Cathedral celebrates

COVENTRY Cathedral is 100 years old.

On September 6, 1918, the Diocese of Coventry was officially formed and the magnificent medieval church of St Michael’s was given cathedral status.

St Michael’s, constructed between the late 14th century and early 15th century, stood for hundreds of years as a parish church but was left in ruins a mere 22 years after becoming a cathedral.

The Blitz of 1940 saw Coventry city centre devastated by enemy bombing and, today, only the shell of the old cathedral still stands.

A new cathedral was built on the site of the ruins in the 1960s and the two stand side by side providing a stark but beautiful reminder of the city’s tragic history and inspiring resilience.

Coventry’s old cathedral stood tall and proud in the heart of the city centre.

Many of the stucture’s outside walls survived the bombing and the impressive window frames provide a beautiful silhouette against the sky.

St Michael’s was in fact the city’s second cathedral, the first being the 12th century Priory Church of St Mary.

The earliest cathedral was founded as a Benedictine community by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and his wife Lady Godiva in 1043.

In 1539, with the dissolution of the monasteries, the See of Coventry and Lichfield was transferred to Lichfield and the former cathedral fell into decay.

It wasn’t until 1918 that the modern Diocese of Coventry was created and a new cathedral designated.

Tragically, St Michael’s burned in the Blitz.

The new cathedral, also named after St Michael, was designed by Sir Basil Spence and celebrated its 50th birthday in 2012.

The decision to rebuild the cathedral was taken the day after its destruction.