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,
Bishop of Coventry Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary of the England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield. The present diocese covers most of the County of Warwickshire. The see is in the City of Coventry where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael. The Bishop's residence is Bishop's House, Coventry. From 1102 to 1238, the former Benedictine Priory and Cathedral of St Mary in the city was the seat of