Coventry the architectural design (in 1940 the tower had no internal wooden floors and a stone vault below the belfry) it survived the destruction of the rest of the cathedral. The new Coventry Cathedral was opened in 1962 next to the ruins of the old. It was designed by Sir Basil Spence. The cathedral contains the tapestry "Christ in Glory" by Graham Sutherland. The bronze statue "St Michael's Victory over the Devil" by Jacob Epstein is mounted on the exterior of the new cathedral near the entrance. Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem", regarded by some as his masterpiece, was written for the
Coventry Cathedral altar of rubble. The original is now kept on the stairs linking the cathedral with St Michael's Hall below. The Cross of Nails was made of three nails from the roof truss of the old cathedral by Provost Richard Howard of Coventry Cathedral at the suggestion of a young friend, The Rev. A.P. Wales. It was later transferred to the new cathedral, where it sits in the centre of the altar cross. It has become a symbol of peace and reconciliation across the world. There are over 330 Cross of Nails Centres all over the world, all of them bearing