BEARDED DRAGON DECOR

The virtually free-standing Chapel of Christ the Servant (also known as the Chapel of Industry) is located at the liturgical south east corner of Coventry Cathedral. It takes the form of a clear-glazed cylinder and is thus bathed in light, with a central altar and hanging cross, supporting a crown of torns sculpture by Geoffrey Clarke (containing light fittings), as the main focus.

Basil Spence originally concieved this chapel as the place to reinstate the fragments of medieval glass of the old St Michael's / cathedral (luckily removed to saftey before the bombing) but nothing came of this until a small panel was reused in vessels cupboard in the late 1980s, and more recently six panels were returned from a local law firm and displayed in free-standing wooden boxes (which sadly admit little natural light). The 15th century panels comprise of three former tracery lights representing 4-winged Seraphim on wheels and three panels made up of fragments and are from the Coventry workshop of John Thornton (who made York Minster's great east window). Further ancient glass is in the undercroft (6 more Seraphim and a Resurrection, the finest pieces, alas in an area where photography is forbidden) and in the Haigh chapel in the ruins. Much more remains in storage.

Coventry's Cathedral is a unique synthesis of old a new, born of wartime suffering and forged in the spirit of postwar optimism, famous for it's history and for being the most radically modern of Anglican cathedrals. Two cathedral's stand side by side, the ruins of the medieval building, destroyed by incendiary bombs in 1940 and the bold new building designed by Basil Spence and opened in 1962.

It is a common misconception that Coventry lost it's first cathedral in the wartime blitz, but the bombs actually destroyed it's second; the original medieval cathedral was the monastic St Mary's, a large cruciform building believed to have been similar in appearance to Lichfield Cathedral (whose diocese it shared). Tragically it became the only English cathedral to be destroyed during the Reformation, after which it was quickly quarried away, leaving only scant fragments, but enough evidence survives to indicate it's rich decoration (some pieces displayed nearby in the Priory Visitors Centre). Foundations of it's apse were found during the building of the new cathedral in the 1950s, thus technically three cathedrals share the same site.

The mainly 15th century St Michael's parish church became the seat of the new diocese of Coventry in 1918, and being one of the largest parish churches in the country it was upgraded to cathedral status without structural changes (unlike most 'parish church' cathedrals created in the early 20th century). It lasted in this role a mere 22 years before being burned to the ground in the 1940 Coventry Blitz, leaving only the outer walls and the magnificent tapering tower and spire (the extensive arcades and clerestoreys collapsed completely in the fire, precipitated by the roof reinforcement girders, installed in the Victorian restoration, that buckled in the intense heat).

The determination to rebuild the cathedral in some form was born on the day of the bombing, however it wasn't until the mid 1950s that a competition was held and Sir Basil Spence's design was chosen. Spence had been so moved by experiencing the ruined church he resolved to retain it entirely to serve as a forecourt to the new church. He envisaged the two being linked by a glass screen wall so that the old church would be visible from within the new.

Built between 1957-62 at a right-angle to the ruins, the new cathedral attracted controversy for it's modern form, and yet some modernists argued that it didn't go far enough, afterall there are echoes of the gothic style in the great stone-mullioned windows of the nave and the net vaulting (actually a free-standing canopy) within. What is exceptional is the way art has been used as such an integral part of the building, a watershed moment, revolutionising the concept of religious art in Britain.

Spence employed some of the biggest names in contemporary art to contribute their vision to his; the exterior is adorned with Jacob Epstein's triumphant bronze figures of Archangel Michael (patron of the cathedral) vanquishing the Devil. At the entrance is the remarkable glass wall, engraved by John Hutton with strikingly stylised figures of saints and angels, and allowing the interior of the new to communicate with the ruin. Inside, the great tapestry of Christ in majesty surrounded by the evangelistic creatures, draws the eye beyond the high altar; it was designed by Graham Sutherland and was the largest tapestry ever made.

However one of the greatest features of Coventry is it's wealth of modern stained glass, something Spence resolved to include having witnessed the bleakness of Chartres Cathedral in wartime, when all it's stained glass had been removed. The first window encountered on entering is the enormous 'chess-boa

This antique shop was in a fabulous old house. Every doorway had painted decorations on the door jambs, many of the floors were painted, and one room had murals on every wall. We suspect it was done years ago by people living in the house before it became an antique shop.

I loved the clever way the Christmas lights were strung up in this entry room.