Coventry

:''For alternative meanings see: Coventry (disambiguation)'' Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county) of England. Coventry is the List of English cities by population city in England with a population of 304,746 (2002 estimate). Coventry has long been a centre of motor and cycle manufacturing, dating back from 1896, the car and cycle industry has been a strong centre point for this town. Starting out with some less familiar names such as Coventry Motette, Great Horseless Carriage Co, Swift and more familiar names like Humber, Riley and Daimler and the Triumph Motorcycles having its origins in 1902 in a Coventry factory. Although the motor industry has declined, the Jaguar (car) company has its headquarters and a factory in the city, and a large Peugeot car factory is located in Ryton-on-Dunsmore just outside the city. The famous London Hackney carriage are also produced in Coventry by London Taxis International {| border=1 cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width=200 |- !colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#ff9999"|City of Coventry |- |colspan=2 align=center|
''Shown within West Midlands (county)'' |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Geography |- |width="45%"|Status:||Metropolitan borough, City (1345) |- |Regions of England:||West Midlands (region) |- |Ceremonial County:||West Midlands (county) |- |Surface area:
- Total||List of English districts by area
1 E7 m� square kilometre |- |Admin. HQ:||Coventry |- |ONS coding system:||00CQ |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Demographics |- |Population:
- Total (2003 est.)
- Density||List of English districts by population
304,997
3,092 / km² |- |Ethnicity:||84.0% White
11.3% S.Asian
1.8% Afro-Carib. |- !colspan=2 bgcolor="#ff9999"|Politics |- |colspan=2 align=center|Coventry City Council
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/ |- |Local_government_in_England#Councils_and_councillors:||Leader & Cabinet |- |Executive:||Conservative Party (UK) |- |MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005:||Bob Ainsworth, Jim Cunningham, Geoffrey Robinson |} Coventry's main industries include: cars, electronic equipment, machine tools, agricultural machinery, man-made fibres, aerospace components and telecommunications equipment. Coventry is becoming increasingly important as a university city, being the home of the University of Warwick and Coventry University. It is also home to the Coventry Transport Museum, where the world speed record breaking cars, Thrust2 and ThrustSSC are displayed. On the 14th November 1940 during World War II, large areas of the city, including its cathedral, were destroyed in a massive Germany bombing raid (''see History of Coventry#20th Century below'') and in later raids. The rebuilt Coventry Cathedral was opened in 1962 next to the ruins of the old. It was designed by Basil Spence and contains the tapestry, "Christ in Majesty" by Graham Sutherland and the bronze statue of St Michael and the Devil by Jacob Epstein. Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, regarded by some as his masterpiece, was written for the opening of the new Cathedral. Coventry's most famous resident was Lady Godiva, who according to legend, probably entirely false, rode through the city naked on horseback (actually, she likely rode the horse bareback, not barenaked), in protest at high taxes being waged on the cityfolk by her husband Leofric, Earl of Mercia. According to the legend, the residents of the city were asked to look away as she rode, but one man didn't and was allegedly struck blind, he became known as Peeping Tom thus originating the term. There is a statue of her in the city centre. ==History== :''The main article is at History of Coventry, the following is a summary'' Coventry is traditionally believed to have been established in the year 1043 with the founding of a Benedictine Abbey by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva. Current evidence suggests that this abbey was probably in existence by 1022, therefore Leofric and Godiva most likely ''endowed'' it around 1043. In time, a market was established at the abbey gates and the settlement expanded. By the 14th century Coventry had become an important centre of the cloth trade, and throughout the middle ages was one of the largest and most important cities in England. Coventry was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1345, and later became a county in its own right. Hostile attitudes of the cityfolk towards Royalist prisoners held in Coventry during the English Civil War is believed to have originated the phrase "sent to Coventry", which in Britain means 'to be ostracised'. In the late 19th century Coventry became a major centre of bicycle manufacture, with the industry being pioneered by Rover (car). By the early 20th century bicycle manufacture had evolved into automobile manufacture, and Coventry became a major centre of the British motor industry. Coventry suffered severe bomb damage during World War II, most notoriously, a massive Germany air raid on the 14th November 1940, destroyed most of the city centre and Coventry's historic Coventry Cathedral. In the post war years Coventry was largely re-built, gaining a new pedestrianised shopping precinct and a new much celebrated Cathedral. