News

As 14th November draws near, Coventry Society member David Porter considers how close the city came to losing the Cathedral ruins … Coventry Cathedral is surely the most emblematic building in the city and is the focus of interest both here and abroad.  In 1999, a Channel 4 poll resulted in the Cathedral being selected… Read more: The Coventry Cathedral Ruins

The Coventry Society’s 2026 Heritage Conference explored how historic buildings, places and communities can contribute to health and wellbeing, while examining the opportunities and challenges facing the city’s heritage. The Coventry Society’s annual Heritage Conference brought together Coventry’s heritage community to explore the relationship between heritage and wellbeing and to share what is happening in… Read more: Heritage and a healthier city

The West Midlands Branch of the Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA) held a discussion on reuse versus new buildings on Friday 23 October at Coventry University. The three principal speakers were Catherine Croft (Director of the Twentieth Century Society), Leanne Tritton (co-founder of Don’t Waste Buildings) and Jim O’Boyle (Former Senior Coventry City Councillor… Read more: New Versus Reuse

‘Is reconciliation possible in the midst of conflict? Coventry’s gift to the world.’ John Witcombe, who was the Dean of Coventry from 2013-2026, gives the 2026 Lord Mayor Peace Lecture. The lecture is chaired by the Lord Mayor of Coventry, Councillor Roger Bailey. The very Reverend John Witcome Dean of Coventry 2013-2026 was ordained a… Read more: 2026 Peace Lecture

Coventry City Council is rolling out a new initiative to help residents without off-street parking make the switch to electric vehicles (EVs). In a report to the Cabinet Member for City Services, on 27th October, a comprehensive Cross-Pavement Gully Channel Installation Policy is being been brought forward for approval. This will open up access to… Read more: Crossing the Pavement!

Historian and CovSoc member, Peter James, tells us the interesting story of Coombe Abbey. Peter writes ….. For almost nine hundred years Coombe Abbey has stood in the Warwickshire countryside. At the time of the Domesday survey in 1086 this area was known as Upper and Lower Smite. The land was held by Harding son… Read more: Abbey of Cumbe

Coventry City Council has approved a resolution calling for better support for community groups, including clearer links with Council officers and practical help with the digital tools needed to run their organisations. The resolution, titled Community Engagement Protocol, was proposed by Councillor M Greenhalgh, a Green Party councillor, and discussed at the Council meeting on… Read more: More Support for Community Groups?

On 6 October, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook) wrote to the Planning Inspectorate who deal, for example, with planning appeals and local plan examinations. The letter offers guidance on the new national planning policy framework (NPPF) issued by the government on 17 August. The letter has escaped the attention of… Read more: National planning policy and what it means for Coventry

Coventry Society founder member Paul Maddocks recalls an unusual memorial outside the Locarno Ballroom and asks what happened to it. In the mid-1960s, a tree stood outside Coventry’s Locarno Ballroom, surrounded by a circular wooden bench. Coventry Society founder member Paul Maddocks remembers seeing an inscription carved into the wooden rim bearing the name Christopher… Read more: The mystery of the bench outside the Locarno

On Wednesday 14 October at our general meeting, we welcomed Eddy Morton from West Midlands Urban Community Homes (WMUCH). The focus was primarily on the opportunities for community-led housing in Coventry as well as the facilitating / enabling role of WMUCH. WMUCH has been in existence for over six years. One of its main successes… Read more: Community-led Housing