The Old Grammar School in Coventry

Hidden between Bishop Street and Hales Street, in the heart of Coventry, England, the Old Grammar School is no ordinary relic. Its story unfurls through the centuries, playing host as a hospital, a school, and everything in between. Born in the 12th century as The Hospital of St John, between 1154 and 1179, under the watchful gaze of Prior Lawrence from the Benedictine Monastery, this venerable building bore its first life as a hospital providing relief for the poor and temporary lodgement for wayfarers.

During the Tudor era, around 1544, its doors were sealed, and it was sold to John Hales, under a most curious condition set by King Henry VIII - John Hales was to start a Free School in Coventry with it. He did so and moved the school, named after the king, from the former Carmelite monastery into the hospital. In 1565, Queen Elizabeth I visited Coventry and gave a donation for the school's upkeep.

The school remained until 1794, when the street outside was widened, the half-timbered part of the building was demolished, and the street was renamed to Hales Street. That same year, the west end of the church and the bell tower were also demolished.

The King Henry VIII School moved to its current location on Warwick Road in 1885, leaving the Old Grammar School vacant for over 20 years. In 2012, plans emerged to reopen it as an offshoot of the Coventry Transport Museum. Planning permission was granted in March 2013, and following a £8.5 million redevelopment that included a new extension for disabled access, the Old Grammar School opened to the public on 4 July 2015.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons