Coventry Cathedral has always been near the top of
any tourism attraction list. The iconic mix of the old ruins of the original
building dedicated to St. Mary dating from the eleventh century, the cathedral
dedicated to St. Michael that was started in the fourteenth century and was
eventually granted cathedral status in 1918, only to be all but destroyed by
German bombing in 1940, and finally the modern cathedral, also dedicated to St.
Michael and designed by Sir Basil Spence that was completed in 1962.
For many reasons over the years Coventry Cathedral has managed to keep
itself in the news, and so it is at the moment with the recent discovery of
nine secret crypts that have remained hidden under the ruins of the bombed
shell. Although the existence of two
crypts has been known for some while, the new discovery comes as the result of
work that has been commissioned after the discovery in 2011 of a crack in the
fourteenth century ruins. It was in the 1970’s that the two known crypts were
last open to the public. |
| Coventry Cathedral |
Dr Jonathan Foyle, chief executive of the World Monuments Fund Britain, has said that it would be hoped that the new crypts could be open to the public after they were cleared of rubble and damp-proofed. His organisation is handling the work, and he said that it was like finding a "subterranean wonderland".
Early opinion is that the crypts were probably used originally as special burial places for personalities such as the nobility. There are some that contain human bones, which are thought to have been cleared from the cemetery, the land of which was used for the new cathedral.
Dr Foyle said the crypts, which cover the whole area of the old cathedral, were a highly significant find. They are likely to date back to the 1350s, and Dr. Foyle said "It's where Coventry's medieval burial grounds were - and at that time in the fourteenth century, it was the fourth greatest city in England. These spaces would have been created to provide a fitting burial for the many thousands of people who contributed to the rise of this city at its peak."
In 2010, more than £350,000 was spent on repairs to the cathedral ruins, when it was hoped that the work would secure the building structurally until 2013. Fundraising is ongoing to restore more of the cathedral.
In October 2011, the ruins were placed on the World Monuments Fund's Watch List, a catalogue of cultural heritage sites around the globe which are in danger.
Coventry was a continual target for German air raids in the Second World War because of its importance to the munitions and metal working industries. Although there were seventeen smaller raids that coincided with the Battle of Britain during the period August to October 1940, the large raid that resulted in the cathedral being destroyed took place on the 14th November 1940. The raid was well planned with the first wave ensuring that utilities and services were crippled. The cathedral was first hit at about 8.00 pm, and by the time the all clear was sounded the next morning at about 6.15 am, it is estimated that over two thirds of the buildings in Coventry had been damaged. Although about one third of the factories were damaged or destroyed, output was quickly returned to normal, as “shadow” factories had been built towards the city’s outskirts.
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