, beneath which are the remains of a crypt; eastward of the north transept is Marler’y chapel, now opened to the north chancel aisle, and it also has a crypt: the chapel of Our Lady forms a continuation of the north chancel aisle, and is mentioned so early as 1364, in a cartulary of the priory: the south chancel aisle is also called the Butcher’s chapel, the south transept Jesus chapel, and the south aisle of the nave Tanners’ or Barkers’ aisle, being appropriated to this very ancient and opulent company: the rood-loft extended across the chancel, one bay east of the tower piers, and there are some traces of the doorways remaining: the present vestry is south of the chancel, the chapel of St. Mary having been formerly used for this purpose: the consistory court was held in the Archdeacon’s chapel: the pulpit, an unusually large one, and attached to the south-east pillar, is of very considerable, antiquity; as restored, it presents as fine and curious an example of a stone pulpit as any in this country: a pair of organs were certainly set up in this church in or about 1526, but had disappeared before 1570: in 1631 a new pair were introduced by the then vicar, and again in 1684 an organ was purchased, and repaired in 1689: after further changes and repairs, an entirely new one was erected and opened in 1801, at a cost, less the old organ, of £800: the eagle lectern, an ancient work, is thought to date from the fourteenth century: the font, for some Puritanical reasons, was condemned and removed in 1645, but replaced at the Restoration: only a few fragments of ancient stained glass exist: the arms mentioned by Dugdale have disappeared, and amid the mutilations of 1775 the portraits of Leofric and Godiva, then in the window over the south door, barely escaped; these he describes as having been set up about King Richard II.'s time, and that Leofric held in his right hand a charter, with this legend:—

“I, Luriche, for the love of thee,

Doe make Coventre tol-free.”

“These are now,” says Mr. Thomas Sharp, “in the east window of Marler’s chapel, amidst a number of worthless fragments: only the head of Leofric remains: Godiva is represented with long flowing hair of a gold colour, and a coronet on her head”: in 1834 the east window was filled with stained glass of an heraldic character, replaced in 1856 by other glass in memory of R. S. Cox esq. a native of Coventry, and a local benefactor: the west window is a memorial to the late Dean Hook, vicar of this parish from 1829 to 1837: there are various other similas memorials to Edward Phillips esq. F.S.A. James Wall esq. etc. and some have been placed as gifts from present and late parishioners: the steeple of Holy Trinity has been twice built, and had to be very frequently repaired before its destruction in 1665, when, on the 24th January, in that year, it was overthrown by a violent tempest of “wind, thunder and earthquake,” by which the church was much damaged, and a boy killed: the rebuilding was finished in 1668, and carried to the height of 237 feet: the bells, some of which were recast in 1855, hang in a timber campanile, on the site of the cathedral nave: attached to this church were several chantries, similarly founded to those in St. Michael’s, and dating from the time of Edward I. to that of Henry VIII.: lists of chantry priests belonging to some of these have been preserved: previous to the Reformation there were 15 altars in this church, distributed among the different chantries and chapels: the cost of restorations in 1874 and subsequent years, including that of the spire, has amounted to £2,400: there are 1,600 sittings. The register dates from the year 1561. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £608, with residence, in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and held since 1872 by the Rev. Francis Morton Beaumont M.A. late fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford, rural dean of Coventry and surrogate. Of the ancient residence of the vicars of this church, called Jesus Hall, some remains of which existed in 1693, 110 trace can be found: the original structure, erected about 1500, extended to the south transept of the church, with which it was connected by a vaulted passage: the hall was taken down in or about 1742.

St. John the Baptist’s, or Bablake church, is a cruciform building of stone in the Perpendicular style, with quasi transepts and nave and chancel aisles, forming on the exterior ground plan an almost perfect parallelogram: an embattled tower, rising from the centre of the church, contains 5 bells, dating from 1676, and has a stair turret at its north-east comer: the arches supporting the tower are very beautiful, and peculiarly light in appearance: the long range of clerestory windows on the north, and part of those on the south, are remarkable examples of the early use of square-headed windows: the roof is leaded throughout, and inscriptions in different parts record the dates of repairs: this church or chapel was originally built for the use of St. John’s Guild, for which purpose Queen Isabella granted a parcel of ground belonging to her, called “Babbelak,” in 1344, and the Chapel was dedicated in May, 1350: additions were made to it at different times, especially by one William Walshman and Christiana his wife, in 1357 and 1365-9, and again in 1375, when the then mayor, William Wolfe, “was a great helper, with his costs and charges.” By an Act of Parliament, 1 Edward VI. (1547), the religious establishment here was suppressed, and the fabric alienated to the Corporation, but means being wanting for the celebration of Divine service, great dilapidations ensued. Some repairs were made in 1608, and lecturers periodically appointed, until soon after the Restoration, when the church fell into decay. An Act of Parliament, dated 23 June, 1734, constituted it a parish church, and appointed a rector and lecturer: two chapels were attached to this church, one dedicated to Our Lady, the other to St. John: there were also, beside the high altar, three others specially dedicated. The original font was apparently of wood, that now in use is a copy of the Early Perpendicular one in St. Edward’s, Cambridge, and has a cover of fine tabernacle work, carved in wood. This church was thoroughly restored in 1875-7, from plans by the late Sir Gilbert Scott R.A. at a cost of £7,000: the encaustic tiles laid down in the chancel being exact copies of those found in the church during the restoration: a new vestry was added at the northeast corner, and among the gifts on the occasion were a new pulpit in red sandstone by the Misses Bourne, an alabaster reredos by the family of the Rev. T. Sheepshanks, late rector, and a stained window, erected by George Woodcock esq. to the memory of his mother: the east window is a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Rotherham: and there is another to Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Bird: on the south aisle wall is a brass to Commander Sheepshanks and Lieut. Castle, who were lost in H.M.S. “Captain,” at 12.15 a.m. on the 7th Sept. 1870, when off Cape Finisterre: the floor of the church, which in 1735 had been raised 3 feet 10 inches, was lowered 4 feet 9 inches in 1875, and afterwards again raised, and the cost of restorations in and since 1877 has amounted to £8,586: there are 600 sittings, 50 being free. The register dates from the year 1734. The living is a rectory, average tithe rent-charge £50, gross yearly value £385, net £180, in the gift of Mrs. J. Blakesley, and held since 1874 by the Rev. Geo. Cuffe B.A. of Trinity College. Dublin.

