59 Facts About Coventry

Coventry is a city in the West Midlands, England.

Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages.

Coventry is 17 miles east-south-east of Birmingham, 22 miles south-west of Leicester, 9 miles north of Warwick and 86 miles north-west of London.

Coventry is the most central city in England, being only 12 miles south-west of the country's geographical centre in Leicestershire.

Coventry became an important and wealthy city of national importance during the Middle Ages.

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In recent years Coventry has seen regeneration and an increase in population.

Coventry Castle was a motte and bailey castle in the city.

Coventry claimed the status of a city by ancient prescriptive usage, was granted a charter of incorporation in 1345, and in 1451 became a county in its own right, a status it retained until 1842, when it was reincorporated into Warwickshire.

Coventry therefore, has had the misfortune of losing its Cathedral twice in its history.

Major expansion to Coventry had taken place previously, in the 1920s and 1930s, to provide housing for the large influx of workers who came to work in the city's booming factories.

In 1960, one of Britain's first mosques—and the very first in Coventry—was opened on Eagle Street to serve the city's growing Islamic community.

The 1970s saw a decline in the British motor industry and Coventry suffered particularly badly, especially towards the end of that decade.

Some 30 years later, Coventry is considered one of the UK's safer major cities and has gradually recovered economically with newer industries locating there, although the motor industry continues to decline.

On 17 March 2010 LTI announced they would no longer be producing bodies and chassis in Coventry, instead producing them in China and shipping them in for final assembly in Coventry.

The new Coventry Cathedral was opened in 1962 next to the ruins of the old.

Coventry Cathedral is notable for being one of the newest cathedrals in the world, having been built following the Second World War bombing of the ancient cathedral by the Luftwaffe.

Coventry has since developed an international reputation as one of Europe's major cities of peace and reconciliation, centred on its cathedral, and holds an annual Peace Month.

Coventry City Farm was a small farm in an urban setting.

Coventry has a large student population who are in the UK for 12 months or longer that are included in these figures.

Figures from the Coventry Inspires Image Group state 'Ethnic Minorities' at 13 per cent.

In 1986, the West Midlands County Council was abolished and Coventry became administered as an effective unitary authority in its own right.

Coventry is administered by Coventry City Council, controlled since 2010 by the Labour Party, and led since May 2016 by George Duggins.

Coventry is represented in Parliament by three Members of Parliament all of whom are from the Labour Party.

Bishop of Coventry is Christopher John Cocksworth, who was consecrated on 3 July 2008.

The relationship developed through ordinary people in Coventry who wanted to show their support for the Soviet Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad.

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Coventry is twinned with 26 places across the world: On 22 March 2022, Coventry City Council voted unanimously to suspend the twinning arrangement with Volgograd in light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Coventry has a range of music events including an international jazz programme, the Coventry Jazz Festival, and the Godiva Festival.

Coventry's music is celebrated at The Coventry Music Museum, part of the 2-Tone Village complex.

In 2015, they included Barkers Butts RFC, Dunlop RFC, Earlsdon RFC, Pinley, Old Coventrians, Coventrians, Coventry Welsh, Stoke Old Boys RFC, Copsewood RFC, Keresley RFC, Old Wheatleyans RFC and Trinity Guild RFC.

Between 1998 and 2000, Coventry Stadium hosted the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain.

Coventry Bees started in 1948 and have operated continuously until the end of the 2018 season.

In 2017, the stadium became unavailable for motorsports, with new owners Brandon Estates pursuing planning permission for housing – thus, neither Coventry team was able to compete in the leagues, although a number of challenge matches were undertaken on opposition teams' tracks.

Coventry Blaze are one of the founding team of the Elite Ice Hockey League.

Coventry Phoenix is the city's only women's team; currently competing in Division One of the British Women's Leagues.

Coventry Stadium held BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars from 1954 till 2016, the longest serving track in the UK to race continuously.

In 2005, Coventry became the first city in the UK to host the International Children's Games and three of the city sports teams won significant honours.

Coventry has been a centre of motor and cycle manufacturing.

Famous London black cab taxis are produced by Coventry-based LEVC ; until its 2017 relocation from the historic Holyhead Road factory to a new plant at Ansty Park a few miles outside the city, these were the only remaining motor vehicles wholly built in Coventry.

Coventry has an energy from waste incinerator which burns rubbish from both Coventry and Solihull, producing electricity for the National Grid and some hot water that is used locally through the Heatline project.

Coventry has an inner ring road which was completed in the early 1970s and Phoenix Way, a dual-carriageway running north–south completed in 1995, linking the city centre with the M6 motorway.

Coventry has three suburban railway stations at Coventry Arena, Canley and Tile Hill.

Coventry Arena, serving the north of city on the Coventry to Nuneaton Line, opened in January 2016 primarily for the Ricoh Arena where football, rugby matches and concerts usually take place.

Bus operators in Coventry include National Express Coventry, Arriva Midlands and Stagecoach in Warwickshire.

Coventry has a single Park and Ride service from War Memorial Park served by Stagecoach in Warwickshire.

Coventry is set to receive 130 electric buses by 2023 and aims to have all of its buses powered by electricity by 2025.

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Coventry Airport, located 5 miles south of the city centre in Baginton, is used for general aviation only.

Coventry Canal terminates near the city centre at Coventry Canal Basin and is navigable for 38 miles to Fradley Junction in Staffordshire.

The BBC's 2009 documentary The Bombing of Coventry contained useful phonetic data on the 'Coventry Accent' in the form of interviews with Coventrians.

Minor planet, 3009 Coventry, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1973, is named after the city.

Coventry has two universities; Coventry University is situated on a modern city centre campus while the University of Warwick lies 3.

Coventry University is one of only a handful of universities to run a degree course in automotive design, which is in its Coventry School of Art and Design.

Coventry has three further education colleges within city boundaries, City College, Henley College and Hereward College.

Coventry has a variety of schools: Two of the oldest secondary schools being President Kennedy School founded in 1966 and located in the north-west of Coventry and Sidney Stringer Academy which is located in the centre of the city.

Coventry'srbourne Fields School is an educational special needs school for young people with physical disabilities and is located in the Coundon area.

Coventry is well known for the mythical 11th century exploits of Lady Godiva who, according to legend, rode through the city naked on horseback in protest at high taxes being levied on the cityfolk by her husband Leofric, Earl of Mercia.

Coventry became known as Peeping Tom thus originating a new idiom, or metonym, in English.

Coventry has been the home to several pioneers in science and engineering.

Coventry was editor of The Observer newspaper from 1975 to 1993.

Notable musicians originated in Coventry, including Frank Ifield, Vince Hill, Delia Derbyshire, Jerry Dammers, Terry Hall, Neville Staple, Hazel O'Connor, Clint Mansell, Julianne Regan, Lee Dorrian, Jen Ledger of Skillet, VJ Paul King, Taz, and Panjabi MC.