Coventry to be 'Heritage Action Zone'

Statement released by Historic England:- Coventry will be one of ten Heritage Action Zones in England, in the first round of a new scheme set up by Historic England. Coventry has a rich history that is a source of great pride to its residents with its medieval centre and its post-war architecture that rose from the ashes of the 1940 Blitz. Research has shown that historic places play a fundamental role in economic and social wellbeing - the Heritage Action Zone will unlock this potential. Following a highly competitive selection process, work will now begin to develop the detail of a package of research, grant aid, local community engagement and support. A comprehensive Heritage Action Zone agreement will be signed by April 2017. The Coventry Heritage Action Zone partnership includes Historic England, Coventry City Council, Historic Coventry Trust, Coventry Cathedral, Coventry University and the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Louisa Moore, Principal Adviser in Historic England's West Midlands Historic Places Team said: "Heritage Action Zones aim to breathe new life into historic places. Coventry's fascinating story can be used to encourage further regeneration and growth, and Historic England is keen to play our part in helping that happen.' Councillor Linda Bigham, Coventry City Council's Cabinet Member for Community Development, said: "I'm delighted that our bid to be a Heritage Action Zone has been successful. Our city is shaped by its wonderful history and heritage and there is a lot to celebrate. But it also has a critical role to play in our future too and this initiative can help us to make more people aware of what's on their doorstep and that's great news.' Ian Harrabin, Chairman of Historic Coventry Trust said: "The huge potential that Coventry's heritage - spanning 1,000 years - offers to the economic success of the city has been overlooked in the past. It is great that Historic England sees the huge potential and is supporting our mission. Just in time for the panto season Cinderella has met the Fairy Godmother and a glittering future awaits.' About Historic England We are Historic England, the public body that champions and protects England's historic places. We look after the historic environment, providing expert advice, helping people protect and care for it and helping the public to understand and enjoy it. Read more about Heritage Action Zones here.

Their main tool would need to be a time machine to go back and stop the council from destroying everything it destroyed. Will they remove that grotesque bridge parasited onto the side of the bank? p.s. Talking of removing bridges, does anyone go to Solihull town centre, they removed a shop to shop bridge defacing one of the streets, it looks SO much better. That's the way to do it.

Yes, open up Hertford Street completely, remove Cathedral Lanes and restore Broadgate to greenery

Perfect MR, but can you really see that happening?

They`ll need a very big magnifying glass to find anything of historic interest in this city. Most of the medieval city was knocked down before the war and most of the industrial heritage has disappeared since.

Coventry might not have much physical history left compared to the past, but it has plenty of recorded history and locations that some places would die for. Historic England is doing a great job of digitising some of it. Just think of Pete's project and all the others started, trying to rebuild the past. It can't be done in the real world but we have the technology. I know that the University is working on something similar, using LIDAR. The real buildings bring it from imagination into reality. I think that's rather exciting. It's important to look after what you have left to maintain the bridge. People loved Time Team, where they took a few wall foundations and tried to draw an image of the past. You don't have to guess, you have the images. You have the maps. There's a wealth information that brings the past alive. I've enjoyed reading the Dugdale record online. The silly bits and pieces about daily life (eg the time the Lord of the Manor told the people off for sneaking hedges into the Cheylesmore Park when he wasn't looking.) You've got some great writers teasing out the history and making it more edible for the rest of us. It really is a pity that more wasn't done sooner but appreciate what you've got. One of the reasons you've lost so much was because nobody gave it the care it deserved.

Helen, you are so right. Derek.

Well put Helen. I actually wonder if it was all still there would we be so interested in doing the research and trying to imagine what was there. Do towns that still have their buildngs just look at them and say "that's nice" Another thing, we also blame last century and the war for a lot of the destruction, but how much did the Victorians destroy to build the massive factories that they built.

Yep, my grandfather used to tell me that where we lived was "Lord Leigh's land". Yes it was, but he didn't know that his cottage at Kirby Corner in Westwood had been on the site of an iron age settlement. That wasn't known until this century - forty years after my grandfather's death. I wonder how much of that local history still lies buried.

As part of my research into how the city should look, I've been to several other cities and places with more to show of the past than Coventry. Even with a lot of buildings, they still feel modern. You itch to see them as they were. The best museums do that. I think that there are a lot of places tempted to turn back the time using software. Some will find it easier than others depending upon how recently they were modernised and how many images there were of the past. Coventry was one of the best preserved cities because it got rich, then poor and froze after the medieval period. It didn't even have as much Tudor stuff as other cities. Unfortunately that left it with a lot of two storey buildings which were very tempting to demolish. First the road junctions went and then as people could move out of the city to new homes, large sections were demolished for factories. I suspect that there are more early images to be found, like those at Fourtoes. The 1850 map was amazingly intact. Tragically the factories put the rest of the city in the firing line. Coventry was blessed with a series of wonderful artists. I suspect that there are more gems out there. You've got at least one, maybe two copies of Troughton's that don't seem to be at the Herbert. Maybe he gave some of his drawings away? Rumour has it that there's a second sketch book by William Henry Brooke out there. There are still a large chunk of the kids drawings to pin point. I'm hoping for more about the south side of the city. There can't be many places with as many images to refer to.

Well put Helen. I actually wonder if it was all still there would we be so interested in doing the research and trying to imagine what was there. Do towns that still have their buildngs just look at them and say "that's nice"? Another thing, we also blame the last century and the war for a lot of the destruction, but how much did the Victorians destroy to build the massive factories that they built.

I actually think quite a few people on here will be disappointed with this in the end. Given how quickly they start to mention the post-war architecture I think this will actually result in large amounts of the (mostly terrible) post-war buildings being listed with little done to improve the setting of the much older remaining medieval. I think some may be based around VR 3D imaging, allowing users to wander around and being able to see what it possible looked like

Not really - there's plenty. Far more than most cities and towns can produce. Just look at this site to see the huge wealth of old and historic structures. The spires. The Guildhall, Bayley Lane, Priory Row, St Johns, Cheylesmore Manor, Whitefriars and its Gatehouse, the Grammar School, , The remaining sections of City Wall and the two gates, Fords Hospital, Bonds Hospital, Golden Cross, certain structures on Spon St. And that's just medieval stuff inside the ring road, which is a small area for a city of this size. Just beyond that you've got Spon End, Far Gosford St, Charterhouse etc. Plus the timber framed buildings of the Burges and in the hisotric quarter hidden behind Victorian brick facades. There is plenty to work with - just that it's quite spread out compared to other places. There are other places with nowhere near as much as this that have a more historic feel because it's all in one area and creates an impression. This is what Coventry needs to do with its structures. We did it with Spon Street, and we need to do the same again. That is why I'm interested to know exactly what a Heritage Action Zone actually is? If we could agree to Consider moving those lesser known and accessible structures into more prominent central locations and creating a area of the city centre with that history shown more prominently. If we started now we could be ready by our Millennial birthday...