Last updated:
1 Nov 1998
Pictorial tour of the cathedral, pictures by Fransnet 
 St MichaelThe current cathedral, consecrated in May 1962, replaced the 14th-century parish church of St Michael (which became a cathedral in 1918) after it was reduced to ruins during an air-raid on 14 November 1940. The new cathedral, joined to the ruins of the old by a porch, is at right angles to the old, and so its east end is actually north! (Traditional ecclesiastical compass points in quotation marks will be used below.) |
The pictures below are thumbnails - if you want to see the full size version, click the picture.
The ruins of the old cathedral with the new building in the
background.(19.6Kb)
The altar and the cross of nails in the
ruins of the old cathedral. The cross is formed from three 14th C nails which fell from
the burning roof, and has become the symbol of Coventry Cathedral's Ministry of
International Reconciliation. Two pieces of the charred oak roof beams form the cross
behind the altar.(24Kb)
The east end of the ruins, joined by
the porc tot the 20th C building. St Michael's Steps lead into the porch. The statue of St
Michael defeating the Devil stands between the Steps and the Baptistry window (see below).(18Kb)
A closer view of the porch, St
Michael's Steps, St Michael's statue and the Baptistry window.(22.8Kb)
From the "west" door, looking
"east" along the nave towards the tapestry (which replaces the traditional east
window).
(19.7Kb)
The nave is 270 feet long, 80 feet
wide, 70 feet high and can seat over 2,000 people. The ceiling is a canopy made of slatted
spruce panels, carried on concrete lattice beams resting on concrete tapering columns.(21Kb)
The largest tapestry in the world
depicts Christ in glory with man between his feet, and below, Christ crucified. The four
panels depict beasts described in Revelation.It was woven in France, took 30,000 hours to make, was donated by an anonymous Coventry resident, and designed by Graham Sutherland.
To the left may be seen the ornate canopy of the bishop's throne, wrought in beaten copper and gilded. It is decorated with nuts and bolts symbolising Coventry's industry. (24.9Kb)
The choir and clergy stalls with the organ console (middle left) and some
of the organ pipes (top middle). Above the stalls on each side of the chancel,
canopies of triads form a thorn-like avenue which frames the High Altar and parts of the
great tapestry (according to the 1970 Pitkin guide book). (31Kb)
Half of the Harrison and
Harrison
4-manual organ pipework. The 1970 organ leaflet describes the design of the organ an
"eclectic one, embracing what is valuable in all schools of organ building, all
subservient to the main musical purpose [of accompanying the cathedral choir and large
congregations of 2000 voices]. Transparency, colour and balance between choruses have been
combined with the perfection of voicing and regulation for which English organ builders
are famous."(34Kb)
The font (a 3-ton boulder roughly hewn
from the Valley of Blessedness near Bethlehem) and Baptistry window. 81 feet high and 51
feet across, with 195 panels, the window was designed by John Piper and made by Patrick
Reyntiens. Its theme is the light of the Holy Spirit.(25.4Kb)
