hackjo
Nuneaton |
196 of 552
Thu 6th Aug 2015 9:19pm
It's interesting to see how high the floor in the ruins is. I'm sure this contributes to how small they feel when you enter them. I wish they'd lower the floor back to the original level.
Having said that, I wish they rebuilt the thing back to what it was in the first place. But I generally get a bad reaction when ever I propose that! |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Kaga simpson
Peacehaven, East Sussex |
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Fri 7th Aug 2015 12:49pm
Hackjo, hi, I have posted enough about the cathedral way back, I feel people of today cannot grasp just how much it meant to the people of Coventry prior to the destruction, probably because I was a lad and a church goer, I heard so many disgruntled moans of the lack of effort to rebuild, at the time it seemed a great mistake but today with the religion losing out it does not have the importance. With my age I can remember the deep emotion and feeling of a congregation in a packed church, today the television packs the church, but the feeling is not there, the deep belief is lacking, and although I no longer believe I do remember. |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
flapdoodle
Coventry |
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Sat 8th Aug 2015 9:14am
There was a shortage of resources after the war, although I'm not sure that was true by the time they started the cathedral. It was certainly cited as a reason for delaying the building permit (check out Spence's book). I haven't read it for years, but I recall he was annoyed because the building was actually concrete, not brick.
Not sure they were 'capable of building all they wanted'. If you look closer into the post-war reconstruction, it wasn't particularly smooth politically (a lot of conflict between local politicians and Westminster) nor was it quick. Almost a decade after the war finished nothing of note had been built and the plans had been through endless iterations (in Europe a lot more reconstruction had taken place). The cathedral took a couple of decades to get finished and by the seventies most of the plans for the city centre had been abandoned - and then the economic crisis meant stagnation with a half-completed city centre, dwindling earnings and falling population. The reconstruction of the cathedral was also saddled with controversy as the original plan - a Gothic style church replacing the ruin but retaining the tower was cancelled as the Gibson thought the new structure should be 'modern' to fit in with 'his' new city (ironically, the Cathedral Quarter is one of the few areas to retain substantial remnants of the old city, and I suspect this original plan!)
I've got a fantastic book somewhere that consists of a series of papers about the experiences of reconstruction in many European cities. Coventry's seems to have been quite troubled and probably why it has ended up just as disjointed as the old city!
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Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
PhiliPamInCoventry
Holbrooks Thread starter
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199 of 552
Sat 8th Aug 2015 10:24am
Hi all ![]() |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Midland Red
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200 of 552
Sat 8th Aug 2015 10:49am
Much has been said and shown in the last few days of Hiroshima, with the "Atomic Dome" at the forefront - a symbol of what happened to that city in 1945, now surrounded by the rebuilt city where once such devastation reigned
Similarly, our "Old Cathedral" stands, surrounded by the rebuilt city centre, as a symbol of the dreadful blitz in 1940, of the suffering and the courage of the city and its people
In Liverpool, the shell of St Luke's Parish Church stands as a similar symbol, of their blitz in 1941 when the city and the great River Mersey stood firm against the enemy - and there was uproar a couple of years ago when plans were mooted to sell the site to developers
These three ruins, and others like them, are valuable reminders of world and local history, and whilst they recall the evil of war, we should take pride in retaining and preserving them and the memories that they hold |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Longford Lad
Langen, Germany |
201 of 552
Sat 8th Aug 2015 11:49am
Midland Red,
I agree with you completely. We need these reminders, but unfortunately we seem to be slow to learn from the past.
I took this picture at a Shinto Shrine close to the Atomic Dome in Hiroshima a few years ago. I found the wording rather touching.
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Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Kaga simpson
Peacehaven, East Sussex |
202 of 552
Sat 8th Aug 2015 4:42pm
Yes, I have learnt a lot from your posts, and thank you all.
Longford Lad, the trouble with me is I am too damn old. One of our closest friends is a Japanese girl and her family, a lovely girl, a really nice family, but it can't erase the memory of the atrocities they inflicted on people, one who lived a few doors from you at that time.
Just another long time memory. |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Organcrazy26
Coventry |
203 of 552
Sat 8th Aug 2015 9:10pm
Good evening.
I thought I'd post some pictures of the old cathedral organ at Coventry. Built by Henry Willis & Son in 1887 and rebuilt and enlarged J. Charles Lee, Coventry in 1914. I've attached the correct stop list with pictures.
zoo
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Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
PhiliPamInCoventry
Holbrooks Thread starter
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204 of 552
Sat 8th Aug 2015 10:40pm
Hi all & hi Organcrazy26 ![]() ![]() |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Kaga simpson
Peacehaven, East Sussex |
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Fri 14th Aug 2015 5:36pm
Hi all, I was once told that the organ in the old cathedral that was destroyed, was owned at one time or played by Handel himself, anyone know if this is correct? Thanks in anticipation. Kaga. |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Osmiroid
UK |
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Fri 14th Aug 2015 5:59pm
This article mentions the organ being famous because Handel played it.
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Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Kaga simpson
Peacehaven, East Sussex |
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Fri 14th Aug 2015 8:25pm
Osmiroid, thank you, I have read a good many articles on the blitz, but that's the first I've seen that talks of the cathedral organ, also I'm not sure if we had a raid the next night, because early Sat morning, my dad took me to see the city centre, first time I ever saw water in his eyes, was when we scrambled through the rubble at the top of Trinity Street and saw the ruins of the cathedral, it was still smoking and heat came from the rubble, later we collected pieces of wood and incendiary and returned home, he had hardly slept for two nights, later he made a stick from the pieces, my brother still has the stick, I think he was going to make a cross but for some reason never finished it. I have a strong feeling there was a small booklet printed about the organ way back in the thirties we may have had, but its all hazy stuff now. Thanks anyway. Kaga.
ps, Seem to remember a booklet with a squiggly red design edge. |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
PhiliPamInCoventry
Holbrooks Thread starter
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208 of 552
Thu 20th Aug 2015 1:32pm
Hi all ![]() ![]() |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
Rob Orland
Historic Coventry |
209 of 552
Fri 21st Aug 2015 7:33am
On 14th Aug 2015 5:59pm, Osmiroid said:
This article mentions the organ being famous because Handel played it.
It probably is true that Handel played an organ in St. Michael's church some time in the early 18th century (long before it was a cathedral), but the organ that was destroyed in the blitz was a different one - and installed at the opposite end of the church, too - in late Victorian times, I think. I think our Philip will know a lot more about the type of organ, and I've a copy of a picture showing the older one from around 1860, which I'll need permission to put up here as it's not mine. |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael | |
PhiliPamInCoventry
Holbrooks Thread starter
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210 of 552
Sat 22nd Aug 2015 9:18pm
Hi all ![]() |
Buildings - Old Cathedral and Church of St Michael |
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