Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael

Equal third then Deano. The spire of St. James Parish Church, Louth, Lincs, is also 295 ft high.

There's one in Preston that's over 300 feet. I think Coventry is the third largest cathedral spire, as there are parish churches that are taller.

That's interesting. Next time I'm in St James (I pop into the tea-room there every now and then) I'll ask them what they think of that. They always claim that it's the highest parish church spire. Should be fun!

A couple of pictures of St Michael's, interior and exterior c1896. There are gravestones showing in front of the building but no headstones. Interesting to note the scaffolding on the left hand corner.

Further to my earlier post, we were in Iceland again last summer and did get to see the Coventry glass. There is a visitors' book in the church at Akureyri and I made my comments regarding the fact that the return of the glass to Coventry should now take place. We also visited the church at Reykjavik and there is some Coventry glass there too. It's our local equivalent of the Elgin Marbles. I shall watch the programme on Sunday with interest.

Quite correct, the photo was taken from our ship as it arrived in Akureyri. A delightful little town with plenty of colourful buildings. Unfortunately I could not manage the long climb of steps to the church, although I think there might have been another way to access it. Very envious of you being able to return to this lovely place!

We returned on a cruise ship because we had loved Iceland the first time. As we had done the 'Golden Triangle' already we spent a day in Reykjavik seeing the town, very interesting place. And we saw some of the glass, of course, and took photos of it. Akureyri is indeed an idyllic spot. You don't have to do all those steps to the church, there is a road around the side, but that's obviously quite steep too. The incredible botanical gardens are in the road behind the church so the climb is worth it. In the church there is a board with all the details of how the Coventry glass was obtained, and it does all sound a bit dodgy, I have to say. On our first visit I found a place called the 'Curry Hut' in the main street in Akureyri. She persuaded me against it, given how much we were eating on the ship. But not the second time! I had their lunch special - starter, 2 curries, rice, nan & salad for about £7. She gave in and ordered one too. It was a surprising discovery, having looked at other restaurant menus in Iceland. They do seem to major on whale, puffin and guillemot!

Hi All On the TV as I type is the antiques road trip Phil Serrel and Charles Hanson are in Holy Trinity a lady is giving the history of the church some interesting things if anyone would like to download it off the BBC I player

I have just been reading in the press about the missing stained glass window from the Cathedral. My mum used to work at the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery during the late 1950s/1960s and I remember her telling me that some of the stained glass taken out of the windows prior to WW2 , was kept in the vaults of the Museum for safe keeping in case it got damaged in the bombing. As mum is no longer with us, I cannot confirm this with her. I wonder, is this the same glass that seems to have gone missing ?

Members might be interested to learn that there is a programme on BBC1-Midlands (not HD) on Sunday - 2nd March 2014 - at around 4:00pm called "The Great Glass Mystery" Made by Dr Jonathan Foyle it examines the mysterious disappearance of stained glass from Coventry Cathedral during WWII. It sounds as though it might reveal one or two secrets!

What an interesting programme that was, thanks Tony. So the glass in question never left Coventry Cathedral. The glass in Iceland could have come from anywhere in this country. Wonder if anyone will take on the task of sifting through the rubble from the blitz to find the missing glass, what may be left of it.

Hopefully Mayjan, now someone has admitted the rubble is there (did nobody say anything before?) one day hopefully the time and effort will be put in to examine it. It is going to take a huge commitment though to sift through what has survived. Some of the "evidence" seems quite obvious so I wonder why no-one has joined-up-the-dots before? Great programme though

Really interesting programme - somehow I too feel relieved that the glass was not stolen! And rather glad I didn't climb all those steps in Akureyri - mind you, I did miss the interior of a fine looking church I wonder if and when a project might be started to go through all the rubble

Hi all, I was having some conversations with a few local Coventry business people about ways to move Coventry forward in its reputation and thinking. We all felt that the old Cathedral was an excellent example of the problematic mindset that exists in Coventry - i.e. victim mentality and looking backwards. We joked that it is ironic that the city's most iconic building is a bombed-out ruin. If you look at what Dresden has done with the Frauenkirche, it stands as an example that anything is possible if the willpower exists. It also shows how they have moved on from the hurt and sorrow of the past by putting back what was taken away all those years ago. Off the back of all that I started a Facebook page which I'd like to invite you to join. You can find it here. Perhaps it's just a bit of fun at the moment, but hey - from small acorns grow big trees! If you like the idea, perhaps you could spread the link around your friends and colleagues?