The Churches of Coventry: A Short History of the City & Its Medieval RemainsWoodhouse, Frederic W.
History
The Churches of Coventry: A Short History of the City & Its Medieval Remains
Woodhouse, Frederic W.
Churches -- England -- Coventry; Coventry (England) -- History
The south aisle of the choir, the original chapel of the patron saint,
is now fitted up and used as a morning chapel. The piscina still
remains in the south wall, and there is a trace of the old altar
visible on the wall.
The east end of the north aisle is now the organ chamber, and was
originally the Lady Chapel. The base of the altar still exists, and so
does the piscina in the south wall.
In connection with these or other altars we hear of a payment of
_22d._, in 1474, for painting a cloth for the image of St. John
Baptist, and in 1462 sums of _40s._ and _7s._ were paid to a sculptor
of Burton-on-Trent for an alabaster statue of the Virgin and a base
for it.
At the foot of the south-west tower-pier are some decayed but
interesting ancient tiles. The new ones have been copied from them.
The vicissitudes in the church's fortunes have left little for us to
see that is not part and parcel of the structure.
That there were "orgaynes" as early as 1461 we know from entries in
the city records giving the cost at different times of wire, glue,
nails, thread, etc., for the reparation of them, while a payment of
_2d._ for "a string" suggests that they were a combination of wind and
string stops, similar to the 1733 organ of St. Michael's as built by
Thomas Swarbrick. In 1519 the Prior bought the "metell of ye old
orgayns in bablake" for _9s. 10d._, but doubtless the new one
disappeared in the troublous times that followed. A new one has
recently been set up.
The pulpit is of stone and quite new, and the font, erected in 1843,
is a copy of that of St. Edward's, Cambridge.
There are five bells, the inscriptions on them being as follows:
1st. Henrycus Bagley. M.C. Fecit 1676.
2nd. Pack & Chapman. London 1778. Richard Eaton, Church-warden.
3rd. Henric Dodenhale, Fecit. M.C.E.I.C.R.I.
4th. (Illegible.) Probably of the end of fifteenth century.
5th. I ring at six to let men know
When to and from their work to go.
Neglect and decay it has been seen had provided only too plausible
excuses for restoration. In 1858 the church had a narrow escape from a
worse fate, for it was proposed to extend it in some direction, and
the architect suggested the lengthening of the north transept and the
addition of a new north aisle. Probably lack of funds alone prevented
the carrying out of a proposal which would have completely spoilt the
proportions of this beautiful interior.
THE GREY FRIARS' CONVENT
CHRIST CHURCH
The third of the "three tall spires," albeit nothing else remains of
the church to which it belonged, deserves that some notice should be
given of it and of the men who reared it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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