Coventry (/ˈkɒvəntri/ ⓘ KOV-ən-tree or /ˈkʌv-/ KUV-) is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centuries. Founded in the early Middle Ages, its city status was formally recognised in a charter of 1345. The city is governed by Coventry City Council, and the West Midlands Combined Authority.
Formerly part of Warwickshire until 1451, and again from 1842 to 1974, Coventry had a population of 345,324 at the 2021 census, making it the tenth largest city in England and the 13th largest in the United Kingdom.
The city was rebuilt after the war, and the motor industry thrived until the mid-1970s. However, by the late-1970s/early-1980s, Coventry was in an economic crisis, with one of the country’s highest levels of unemployment due to major plant closures and the collapse of the respective local supply-chain. In recent years, it has seen regeneration and an increase in population. The city also has three universities: Coventry University in the city centre, the University of Warwick on the southern outskirts and the smaller private Arden University with its headquarters close to Coventry Airport. In addition, Coventry was awarded UK City of Culture for 2021.
The Romans founded a large fort on the outskirts of what is now Coventry at Baginton, next to the River Sowe, it has been excavated and partially reconstructed in modern times and is known as the Lunt Fort. The fort was probably constructed around AD 60 in connection with the Boudican revolt, and then inhabited sporadically until around 280 AD.
Around c. AD 700 a Saxon nunnery was founded here by St Osburga, which was later left in ruins by King Canute’s invading Danish army in 1016. Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva built on the remains of the nunnery and founded a Benedictine monastery in 1043 dedicated to St Mary. It was during this time that the legend of Lady Godiva riding naked on horseback through the streets of Coventry, to protest against unjust taxes levied on the citizens of Coventry by her husband, was alleged to have occurred. Although this story is regarded as a myth by modern historians, it has become an enduring part of Coventry’s identity.
William Shakespeare, from nearby Stratford-upon-Avon, may have witnessed plays in Coventry during his boyhood or ‘teens’, and these may have influenced how his plays, such as Hamlet, came about.
During the English Civil War Coventry became a bastion of the Parliamentarians: In August 1642, a Royalist force led by King Charles I attacked Coventry. After a two-day battle, however, the attackers were unable to breach the city walls, and the city’s garrison and townspeople successfully repelled the attack, forcing the King’s forces to withdraw. During the Second Civil War many Scottish Royalist prisoners were held in Coventry; it is thought likely that the idiom “sent to Coventry”, meaning to ostracise someone, derived from this period, owing to the often hostile attitude displayed towards the prisoners by the city folk.
True, what a life, if you can even call it one!; all 379,387 or 388,758 [1][2] of them, according to a 2021 census. /s
For those that do not know:
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Coventry
Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Coventry-England
[1] https://www.coventry.gov.uk/facts-coventry/population-demographics [2] https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/cities/englandua/?cityid=7136
Edit: added info below
More info for those interested:
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Coventry