The Three Cathedrals of Coventry

The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The city has had three cathedrals. The first was St Mary's, a monastic building, from 1102 to 1539, of which only a few ruins remain. The second was St Michael's, a 14th-century Gothic church designated as a cathedral in 1918, which remains a ruined shell after its bombing during the Second World War.

The third, consecrated in 1962, is the new St Michael's Cathedral, built immediately adjacent to the ruins and tower of the former cathedral - together forming both a symbol of war-time destruction and barbarity, and also of peace and reconciliation. The current cathedral was designed by Basil Spence and Arup, and is a Grade I listed building. The use of Hollington sandstone for the new cathedral provides an element of unity between the two buildings.

Following the bombing of the cathedral in 1940, Provost Richard Howard had the words "Father Forgive" inscribed on the wall behind the altar of the ruined building. The spire rises to 284 feet (87 metres) to the base of the weathervane, and is the tallest structure in the city. The ministry and mission of the newly consecrated Cathedral has been shaped by the twin priorities of resurrection and reconciliation, established by Provost Howard in the days after the bombing in 1940.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons