Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
link and then the West Coast Main Line. The Coventry Canal Art Trail also follows to
Hawkesbury Junction.
Coventry takes its name from Cofa's tree, Cofa being a tribal leader c.600-650. Coventry's
most famous resident, buried here, was Lady Godiva, who rode naked through the city as part
of a challenge set by her husband, Loefric, Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes in the 11th century.
While there is a statue of her in the Broadgate, there are no fewer than three statues of the
original Peeping Tom, the only person to look.
Cash's Hundred Houses - a forward-thinking industrial and residential development
.
The 14th century St John's church was used as a prison when Cromwell defeated the Scots,
hence the expression 'sent to Coventry'. The church of St Michael was formerly a priory,
the bishop's seat 1095-1129, a parish church from 1373-1450 and a cathedral from 1918.
Although the 90m steeple still stands, the rest was reduced to ruins in the 1940 Blitz that des-
troyed so much of Coventry in the longest single air raid on a British city during the Second
World War. The new cathedral was designed by Sir Basil Spence and completed in 1962.
The Coventry Transport Museum houses the largest collection of British vehicles, span-
ning over 180 years of history, including Thrust 2 as well as the first safety cycle, which was
built in Coventry in 1885 and followed the first penny farthing, built here in 1870.
The Bishop Street Basin of 1769 has two parallel arms, the western one being obstructed
by a low swing bridge. The whole complex has been completely restored and is a well-sign-
posted asset to the city.
The canal bends round to the left to face the Daimler Power House. Henry Lawson pur-
chased a pair of cotton mills for the Daimler Motor Company in 1896 and they became the
Coventry Motor Mills. This company produced the first British car, the two-cylinder Daimler,
which had tube ignition, solid tyres and tiller steering.
