Dear All A number of photos taken 3/7/10 in and around Coventry Cathedral old and new parts. Interesting to note a few of the windows in the old Cathedral still have remnants of the stained glass. Heritage - The Coventry Blitz
Clive Hope no one sent you there officially. Thank you for podting the photos thae are great covers both old and new, it never ceases to amaze me how it has become a symbol of reconciliation.
Clive, thanks for posting these photos..... I don't know that the Cathedral never be rebuilded. Do you know these 360º panorama http://www.360cities.net/image/st-michaels-spire-coventry#274.50,-57.70,70.0? Jan.
thank you All also interesting The Wooden Cross of Nails The wooden cross and the cross of nails were created after the cathedral was bombed during the Coventry Blitz of World War II. The cathedral stonemason, Jock Forbes, saw two wooden beams lying in the shape of a cross and tied them together. A replica of the wooden cross built in 1964 has replaced the original in the ruins of the old cathedral on an altar of rubble. The original is now kept in St. Michael's Hall below the new cathedral. Another cross was made of three nails from the roof truss of the old cathedral by Provost Richard Howard of Coventry Cathedral. It was later transferred to the new cathedral, where it rests on its altar. The cross of nails has become a symbol of peace and reconciliation across the world. There are over 160 Cross of Nails Centres all over the world, all of them bearing a cross made of three nails from the ruins, similar to the original one. One of the crosses made of nails from the old cathedral was donated to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, which was destroyed by Allied bomb attacks and is also kept as a ruin alongside a newer building. A replica of the cross of nails was also donated to the Chapel of Reconciliation (Kapelle der Versöhnung) which forms part of the Berlin Wall Memorial.) A copy of the Stalingrad Madonna by Kurt Reuber that was drawn in 1942 in Stalingrad (now Volgograd) is shown in the cathedrals of all three cities (Berlin, Coventry, and Volgograd) as a sign of the reconciliation of the three countries that were once enemies. A medieval cross of nails has also been carried on board all British warships to subsequently bear the name HMS Coventry.[14] The cross of nails was on board HMS Coventry when she was sunk by enemy action in the Falklands War. The cross was salvaged by Royal Navy divers, and presented to Coventry Cathedral by the ship's Captain and colleagues.[15] A 1962 BBC documentary entitled 'Act of Faith' on Coventry Cathedral, its destruction and rebuilding, narrated by Leo Genn, was broadcast on British television Coventry Cathedral - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Some lovely pics there - I spent a day in Coventry in about 1997 and just had to go and see the cathedral. The tower was open and so good views were to be had across the city. If memory serves, from reading a 1941 booklet about the raid written by the Provost, the cathedral was lost only because of a couple of incendiary bombs lodged in an inaccessible part of the roof, eventually bringing it down. I've also been to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin; the way in which both have been left ruinous is very poignant and dignified. I've attached a German intelligence photo of Morris Motors (possibly pinched from the prewar company catalogue), not too far away from the cathedral. - Pete
