Coventry Crosses

I remember in the early 1950s there was a cross outside St John's Church, which my father maintained was called Bablake Cross. I can find no trace of it now, nor does there seem to be any reference to it anywhere. Can anyone throw any light on this?

The structure in question might have been the drinking fountain of 1959. If so, what has happened to it now?

There's a recent picture showing what I presume is the cross or drinking fountain in the grounds of Bablake Hospital on Cliff Jones' website: Coventry in Photographs Incidentally I believe that area was of spiritual significance long before any christian church was built on the site. During the dark ages it was a Viking stronghold from which the nearby river "Flete" takes its name. The Celts and Romans also attached spiritual significance to the local water. At one time I believe it was considered good luck to dunk a new bride in a well just behind where the church is now. Not sure how the new brides felt about that? :o)

I have looked at the website and there is one old sepia photograph, probably Victorian, which shows the cross already in its present location. Unfortunately, the drinking fountain hypothesis is scotched because, apparently, it was demolished in the 1880s. So, I'm not sure what it was that I remember. I have looked at some early 20th Century photographs and I canot find it there. Perhaps I imagined the whole thing.

If my memory serves me right I believe there was a drinking fountain but not at Bablake Hospital, rather at the bottom of Fleet Street and shown in some pictures of St John's Church. I will try to locate it, it may be on Rob's site already! It is there under title 'St John's Church from Smithford St' Here it is:

Here's another of the drinking fountain from Rob's pictures, or perhaps it is the site only of where the fountain would be:

Also on Rob's site here: St. John's Church, Fleet Street

Excellent Dutchman, this is the one I thought I had found!

Does anyone know what the stone cross represents in Cliffs picture that Dutchman linked to above? I can see there are initials on it - one TW is presumably Thomas Wheatley the main benefactor so presumably a memorial to suchlike?

I'm sure that in time this will develop into a proper thread for discussion of our Coventry Cross, but meanwhile I thought we could put it to good use in objecting to the needless destruction of a wonderful monument. The link below will allow us all to make our voices heard by signing a petition.... https://myaccount.coventry.gov.uk/Petitions The above link might only work for those already signed into the council website. For those without an account, try this link (although you might need to create an account to sign the petition).... http://www.coventry.gov.uk/petitions

If only there were preservation laws that could stand up to developers' wallets. I hope if they win it won't just be destroyed. But putting it in Ironmonger Square, apart from looting the back streets of their treasures, would be odd as it was originally somewhere in Broadgate near where the Godiva statue is now, and the two things would visually compete with each other if it was moved to there. So best all round to stay where it is.

I've signed it, but from reading O'Boyle's tirade about unelected representatives, I don't think the petition will do much good. I suspect that this is a 'done deal' and will be a rubber stamping exercise when it comes before the planning committee - I hope my thoughts are proven wrong.

Personally, I think its current location is poor. It's stuck there as a bit of an afterthought, and isn't even where it used to be - we don't use crosses to mark markets anymore, so I'm not even sure what the point of it is - when it was planned pre-war it may have fitted in with old city, but now it seems a little pointless. Not sure what the fuss is, as it's a 20th century replica and isn't even made from the same materials as the original cross. That corner with its 'gap site' looks a bit incomplete as well and need improving.

The replica cross was a gift to the city from the Coventry Boy Foundation. So the Council completely ignores that fact because it suits them to let the developers in. Their record of sticking banal items, like the Millenium arches, and the blue walkway over Lady Herbert's, is appalling! They have no sense of continuity or sensitivity. Let us hope in this matter I will be proved wrong!

It would be a terrible shame for the majority of the cross, composed of reinforced concrete, to end up in a skip and the statues (in the niches) and the other ornamental details that are salvaged to potentially end up in long- term storage. It shouldn't be forgotten that it took the individuals who proposed the cross' construction 46 years to finally see the cross built in the 1970's.