Christ Church, the fine tower and spire of which, dating from 1360, formed part of the monastery of Friars Minor or Grey Friars, established here in 1234, is a building in the Decorated style, similar to that of the original work, and consists of the octagonal embattled tower, with spire, also octagonal, reaching a height of 230 feet, and a nave; the church was originally cruciform, and the tower central, but its lower stage now serves as a chancel, and there is a vestry on the north side: the tower contains 1 bell: the spire was restored in 1888 at a cost of £270 and an organ was erected in 1846 at a cost of £345: the idea of adding a church to the Grey Friars steeple originated with the late Mr. W. Bunney, who left by will 200 guineas for this purpose; later contributions augmented this sum to £9,000; the first stone was laid March 15, 1830, and the building consecrated August 3rd, 1832; there are 1,450 sittings, of which 950 are free. The fraternity of Grey Friars being endowed with lands, little information can be gathered from records concerning them, but it appears that, Roger de Montalt and Cecily his wife, in 1250, assigned certain lands at Cheylesmore to these monks: subsequently the family of Hastings became benefactors of this order, and were buried in the chapel, hence called the “Hastings Chapel”; many other persons of rank were also interred here. The famous Coventry pageants, enacted before Richard III. in 1483 and Henry VII. and his Queen in 1492, were performed by the friars of this house. At the dissolution the site and buildings of the monastery were granted to the Corporation. The register dates from the year 1832. The living is a perpetual curacy, net yearly value, derived from pew rents and voluntary offerings variable, but at present about £170, in the gift of the vicar of St. Michael’s, and held since 1894 by the Rev. Harry Stanley Mercer M.A. of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

St. Nicholas, Radford, a chapel of ease to the church of the Holy Trinity, is an edifice of stone in the Early English style, erected and consecrated in 1874 at a cost of £2,800, and consists of chancel, nave, and a small western turret containing 1 bell.

All Saints is an ecclesiastical parish formed August 10, 1869, from Holy Trinity and St. Michael; the church, in Far Gosford street, is a building of local stone, in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch, and a south-western turret containing 1 bell, and was consecrated 12th January, 1869; there are 750 sittings. The register dates from the year 1869. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £232, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Worcester, and held since 1879 by the Rev. Gerard Cokayne Vecqueray M.A. of University College, Oxford.

St. Mark's ecclesiastical parish was formed August 10, 1869, from those of Holy Trinity, St. Michael, and St. Peter; the church, in Bird street, a building of red sandstone, in the Perpendicular style, was consecrated 12th January, 1869, and consists of chancel, nave, aisles, transepts, north porch, and a western turret containing 1 bell: there are 650 sittings. The register dates from the year 1869. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value £260, net £239, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Worcester, and held since 1877 by the Rev. Gordon Sedgwick M.A. of Caius College, Cambridge.

St. Peter’s is an ecclesiastical parish, formed from that of Holy Trinity, November 15, 1842. The church, in Hillfields, is an edifice of red brick, in the later English style, consisting of chancel, nave, and an embattled western tower, with eight crocketed pinnacles, and containing 1 bell. There are 1,300 sittings, 755 being free. The register dates from the year 1841. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value £270, net £250, with residence, in the gift of the vicar of Holy Trinity, and held since 1888 by the Rev. William Boys Johnston M.A. of Christ Church, Oxford.

St. Thomas’s ecclesiastical parish was formed September 18, 1844, from those of St. Michael and St. John. The church, in Summerland Butts, is a building of stone in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, north porch, and a western turret containing 1 bell. There are 600 sittings, 470 being free. The register dates from the year 1849. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value £340, net £300, in the gift of the Crown and Bishop of Worcester, and held since 1893 by the Rev. Eric Maurice Farrar M.A. of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

The Catholic church, in Hill street, dedicated to St. Osburgh and erected in 1844, is an edifice of Marston granite, faced with Yorkshire stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel with aisles, nave, aisles, clerestoried nave of five bays and a western tower with spire, containing 1 bell; the reredos, erected by the Right Rev. Dr. Collier, from designs by T. Richmond Donelly esq. is of Caen stone, with marble columns in the Decorated style, and consists of five panels, containing statues of St. Benedict and other saints, beneath enriched canopies, lined with alabaster: the chancel has piscina and sedilia: there are sittings for 500 persons.

St. Mary’s Catholic church, Raglan street, opened in November, 1893, is a building of red brick with stone dressings in the Early English style, and will seat between 300 and 400 persons: adjoining the church is a presbytery: the whole was erected at a cost of between £5,000 and £6,000.

There are Baptist, Congregational, Primitive Methodist, Unitarian and Wesleyan chapels; a synagogue for the Jews, erected in 1870, a Meeting House of the Society of Friends, a Catholic Apostolic church, a place of worship for the Plymouth Brethren, and Salvation Army barracks.

The Baptist chapel, Queen’s road, erected in 1883-4, at a cost, including land, of £11,000, is an edifice of brick, with Bath stone dressings, in a modified form of the Perpendicular style, from designs by Messrs. Steane, of Coventry, and affords sittings for 1,000 persons.

The Baptist chapel, Bailey lane, is a building of stone, in the Late Decorated style.

The Baptist chapel, in Gosford street, is a structure of red brick, with stone dressings.

The Congregational church, Warwick row, opened in January, 1891, is an edifice of brick in the form of an elongated oval, with an apsidal termination at one end for the organ and choir: the interior is surrounded by galleries, including which there are sittings for 890 persons.

The Primitive Methodist chapel, Ford street, erected in 1895, at a cost of £2,400, is an edifice of red brick, with stone dressings, in the Early English style, and has sittings for 240 persons.

The Cemetery, on the London road, opened in December, 1847, was originally 19 acres in extent, but an addition of 11 acres was made in Oct. 1887: there are two mortuary chapels: within the gates stands a lofty monument to Sir Joseph Paxton kt., M.P. for Coventry 1854-65, and designer of the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, in which the Exhibition of 1851 was held, and who also planned the Cemetery: he died at Sydenham, Kent, June 8, 1865. The Cemetery is the property of the Corporation.

St. Mary's Hall, near the Church of St. Michael, was originally erected as a place of meeting for the City Guilds, and the period of its commencement may be fixed between the years. 1340 and 1342: the great ball itself was built subsequently, according to the city annals, by one John Cross, mayor, and others, in 1394, and was finished in 1414. Dugdale, however, from its form and the heraldry of its windows, assigns it to the reign of Henry VI.: in this chamber many distinguished persons have at various times been entertained; on April 3, 1603, the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I. dined here in great state, and was presented with a silver cup: in 1611 Prince Henry, with a train of nobility, was feasted here, and on 2nd September, 1617, came the king himself, who, with his attendants, was splendidly entertained; in 1687 James II. visited the city; his majesty breakfasted in the hall, and was presented with, a covered gold cup valued at £170: the entrance is by a noble archway, opening into a porch with finely vaulted roof: on. the east aide is a lofty apartment, at one time rented by the Mercers’ Company, and still called “Mercers’ Chapel:” the crypt, beneath the great hall, extends to its whole area; it is of the same date as the superstructure and is divided into two chambers, with an entrance towards St. Michael’s church; both chambers have plainly groined stone vaulting: the kitchen, believed to be part of the original building, is of singular construction, and has an opening in the centre of the roof surmounted by a lantern for the escape of steam: the great hall is a magnificent room 76 ft. 6 in. long, 30 ft. broad and 34 ft. high, the oak roof of which is singularly rich in carvings, and bears on the centre of each beam whole length figures of angels playing on musical instruments, it is lighted at the north end and both sides by noble windows: the great north window has 9 compartments, each containing in rich glass a whole length figure under a canopy; but these are more or less injured and the inscriptions mutilated: in 1826 the east and west windows were re-glazed by Mr. Pemberton of Birmingham: at the lower end of the hall is an antique and richly carved dwarf screen, occupying the place of a cumbrous stone screen placed there in 1571: the paintings comprise a series of portraits of sovereigns from Queen Mary to George IV. inclusive; and below the north window is the far-famed tapestry, 36 ft. long and 10 ft. high, consisting of six compartments divided into two tiers and illustrating the intimate connection existing between Coventry and the unfortunate Henry VI. and his Queen; associated with which are representations of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary in glory, groups of saints and martyrs with their emblems, and personifications of the Christian virtues: the whole contains upwards of 80 heads, and was conjectured by Mr. Thomas Sharp to have been wrought in the early part of the 16th century:: at the north-west part of the hall is a small but elegant oriel filled with glass, bearing the names of benefactors to the city: the Mayoress’s Parlour, a retiring room from the great hall, on the north-east, has been restored in a style corresponding with the rest of the building, and here now stands the ancient chair of State: at the south end of the hall is the minstrels’ gallery, in front of which are several suits of armour, none older probably than the seventeenth century: here also are two other apartments, called respectively the council chamber and the prince’s chamber, above which is a timber-framed room called the armoury, with a massive open roof: the tower stands at the south-east corner, and consists of three vaulted rooms, in one of which the archives of the city are preserved. St. Mary’s Hall is now used for municipal purposes. A new fireproof muniment or manuscript room was constructed in May, 1895. It would appear that the mayors were wont to hold their meetings here as early as 1387.

The Corporation possesses the following interesting official maces:-(1) Small mace of solver-gilt, 16 ½ inches in length, probably of the 16th century, with figures of elephants on the head, to which a crowned addition was made in the 18th century. (2) Silver-gilt mace, 1 ft. 9 in. long, an exceedingly interesting example of a mace of the Commonwealth period, with curious non-regal cresting or coronet, and on the flat top are “the State’s arms.” There is also a State sword, which, with the scabbard, is 4ft. 4 ½ in. in length, the quillons or crosspiece being 15 ½ in. long, the grip is gilt, and has the inscriptions: “Civitas Coventrie,” on one side, and “Domine salvum fac regem” on the other, the scabbard is covered with crimson velvet, and bears in high relief the royal arms, those of the city, and the national badges, wrought in silver gilt.

The County Hall was built in 1785; here the county magistrates sit every Friday, and the monthly county court is held.

The Drapers’ Hall is a building of the Doric order, rebuilt early in the present century, and is in part occupied by a club for gentlemen, in connection with the Drapers’ Company.

The Free Public Library, established under the Public Libraries Act, in 1868, adjoining the County Hall, is an edifice of red brick, with white stone dressings, from designs by Mr. E. Burgess, of London; the building and site were presented to the city by Mr. John Gulson, Mr. S. Carter contributing £1,000; the fittings and additions to the library were paid for by public subscriptions, amounting to more than, £2,000; and the building was opened in October, 1873, the library having been previously in Hertford street; in June, 1873, the committee of the Coventry and Midland Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition presented to the library the whole of the profits derived therefrom, amounting to £775, for the purpose of founding the reference department; the building comprises a large reading-room, and circulating library, and waiting rooms; in 1890 Mr. Gulson added a new wing to the library, consisting of a fine room, 64 by 52 feet, as a reference library and a spacious hall, used as a waiting-room for borrowers from the lending library and as a vestibule for the larger room; the reference library contains 12,759 volumes and the lending library 31,319; in connection is a subscription book club.

The Public Baths, in Priory street, opened 29th January, 1894, form a handsome building of red brick with stone dressings, erected at a total cost of £20,000, and comprising three swimming baths (two for gentlemen and one for ladies), each 90 feet long and 35 feet wide, and ladies’ and gentlemen’s slipper baths.

There are three banks and a savings bank. Lloyds Bank Limited, the Birmingham District & Counties Bank, and the London & Midland Bank Limited, all occupy premises in High street; the Savings Bank is in Hertford street.

The Coventry Public Cattle Sales Company’s offices and sale ground, opened on December 20th, 1875, are in the Butts, occupying a site more than an acre and a half in extent, and are connected by a siding with the London & North Western railway.

The cross at Cross Cheaping in Coventry, which in Dugdale’s time was standing, and is described by him as “one of the chief things wherein this city mostly glories,” 110 longer, unhappily, exists. Britton considers it to have been perhaps the most elegant and splendid fabric of the kind in England, and so gorgeous was its appearance that, according to the testimony given him by ancient inhabitants, “it was almost impossible to look at it when the sun shone,” nor can this be surprising, since at the repairing in 1629, £103 17s. 8d. and in 1668 nearly £79 was spent on it in grid and colours only; it appears to have been built in 1541, and the two years following (in the place of an older cross, erected in 1423 and taken down in 1510), by Sir William Holies, knight, Lord Mayor of London in 1540, and was made “after the manner, form, fashion and due proportion in all points, of a cross ready made and set up in the town of Abingdon, in the county of Berks,” with slight alterations, and was raised on four steps; it was hexagonal in plan, 57 ft. in height, and about 42 in circumference; the cross remained intact till 1771, when it was wholly removed, together with another fine old building called the Spon Gate.

The Charter House, founded by William 3rd baron Zouch at Shortley in 1381, in honour of St. Anne, was an alien priory to the monastery of Chartreuse, in Normandy; the first stone was laid by Richard II. in 1385; some portion of the building remains. Queen Elizabeth, James I. and James II. were visitors here. In 1556 Mary Queen of Scots was confined here. In 1641 it held out against Charles I.

The Opera House, in Hales street, built and opened in 1889, from designs by Messrs. Essex & Nicol, of Birmingham, is a handsome building of an ornamental character; the interior is excellently arranged and upholstered, and will seat 1,800 persons; it is open all the year round, and is visited by all first-class companies.

The Priory Assembly Rooms, in Priory row, and the Liberal Club Assembly Hall, in Union street, are let for public purposes, and there is also a Music Hall.

The City Police Station is in St. Mary’s street.

The Cavalry Barracks, in Smithfield street, will hold 160 men and 80 horses. Coventry is the headquarters of the and Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

The chief hotels are the “King’s Head,” which is adorned with stained windows, illustrating the chief events in the history of Coventry; the “Queen’s,” a spacious building in Hertford street, and the “Craven Awns,” in High street.

The market is held on Friday; and the fairs for cattle are held on the 2nd of May, and the Friday in Whit week, and the 1st of November. Weekly sales of cattle are held on Monday. The large fair is held on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday following Whit Sunday.

The city has many fine remains of ancient architecture, curious carvings and timber houses.

A statue of Sir Thomas White, a London merchant, Lord Mayor of London, in 1552-3, and founder of St. John's College, Oxford, and a great benefactor to Coventry, as well as to Oxford, Bristol, Warwick, Nottingham, Ipswich and other important towns, has been erected here by public subscription. The monument, which stands at the angle of the Greyfriars Green, consists of a pedestal of fine Cornish granite 10 feet in height, on which is a colossal marble figure of Sir Thomas White, 8 feet in height, in his official dress as Lord Mayor. The memorial, unveiled by the Mayor, Mr. A. S. Tomson, in October, 1883, was executed by Messrs. W. & T. Wills, sculptors, of Gower-street, London, at a cost of £800. The pedestal was erected and the figure fixed by Mr. Charles Haywood, jun. builder of this city.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital was originally established in 1838 in Little Park street, when it was united with the general dispensary; but in the year 1867 the institution was removed to new buildings on the Stoney Stanton road, erected at a cost of between £5,000 and £6,000; the present hospital is a cruciform structure of brick, with stone facings, in the Gothic style; the head and centre of the cross comprise on the ground floor, rooms for the committee, house surgeons and matron, dispensary, operating theatre and domestic offices; on either side are principal wards, 50 ft. by 25 ft. and special wards, 15 ft. by 14 ft. 6 in. for males and females, containing 65 beds; on the first floor are children’s and girls’ wards, with 12 beds, established and mainly supported by Mrs. Gulson; the medical staff consists of three consulting and four honorary medical officers, a house surgeon, and assistant house surgeon, with nurses &c. under the direction of a matron; the number of in-patients in 1894 was 561, and of outpatients, 4,775.

That part of the Bablake endowment of the foundation of Thomas Wheatley assigned to purposes not educational, is distributed in yearly payments as follows:-To 12 poor men, being householders in the city of Coventry, £1 10s. each; to 12 widows, householders in the same, 10s. each; to 24 poor men, householders in Warwick, Rugby, Henley-in-Arden, Tamworth, Solihull, and Nuneaton respectively, 4 in each place, 10s. each; to the poor in Grey Friars’ Hospital, Coventry, 6s. 8d.; for three sermons to be preached in Coventry, £1; the Trustees of the Coventry General Charities are the governing body.

Near St. John’s church is Bablake Hospital, founded by Thomas Bond, Mayor of Coventry in 1506; the 60 almsmen of the hospital, 18 of whom are resident, receive 6s. each weekly; the inmates are provided with washing, medical attendance and coals, and have the services of two nurses.

Ford’s Hospital, in Grey Friar's lane, for aged widows, was founded in 1529 by Mr. William Ford, of Coventry, whose executor, Mr. William Pisford, augmented the original donation; there are 50 alms women, 17 being resident, and each receives 4s. per week, and 20 cwt. of coal annually, the matron has 13s. per week, and 3 tons of coal annually, and the assistant matron 10s.; this hospital is a fine and perfect specimen of the timbered architecture of the 16th century, and is in excellent preservation.

The Recreation Ground, at the Butts, was opened in 1880, and belongs to the Coventry Cricket Ground Company Limited; it contains over 12 acres, and has cricket and football grounds, a cycle track, and general recreation ground.

Of remarkable persons born in Coventry may be mentioned:-John Bird D.D. born 1537, a brother of the Carmelites or White Friars, and successively suffragan bishop of Penrith in 1537, bishop of Bangor in 1539 and of Chester in 1541; he was afterwards suffragan to Bishop Bonner and died in 1558; Julines Palmer, Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, martyred at Newbury in 1542; and four distinguished antiquaries-the Rev. Samuel Carte M.A. of Magdalen College, Oxford, born here October 21, 1652, prebend of Worcester, and died April 16, 1740; Humfrey Wanley (son of the Rev. Nathaniel Wanley, incumbent of Holy Trinity), born 1672, of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, librarian to the Earl of Oxford and compiler of the catalogue of the Harleian MSS: died July 6, 1726: David Wells F.S.A. born 1733; and Thomas Sharp, the historian of Coventry, born 1771, died August 12, 1841. Philemon Holland M.D. perhaps the best of the early English translators, and immortalised by Pope in the “Dunciad,” was master of the Free School here in 1628.

