Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael

Rob, Does that book of churches you mentioned give a date when it was written, was Leofric mentioned, or what he built?

Rob, the 1680 drawing comes from a sketch book with other views but it's a bit random and the locations are far between. The sketch of Coventry above that of the church looks credible and could have been copied from another work but looks original. What I suspect is that the windows on both sides were similar, so the artist may have drawn the north side flipped, thinking they were identical. He might have done that to match the orientation of the church in the sketch. Kaga, yes, the crypt was used as a charnel house till as late as 1818 when the crypts were cleared to be used as private vaults. Charnel houses were used to store mostly clean larger bones as they were discovered when digging new graves. The small bones were just pushed aside. The rule was that remains couldn't leave consecrated land but it didn't say how they could be stored. This meant that the graveyards didn't need to expand because the old grave sites were reused. The book we were referring to was written in 2015 and is almost entirely about St Michael's, so Leofric doesn't feature. The church's first known incarnation was as a small building inside the castle walls.

Hi Kaga, Helen beat me to it! Yes, it was a recent book, 2015, and only briefly mentions Leofric & Godiva to put in context their earlier founding of the nearby abbey (1043), and their estate that eventually became the "Earl's Half" of Coventry (the southern half of the town). St. Michael's began life as a chapel within the grounds of the castle (an early reference being "St. Michael's in the Bayley"), and served as the parish church for the earls, while Holy Trinity became the church serving the northern "Prior's Half" of the town. Coventry was rare in only having two large parishes, not many parishes, like most towns. I know you'll know most of this Kaga, but it's useful to recap here to help folk who are not so familiar with Coventry's early history.

Rob, Rather think you're jumping the gun. The castle in Coventry wasn't built till 1202, neither were the city walls. Leofric died in 1057. Neither was there a church in Coventry, St Mary's wasn't built till 1202, and it was built by the Normans. History says there were no knights, no castles before 1057 and there were only two English bishops left after the Norman invasion, in 1068, long after Leofric died. That's what my history books say. The Domesday Book was the only one of its kind in the world, it was biography for William. They did not know what he had won, and set out to have a full inventory in 1085 of churches, mills, fisheries, a world in which bishops were Earls and Earls were bishops, and William was only a Duke of Normandy, but was higher ranked than the king.

Hi Kaga, you're conflating the later versions of these churches with their earliest. The book has very good diagrams of which date ranges each part was built in. Non of the earliest 1100-1200 sections survive above ground and I don't know what evidence there was for them. There are surviving bits for the 1250-1270 version including the south porch. There are 6 major building periods, including those done in the 1800s. 1100-1200 is a compatible date range with the Norman castle which was built in the early 12th century. Coventry Castle The later expansion of the church was probably triggered by the demolition of the castle walls. The ditches may have provided ready places for the crypts.

Helen, can you tell me the name of the book so I can purchase it, please, I would most certainly like to buy it.

St Michael's Coventry: The Rise and Fall of the Old Cathedral by George Demidowicz Sorry Kaga, I've had a good look and can only find copies at Amazon that are very expensive. It cost £20 new but they're asking at least £90 for a secondhand copy. It would be better to get a copy through the library. The Herbert museum might have a copy to sell and might send it to you. Bookshops in Coventry might also have one, including the secondhand ones like Gosford Books and might post to you for a fee. I will keep my eye open for a copy at eBay for you. Authors would be wise to have a supply of their own books so that they can still be bought. Some books go for silly prices secondhand.

Thank you, Helen, that helps. Kaga.

Kaga, I bought my copy of 'St Michael's Coventry The Rise and Fall of the Old Cathedral' by contacting the Cathedral itself in April 2018 produced by the World Monuments Fund Britain. It was brand new in soft paperback form. I don't remember what it cost but I think nothing exceptional. Scala publisher. Postage was £4.97. If copies exist they may go quickly with the City of Culture attracting visitors.

Many thanks, Prof, I'll look it up.

Sunset & lighting recreate burning effect. Another chance to see this wonderful photograph by Arnold Frederick Storey.

Two yeses from me, Prof.

The spire seems to soar even higher in this fine view.

Somehow, to me, this seems more poignant after the raid.