The Churches of Coventry | Page 7

the successive sovereigns were felt
here by many poor victims. Seven persons were burnt in 1519 for
having in their possession the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments,
and the Creed in English, and for refusing to obey the Pope or his
agents, opinions and acts that would have been counted meritorious
twenty years later. In 1555 Queen Mary burnt three Protestants in the
old quarry in Little Park--Laurence Saunders, a well-known preacher,
Robert Glover, M.A., and Cornelius Bongey.
Ten years after this Queen Elizabeth's visit was the occasion of much
pageantry and performing of plays by the Tanners', Drapers', Smiths',
and Weavers' Companies, and in 1575 the men of Coventry gave their
play of "Hock Tuesday" before her at Kenilworth Castle. In 1566
Queen Mary of Scots was in ward here, in the mayoress' parlour, and in
1569 at the Bull Inn.
Coming down to the opening of the Civil War we find that a few days
before the raising of his standard at Nottingham Charles summoned the
city to admit him with three hundred cavaliers, and received for answer
that it was quite ready to receive his Majesty with no more than two
hundred. Whereupon he retired in displeasure, and reappeared some
days later with the threat to lay the city in ruins if it should persist in its
disloyalty. The townsfolk being in no mind to receive a garrison, the
King planted cannon against Newgate and broke down the gates but

was met with a fierce musquetry fire from the walls, followed up by a
vigorous sally, in which the citizens did much execution and took two
cannon.
To prevent the like happening again, the walls were in 1662 breached
in many places and made incapable of defence. Just one hundred years
later New-gate was taken down, and others followed from time to time,
until now there are left only the remains of two of the lesser
ones--Cook Street Gate, a crumbling shell, and the adjacent Swanswell
or Priory Gate, blocked up and used as a dwelling.
In 1771 was finally destroyed the famous Cross which had been built,
1541-3, by Sir William Hollis, once Lord Mayor of London, who came
of a Coventry family. It was described by Dugdale as "one of the chief
things wherein this City most glories, which for workmanship and
beauty is inferior to none in England." A few relics of it exist in St.
Mary Hall, a statue of Henry VI, and, in the oriel, two smaller figures.
So too does the very interesting contract for its building, which shows
how much was left to the craftsman's pride in his work and how little
he was trammelled by conditions, save that the work was to be
"finished in all points, as well in imagery work, pictures, and finials,
according to the due form and proportion of the Cross at Abingdon."
Another building, which was destroyed in 1820, was the Pilgrims' Rest,
a fine timbered house of three storeys, "supposed," as the inscription
upon it records, "to have been the hostel or inn for the maintenance and
entertainment of the palmers and other visitors to the Priory." Some
pieces of carved work were patched together in the windows of the inn
built on its site and there remain.
The modern history of Coventry, consisting of the ordinary events and
vicissitudes of civic life and the changes and fluctuations in its trades,
apart from that of its parish churches which is elsewhere given, does
not come within the scope of this handbook.
[Illustration: SEAL OF THE PRIORY.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE WEST END OF THE PRIORY
CHURCH.]
THE RUINS OF THE PRIORY AND CATHEDRAL CHURCH
The Priory buildings and grounds covered a large area to the North of
the two parish churches on the gentle slope descending to the little river
Sherbourne, Priory Row forming its southern boundary.

The church occupied the South-West portion of this site, extending
about 400 feet from the excavated west end to a point a little beyond
the narrow lane called Hill Top. The excavation shows that the church
stood on a sloping site, the floor level being some ten feet lower than
that of Trinity Church. It was cruciform, with two western towers and a
central one, and is believed to have had three spires similar to those of
Lichfield but probably earlier in point of date. On the substructure of
the North-West Tower now stands the house of the mistress of the
Girls' Blue Coat School. The interior of the West end to a height of 5 to
8 feet, with the responds of the nave arcades and of the tower arches, is
visible and in good condition. The beginning of the turret stair in the
South-West tower is exposed, but the basement of the house
unfortunately occupies the