The area of St. Michael’s parish within is 1,811 acres; rateable value, £81,742; St. Michaels parish without,. 1,256 acres; rateable value, £5,481; Holy Trinity parish within, 1,333 acres; rateable value, £83,137; Holy Trinity without, 583 acres; rateable value, £1,114.

The population of the municipal borough in 1891 was: Bishop Street ward, 112,311; Earl Street ward, 10,376; Gosford Street ward, 12,823; Spon Street ward, 8,373; White Friars ward, 8,841; total 52,724. The population of the parliamentary borough in 1891 was 54,755.

The population of the ecclesiastical parishes in 1891 was:-St. Michael, 7,546; Holy Trinity, 9,001; St. John the Baptist, 5,765; All Saints, 5,676; St. Mark, 6,599; St. Peter, 11,202; St. Thomas, 7,332.

By a Local Government Board Order, which came into operation March 25, 1884, detached parts of St. Michael parish were amalgamated with Holy Trinity and with Wyken, in Foleshill union, and by a provisional order which came into operation November 9, 1890, the borough was extended to include Earlsdon and Red lane.Stolen from Fore-bears

Petty Sessions held at the County hall, Coventry, every Friday at 11 o’clock.

The division comprises the following places:-Allesley, Ansty, Astley, Baginton, Bedworth, Berkswell, Binley, Brandon & Bretford, Bulkington, Combe Fields, Copston Corley, Coundon, Exhall, Foleshill, Hydes Pastures, Keresley, Ryton-upon-Dunsmore, Shilton, Sowe, Stivichall, Stoke, Willenhall or Winnall, Withybrook, Westwood (part of Stoneleigh), Wolvey & Wyken (parts of Holy Trinity), & St. Michael, Coventry.

COVENTRY UNION

Comprising the parishes of Holy Trinity & St. Michael (within) & Holy Trinity & St. Michael (without). The area of the union is 4,983 acres; rateable value in 1895, £171,475.

Board day, Wednesday, at the Workhouse, at 10 a.m.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of Services

St. Michael’s, Bailey lane, Rev. James Robert Mills D.D. vicar; Rev. William Henderson M.A. & Rev. John Polycarp Oakey B.A. curates; hours of services, Holy Communion, 8 a.m. & service 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; daily, 10 a.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

Christ Church, Union street, Rev. Harry Stanley Mercer M.A. incumbent; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

Holy Trinity, Priory row, Rev. Francis Morton Beaumont M.A. vicar; Rev. L. Wood M.A. Rev. Thomas W. Downing M.A. & Rev. T. B. A. Saunders B.A. curates; Holy Com. 8 a.m. & service 11 a.m. 3 p.m. 6.30 p.m.; Mon. Tues. Thur. & sat. 11.45 a.m.; Wed. 11 a.m. & 8 p.m.; Fri. & saints’ days, 11 a.m.

St. John the Baptist, Rev. George Cuffe B.A. rector; Rev. H. H. Devenish M.A. curate; Holy Com. 8 a.m. & service 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; daily 10 a.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.; saints’ days, 7.45 a.m.

All Saints’, Far Gosford street. Rev. Gerard Cokayne Vecqueray M.A. vicar; Rev. John C. Robinson M.A. curate; 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; week days 10 a.m.

St. Mark's, Bird street, Rev. Gordon Sedgwick M.A. vicar; Rev. Harold Jas. King M.A. assistant curate; Holy Com. 8 a.m. & service 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m. daily at 8 a.m. & 8 p.m. except Fri. when evensong is at 7 p.m.

St. Peter’s, Hill fields, Rev. William Boys Johnston M.A. vicar; Rev. Andrew Campbell Hair M.A. curate; 11 а.m. 6.30 p.m.; daily 8 a.m. & 6 p.m.

St. Thomas’, The Butts, Rev. Eric Maurice' Farrar M.A. vicar; Revs. James Cryer B.A. William G. Phillips B.A. & C. E. Julian B.A. curates; Holy Com. 8 a.m. & service 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

St. Nicholas, Radford, chapel of ease to Holy Trinity; Holy Com. 2nd Sun. in month, serv. 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.

St. Mary’s Mission Chapel, Whitefriars lane; Holy Com. 2nd Sun. in month 8 a.m. serv. 6.30 p.m.; Fri.8.15 p.m.

City Mission Room, Cook street, Mr. Andrews, city missionary. Peoples Hall (mission), Earl street, Rev. John Slater Nye, missionary; 11 a.m. 3.30 p.m. 6.30 p.m. & 8.15 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m.

Catholic Church of the Most Holy Sacrament & St. Osburg, Hill street, Rev. Antonio Ambrose Pereira O.S.B. rector; Rev. E. B. Weld-Blundell & Rev. H. N. Birt, priests; hours of service 8.30 a.m. 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; daily 8.30 a.m. from October to March; 8 a.m. from March to October; Mon. & Thur. 8 p.m.

Friends’ Meeting House, Vicar la.; 10.45 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Jews’ Synagogue, Barras lane, Rev. Isaac Sunlight, rabbi; Saturday 10.30 a.m.

Catholic Apostolic Church, Ford street; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Thur. 7.30 p.m.; Fri. 6.30 a.m.; sat. 5.30 p.m.

