Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael

The first and third pictures show individuals wearing crowns rather than a mitre. Is that anything significant?

Thanks for posting the images Robin. We had a good chat yesterday. Keep up the good work. The first image has a name on it and looks like Richard II. I took a few more photos and will post them in a bit. They include Godiva and Leofric and someone that looks like Abotoner? LOL at Rob. I thought the same thing! Is it St Expelair or Prince Ventaxia?

Oh I get it. William and Adam Botoner were the guys that put up the tower and the spire was by Mary and Anne. I found the information on a very useful site called Historic Coventry.

I have now looked at the original full-size images of the statues and can confirm the inscription is Richard II The only other one with an inscription is the chap with the anchor. I have cropped the image and increased contrast but still can't make it out. Perhaps someone has better eyes than I have.

Old being introduced to a proposed new! Link to www.alamy.com

Another embed from Getty Images. Is this the same person who wears the mitre on the statues I posted a couple of days ago?

Great stuff Pixrobin, but would the anchor, the book of Noah, and behind the book looks like the bank steps in Broadgate?

I am not certain but I think the statue on the tower E. face, Rob wrote looks like an extractor fan, could be St Lawrence and his grid-iron.

St Laurence and the grid iron This is a public domain image

Thanks for the correct spelling 'Laurence' Pixrobin. Having a friend with the surname meant a temporary flip when I typed.

Do we know if these were the original statues on the Cathedral or have they been replaced at any time?

Yes the statues have been replaced, probably all of them but maybe not all at once. There are images in the library of some of the new ones. The whole church (as it was then) had a full makeover in about 1885 but prior to that there was the odd repair for safety reasons. The whole building was pretty much neglected after it parted company with the guilds. Much of the earliest decoration had been scrapped including some of the windows because it was too Catholic. What did survive did so because it was connected to the more secular workings of the city or less obviously Popish iconography. So images of angels survived but mythical beasts got the boot. The shields of local big wigs survived but memorials for offering up prayers to them didn't.

As the Americans say 'pay it forward'. I've benefitted from the members here, happy to pass it on. For a great book - St Michael's Coventry, The Rise and Fall of the Old Cathedral. It's worth it alone for the fold out images of the north and south elevations as drawn in 1853.

Thanks for the information Helen, I thought the condition of them looked too good to have lasted the weather all that time. That book sounds interesting so will look for that. I have a very old book of Coventry but even that does not mention any statues.