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,
Coventry Coventry Coventry ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Warwickshire, Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 12th largest in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest city in the West Midlands region, after Birmingham. Coventry is east-southeast of Birmingham, southwest of Leicester, north of Warwick and northwest of London. Coventry is also the most central city in England, being only 11 miles (18 km) south-southwest of the country's geographical centre in Leicestershire. The current Coventry Cathedral was built after the majority of the 14th century cathedral