Baptist (Particular), Bailey lane; 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m. Queen’s road, 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m. (General), Gosford street, Rev. Arthur Thos. Prout; 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8. p.m.

Congregational, West Orchard, Rev. George Bainton; 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m. Warwick row, Rev. Henry Edwin Bottomley; 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Mon. & Wed. 8 p.m. Well street, Rev. Thomas Goodman; 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 8 p.m. Vine street, Hill fields, Rev. James Hyde Bolton, 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; tues. 8 p.m.

Plymouth Brethren, Meeting Room, Cherry street; 11 а.m. 6.30 p.m.; Mon. & Thur. 8 p.m.

Primitive Methodist, Grove street; 11 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Wednesday 8 p.m.

Primitive Methodist, Ford street, Rev. William Sharman; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Unitarian (Great Meeting house), Smithford street, Rev. George Heaviside B.A.; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

Wesleyan, Warwick lane; 11.0 a.m. 6.30 p.m.; Tues. 7.0 p.m.; Fri. prayer meeting, 8.0 p.m.

Wesleyan School Chapel, Earlsdon; 11.0 p.m. 6.30 p.m.; Thur. 7.45 p.m.

Salvation Army Barracks, Vicar la.; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.

SCHOOLS

The Grammar School of King Henry VIII. was originally the Hospital of John the Baptist, founded by Edmund, archdeacon of Coventry, in the reign of Henry II. & after the Dissolution, granted in 1545 to John Hales, clerk to the Hanaper, on condition that he should found “one free scole within the said cittie of Coventre:” the school was more permanently established by Act of Parliament, 23 Elizabeth, 1580, & about 1601 the formation of a library was begun, the books being at first placed in a room on the south side of the school, & afterwards in part of the north transept of the original church, conjectured by Sharp to have been the chapel of St. Catherine: “Ricardus Randell, primus dator huic Bibliothecse,” was followed by a long list of contributors, amongst whom were Lord Berkeley, Dr. Bathurst, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, Archbishop Seeker, & other eminent persons, who had been educated here; Sir William Dugdale, the learned antiquary, was a scholar here from 1615 to 1620: the present buildings, erected in 1884-5, at a cost, including site, of £22,261, are of red brick, with dressings of Ancaster stone, in the Tudor style, from designs by Mr. Edward Burgess, architect, & stand in 12 acres of playing fields; they were opened on July 28th, 1885, & are situated on Stivichall Hill, on the road to Kenilworth & Warwick, the highest spot near Coventry, & a few minutes’ walk only from the town; the buildings comprise, in addition to other rooms, a school hall 60 by 32 feet, six large class rooms, & a perfectly fitted laboratory: the main entrance is from the Warwick Road, in the centre of the building, dividing the school department proper from the boarding house. & consists of a square embattled tower with a small turret, surmounted by a flagstaff & weather-vane: the tower is adorned with the arms of the founder of the school, John Hale, as well as a very richly-wrought panel enclosing the royal arms of Henry VIII.: below this, & immediately over the archway, is a third panel, bearing the motto of the school: the dormitories, arranged for over 40 boarders, are very lofty & well ventilated, & there is an attached bath-room with four baths: an infirmary, completely isolated, containing sick-rooms, nurses’ room, bath room, kitchen, has also been added: there is also a gymnasium, a cricket pavilion, & a workshop for the teaching of carpentry: the old school buildings, including the chapel of St. John the Baptist, till lately used as a schoolroom, are still standing, & are occasionally used for religious meetings: besides several scholarships, tenable during residence at the school, there are four exhibitions of £55 yearly, to either university, & two scholarships of £100, each tenable for five years, at St. John’s College, Oxford. The total gross income is about £1,200: there are now (1895) 132 boys: headmaster, the Rev. Charles Robert Gilbert M.A. of Christ’s College, Cambridge The Coventry Technical School, Earl street, was founded Nov. 1887, for the advancement of the industries of the city. The objects of the Institute are analogous to those of the National Association for the Promotion of Technical Education, it desires to spread a more thorough knowledge of those principles of art & science which underlie the industrial work of the city & neighbourhood. The original buildings and site, were the gift of the late D. Spencer esq. but the present buildings include a considerable extension in 1894, mainly at the cost of the Spencer Industrial Arts trust: the Institute now comprises horological and textile schools, the usual class & technical drawing rooms, a laboratory for practical chemistry, a cooking kitchen, workshops for mechanical engineering, wood working & pattern making, plumbing &c. a lecture theatre, a students’ reading or preparation room, a subscription reading room and gymnasium; the management of the Institute forms part of the work of the Technical Instruction Committee, which also has under its care the School of Art, Ford street (established 1844); secretary, Edwin Rainbow Bablake Technical School & Hospital, Coundon road, founded by Thomas Wheatley, mayor of the city in 1560, is also supported from 28 other benefactions, 9 of which are represented by yearly sums paid by the Municipal Corporation of Coventry: under the provisions of a scheme, framed in 1887 by the Charity Commissioners, the school was re-constituted as a day and boarding school for boys, and re-opened 28th May, 1888: & in 1890 a new building was erected in Coundon road, at a cost of about £15,000 from designs by Messrs. Giles, Gough & Co. There are now attached to the school 50 day scholarships, tenable for two years, & entitling the holders to exemption from tuition fees, & to either a suit of clothes or an equivalent sum of money yearly: there are also 36 boarding scholarships, entitling the holders to exemption as before, and to board, lodging, clothing, & maintenance; & in lieu of the apprenticing premiums hitherto given to boys on leaving the school, a sum of £200 per annum is provided for exhibitions, tenable at the Coventry Technical School, Mason College, Birmingham, or any other place of higher education approved by the Trustees of the Coventry General Charities, who are the governors; Joseph Innes Bates, headmaster; Francis William Humberstone, senior assist, master; Miss Amelia Rogers Crampmtron The Endowed school of Samuel Fairfax, in Spon street, founded in 1751, is now, under the provisions of the scheme framed by the Charity Commissioners in 1888, made part of the Foundation of Bablake School, & is administered under the scheme relating to that school, & approved in 1887, & out of the income of the Bablake School Foundation there are maintained not less than 6 nor more than 10 scholarships, called “Fairfax Scholarships,” awarded & held generally under the same conditions as the Bablake Day Scholarships.