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Coventry remained prosperous. However the decline of the British motor industry during the 1970s and 1980s hit Coventry hard, in the early 1980s up to 20% of the workforce was unemployed, a hit record about Coventry "Ghost Town" by The Specials summed up the situation in the city. In recent years Coventry has largely recovered with newer industries locating in the city. On March 1, 2003, Coventry was granted Fairtrade City status. ==Famous people== Famous people from Coventry include Frank Whittle the co-inventor of the jet engine, the poet and novelist Philip Larkin, the actors Nigel Hawthorne and Clive Owen, the record producer Pete Waterman, Jason John (also known as Jason Herbert) of the boy group Big Fun, the athelete David Moorcroft and the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup winners Neil Back and Danny Grewcock. The politician Mo Mowlam grew up in Coventry, and the inventor James Starley lived in the city for most of his life. Joseph Paxton, the designer of the Crystal Palace, was a Member of Parliament for the city from 1854 to 1865. The current Members of Parliament, following the United Kingdom general election, 2005, are Geoffrey Robinson, Bob Ainsworth and Jim Cunningham. Two Tone ska bands The Specials and The Selecter are both from Coventry - one of The Specials' best known hits, ''Ghost Town'' was written about the city. The city's list of more infamous individuals includes porn star Debee Ashby, who achieved notoriety during 1983 when she appeared nude with her mother in an adult magazine. == Arts and culture == *During the early 19th century Coventry was well known to the famous author George Eliot who was born near Nuneaton. The city was the model for her famous novel Middlemarch (1871). *During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Coventry was the centre of the Two Tone musical phenomenon, with bands such as The Specials coming from the city. Venues Theatre, art and music venues in Coventry include: *The Warwick Arts Centre: situated at the University of Warwick, Warwick Arts Centre comprises an art gallery, a theatre, a concert hall and a cinema. It is the second largest arts centre in the UK, after London's Barbican Arts Centre. *The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry: one of the largest producing theatres in Britain, the 866 seat Belgrade was the first civic theatre to be opened in the UK following World War II. *The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is a major art gallery in the city. ==Sport== Sporting teams include Coventry City F.C. (Football (soccer)), Coventry R.F.C. (Rugby Union), Coventry Blaze (Ice Hockey), Coventry Bears (Rugby League) and Coventry Godiva Harriers (Athletics).coventry bees-speedway In Soccer, Coventry City F.C. won the FA Cup in May of 1987. ==Transport== Coventry is near the M6 motorway, M69 motorway and M40 motorways. It is also served by the A45 road and A46 roads. For rail, Coventry railway station is served by the West Coast Main Line, and has regular rail services between London and Birmingham (and stations beyond). It is also served by railway lines to Nuneaton via Bedworth. There is a line linking it to Leamington Spa and onwards to the south coast. Bus services in Coventry are operated by Travel West Midlands. The nearest major airport is Birmingham International Airport (UK), some 10 miles (16km) to the west of the city. Coventry has its own airport, Baginton Airport, which is largely a freight airport. However, since 2004, ThomsonFly have been operating commercial scheduled flights from Baginton to various European destinations. The Coventry Canal terminates in the city centre. ==Local government== Traditionally a part of Warwickshire (although it was County of the City of Coventry for 400 years), Coventry became a county borough in 1889 and later a metropolitan district of the West Midlands (county) in 1974. The disbanding of the metropolitan council took place in 1986, whereupon it became administered as an effective unitary authority. Coventry is administered by Coventry City Council. The city is divided up into 18 wards each with three councillors. Coventry has long been a stronghold of the Labour Party (UK), the city council was for years described as a "one party state", but currently the city council is Conservative Party (UK) controlled. ==Nearby places== *Nearby towns: Bedworth, Rugby, Warwickshire, Solihull, Kenilworth, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Nuneaton. *Nearby cities: Birmingham, Leicester, Lichfield. ==Twin cities== Coventry was the first ever city to 'twin' with another city and hence began the now common worldwide practice of twinning. It started after World War II when Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconcilliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Coventry is now Town twinning with 26 places across the world: *Arnhem, Netherlands *Belgrade, Serbia *Bologna, Italy *Caen, France *Cork, Republic of Ireland *Cornwall, Ontario, Canada *Coventry, Connecticut, USA *Coventry, New York, USA *Coventry, Rhode Island, USA *Dresden, Germany *Dunaujvarosd, Hungary *Galati, Romania *Granby, Quebec, Quebec, Canada *Graz, Austria *Jinan, China *Kecskemet, Hungary *Kiel, Germany *Kingston, Jamaica, Jamaica *Lidice, Czech Republic *Ostrava, Czech Republic *Parkes, New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia *Saint-Etienne, France *Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina *Volgograd, Russia *Warsaw, Poland *Windsor, Canada ==External links== *[http://www.coventry.gov.uk/cocoon/index.xml Coventry City council] *[http://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/ Coventry history website] *[http://www.cwn.org.uk/index.html Coventry and Warwickshire website] *[http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews Local Coventry News in Association with the Coventry Evening Telegraph] Coventry Cities in England Cities in the West Midlands

Coventry

== Coventry bombing == I thought the reason Hitler picked Coventry to bomb was that he suspected that his cipher was being broken, so he chose a militarily unexpected place to attack, so that if the Brits defended it, the Germans would know that the Brits broke the cipher. -User:PierreAbbat : I didn't know that. I read that they ''had'' broken the cipher, but deliberately let Coventry be bombed. -- User:Tarquin 16:34 Apr 12, 2003 (UTC) The myth that Coventry was sacrificed in a conspiracy to protect the Enigma information has been long laid to rest. Quite simply, it is untrue. See John Ray's ''The Night Blitz'' (Arms and Armour, 1996) for a sober analysis of events. User:Prune 21:28, 30 Nov 2003 (UTC) : There should be a concise statement refuting the widespread idea that Coventry was deliberately sacrificed. I'd add it myself, but I don't know the facts. (In fact, that's why I came here in the first place.) — User:Jeffq 00:29, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC) I thought it was Dresden that was bombed in retalliation by Churchill, not Hamburg? == New format == Well I must say, this new format is a complete mess, what was wrong with the layout before. The flow of the article has been completely destroyed User:G-Man 00:06, 22 Dec 2003 (UTC) That looks better User:G-Man 00:38, 22 Dec 2003 (UTC) == May 31 anniversary == Since the Coventry article no longer has the May 31st date embedded, the Selected Anniversaries on the Main Page no longer features it for May 31st. But, if someone can figure out a way to restore mention of the May 31 1940 Luftwaffe bombing, then it can be restored in Selected Anniversaries on the Main Page as well. User:Ancheta Wis 06:01, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC) Put it in the history section User:G-Man 12:12, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC) == Dodgy phrasing == "Dresden, which was destroyed just after the end of the German Wehrmacht defend. 140.000 civilists died in Feb. 1945. by RAF - bombing. The partnership is deeply supported by the populace in both cities; representatively for the entire English people...." What the heck?! I'd rephrase but I don't know what you're trying to say. May I politely suggest you learn to use English properly first before you contribute to en.wikipedia? User:Pomegranate 01:25, Nov 13, 2004 (UTC)

Coventry

Cities in England West Midlands

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Coventry
Coventry
Coventry
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry,_Connecticut
Coventry,_England
Coventry,_New_York
Coventry,_Rhode_Island
Coventry,_RI
Coventry,_Vermont
Coventry,_VT
Coventry-Climax
Coventry-Victor
Coventry_(disambiguation)
Coventry_(RI)
Coventry_(short_story)
Coventry_Blaze
Coventry_Blaze
Coventry_Canal
Coventry_Carol
Coventry_carol
Coventry_Cathedral
Coventry_Cathedral
Coventry_City
Coventry_City_F.C.
Coventry_City_F.C.
Coventry_Climax
Coventry_Health_Care,_Inc.
Coventry_Kersey_Dighton_Patmore
Coventry_Lake
Coventry_Lake,_Connecticut
Coventry_North_East_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Coventry_North_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Coventry_Patmore
Coventry_Patmore
Coventry_R.F.C.
Coventry_Railway_Centre
Coventry_railway_station
Coventry_South_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
Coventry_Transport_Museum
Coventry_University
Coventry_University_Students'_Union
Coventry_University_Students_Union
Coventry_Village,_OH
Coventry_Village,_Ohio