Coventry Blitz the 1950s, designed by the architect Basil Spence. Spence (later knighted for this work) insisted that instead of re-building the old cathedral it should be kept in ruins as a garden of remembrance and that the new cathedral should be built alongside, the two buildings together effectively forming one church. The use of Hollington sandstone for the new Coventry Cathedral provides an element of unity between the buildings. The foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid by the Queen on 23 March 1956. It was consecrated on 25 May 1962, and Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem", composed for the occasion,
William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry (c.1676 – 18 March 1751), known as William Coventry until 1719, was a British politician. Coventry was the son of Walter Coventry and his wife Anne (née Holcombe). His grandfather Walter Coventry was the youngest brother of Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry. He was elected to the House of Commons for Bridport in 1708, a seat he held until 1719, and served as Joint Clerk Comptroller of the Board of Green Cloth from 1717 to 1719. The latter year he succeeded his second cousin once removed as fifth