Baker, Billing & Crow’s Endowed schools, Cow lane, have an income of about £500 per annum, & educate 50 boys for three years, during which time they are clothed.

Girls’ Blue Coat School, Priory row (girls), endowed with £350 yearl.

The School of Art, Ford street, is an edifice chiefly of red brick with stone dressings, enriched with carvings in high relief, in the Gothic style, & was erected in 1863 at a cost of about £3,000 from designs of Mr. James Murray, & besides spacious class rooms for students, & other offices, has a fine apartment for the exhibition of works of art.

A School Board of 11 members was formed November 30th, 1870; Alfred Kirby, Little Park street, clerk to the board; William Jarrams.

The board meet at St. Mary’s hall every 4th Thursday at 10.30 a.m.

Board Schools.

Wheatley street (boys, girls & infants), opened July 3rd, 1894, for 430 boys, 420 girls & 422 infants; average attendance, 498 boys, 507 girls & 374 infants; Spon street (boys, girls, junior mixed & infants), erected in 1873, for 306 boys, 225 girls & 235 infants, & enlarged by the erection of a new building in 1891 for 320 juniors (mixed); average attendance, 235 boys, 217 girls, 215 junior mixed & 267 infants.

South street (boys, girls & infants), erected in 1873 &, since 3 times enlarged, for 291 boys, 181 girls & 279 infants; average attendance, 298 boys, 209 girls & 265 infants.

Thomas street, The Butts (mixed & infants), erected in 1835, for 75 boys & girls & 28 infants; average attendance, 75 boys & girls & 27 infants.

Earlsdon (mixed), erected in 1890 for 248 children; average attendance, 213.

Freeman's Orphan (Sir Thomas White’s), Swanswell place (girls), for 30 boarders & 20 day scholars.

All Saints' National, Far Gosford street (mixed), erected in 1876, for 317 children; average attendance, 294.

Holy Trinity National, Hales street (boys, girls & infants), erected in 1851, for 385 boys, 300 girls & 300 infants; average attendance, 400 boys, 300 girls & 330 infants.

St. John’s, Dover street, Holyhead road, erected in 1884, for 275 boys & 275 girls & infants; average attendance, 175 boys & 260 girls & infants.

St. Mark’s National, Stoney Stanton road (mixed & infants), for 398 children; average attendance, boys & girls, 286 infants, 117.

St. Michael’s National, Much Park street, erected in 1852; for 225 boys, 225 girls & 200 infants; average attendance, 200 boys, 200 girls & 175 infants.

St. Michael’s, Union street (mixed. & infants), for 180 mixed & 180 infants; average attendance 180 mixed & 140 infants.

St. Peter’s National, Yardley street, Hill fields (boys, girls & infants), erected in 1844, for 350 boys, 150 girls & 238 infants; average attendance, 300 boys, 200 girls & 200 infants.

St. Thomas’s National, Butts (mixed & infants), erected in 1870, & enlarged in 1894, for 210 children; average attendance, mixed 100, infants 90.

West Orchard (mixed), for 185 children; average attendance, 104.

British, King street (girls), erected in 1811, for 212 children; average attendance, 211.

British, Radford (mixed), erected in 1878, for 120 children; average attendance, 106.

Catholic, St. George’s, Hill street, erected in 1875, for 200 boys, 200 girls & 120 infants; average attendance, 152 boys, 128 girls & 152 infants.

Catholic, St. Mary’s, Raglan street, Hill fields (mixed & infants), for 450 children; average attendance, 374 boys & girls & 166 infants.

Industrial Home & School, 43 Leicester street; Rev. Francis Morton Beaumont M.A. treasurer.

Warwickshire Reformatory Institution for Girls, 61 Little Park street.

Coventry, a large, fair, and walled City, and at this day is the fairest City within Land.