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Coventry

Coventry

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | | Copyright

Coventry, industrial city in the British midlands attacked on the night of 14/15 November 1940 by German bombers employing, for the first time, their Pathfinder Force, KG100, and the X-Gerät beam system (see Map 29) for finding their target (see electronic navigation systems).

ULTRA intelligence and prisoner-of-war information forewarned the British of a major Luftwaffe operation (MOONLIGHT SONATA) against a number of their cities. These included Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, but the information was not correlated and there were also indications that the targets might be in London and the south of England. In any case, it was impossible to tell which would be attacked first and the ENIGMA signals giving their direction to the stations emitting them were not broken in time. By 1500 on the day of the raid the beams were found to intersect over Coventry, but electronic counter-measures (see electronic warfare) failed to work as the jammers were incorrectly set. The fact that Coventry was to be the target that night was passed on to RAF Fighter Command but ‘British counter-measures proved ineffective: of the 509 bombers the German Air Force dispatched to Coventry, 449 reached the target and only one was certainly destroyed’ ( F. H. Hinsley, British Intelligence in the Second World War, Vol. 1, London, 1979, p.318). This failure probably hastened the scheduled departure of Dowding from Fighter Command and from it grew the myth that Coventry was left to the mercy of the Luftwaffe in order to protect the secret of ULTRA.

Twelve armaments factories and much of the city centre, including the 14th-century cathedral, were destroyed, and 380 people were killed and 865 injured.
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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Coventry." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Coventry." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Coventry.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Coventry." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Coventry.html

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Coventry

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Coventry , city (1991 pop. 318,718) and metropolitan district, central England. Coventry is an industrial center noted for its automobile production. Tractors, airplanes, machine tools, synthetic textiles, electrical equipment, and engineering products are also made. Telecommunications are important.

Lady Godiva and her husband founded a Benedictine abbey there in 1043. By the 14th cent., Coventry, a flourishing market and textile-weaving town, was one of the five largest towns in England. The entire central portion of the city, including the 14th-century Cathedral of St. Michael, was destroyed (Nov., 1940) in one of the worst air raids to be suffered by Britain during World War II. A new cathedral, alongside the ruins of the old one, was completed in 1962.

Of interest are a statue of Lady Godiva; St. Mary's Hall (1340-42, with 15th-century additions); Holy Trinity Church (13th cent.), with a spire 237 ft (72 m) high; the spire (230 ft/70 m high) of Christ Church; and Ford's Hospital, a restored Tudor almshouse. The city's educational institutions include the Univ. of Warwick, Lancaster College of Technology, Coventry College (a teacher training school), and two old public schools.

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Coventry

The Oxford Companion to British History | 2002 | | Copyright

Coventry. Cathedral city in Warwickshire. It developed around an important priory, founded in 1043 by Earl Leofric and Countess Godgifu (‘ Lady Godiva’ of Coventry folklore). From 1102 to 1539 the priory church had cathedral status, and in the 14th cent. the city rose spectacularly through cloth-manufacturing to become the fourth largest English town. It declined equally spectacularly in the 16th cent., but found renewed industrial prosperity from the 18th cent., and in 1918 became a cathedral city once more. It was heavily bombed in the Second World War, but retains more historic buildings than is often appreciated, including the 14th-cent. St Mary's Hall.

David M. Palliser
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JOHN CANNON. "Coventry." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Coventry

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | Copyright

Coventry. A Benedictine house was founded at Coventry in 1043 and in 1095 Coventry became the seat of a bishopric. Though the title of Bp. of Coventry and Lichfield (adopted between 1188 and 1198) remained until 1836, it was only in the 12th cent. that Coventry was a genuine see town. The diocese was reconstituted in 1918. The collegiate church of St Michael (completed in 1433) became the cathedral. It was largely destroyed in an air raid in 1940. A new cathedral, completely modern in design, was consecrated in 1962. The Charred Cross from the old cathedral is an emblem of the work of reconciliation with Germany, in which the cathedral authorities have been much involved.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Coventry." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Coventry

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

Coventry, UK, USA 1. UK (England): formerly Couentre and Couentreu ‘Cofa's Tree’ from a possible Old English personal name and trēow ‘tree’. The expression ‘to send to Coventry’ means to ostracize somebody and arose from the inhabitants of Coventry's distaste for soldiers to the extent that any woman seen speaking to one was immediately ostracized; consequently, any soldier sent to Coventry was also ostracized by the townsfolk.2. USA: the towns in Connecticut and Vermont are named after the English city from which some settlers came.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Coventry." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Coventry

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Coventry City and county district in West Midlands, central England. An important weaving centre in the Middle Ages, it later became known for its clothing manufacture. The city was badly damaged by bombing during World War II, and the 14th-century cathedral was destroyed. A new cathedral (designed by Sir Basil Spence) was completed in 1962. It is the home of the University of Warwick (1965) and Coventry University (1992). Industries: motor vehicles, mechanical and electrical engineering, telecommunications. Pop. (2002 est.) 295,000.
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Coventry

A Dictionary of British History | 2004 | | Copyright

Coventry Cathedral city in Warwickshire. It developed around an important priory, founded in 1043 by Earl Leofric and Countess Godgifu (‘ Lady Godiva’ of Coventry folklore). In the 14th cent. the city rose spectacularly through cloth‐manufacturing to become the fourth largest English town. It declined equally spectacularly in the 16th cent., but found renewed industrial prosperity from the 18th cent. It was heavily bombed in the Second World War.
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Coventry

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Coventry town (1990 pop. 31,083), Kent co., W R.I.; settled 1643, set off from Warwick and inc. 1741. Formerly a noted lace center, it still has textile industries, but manufactures such as glass, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals have become important. Coventry's many historic structures include the Payne house (1668) and Nathanael Greene's homestead (1770).

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Coventry

A Dictionary of British Place-Names | 2003 | | Copyright

Coventry Covtry. Couentre 1043, Couentreu 1086 (DB). ‘Tree of a man called *Cofa’. OE pers. name (genitive -n) + trēow.
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Coventry

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | | Copyright

Coventry, see BELGRADE THEATRE and HOCKTIDE PLAY.
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Coventry." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Coventry." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Coventry.html

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Coventry

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

Coventry •Florrie, Laurie, lorry, Macquarie, quarry, sorry, whare •Rhodri • Godfrey • hostelry •Coventry • quixotry •cacciatore, Corey, dory, Florey, flory, furore, glory, gory, hoary, hunky-dory, lory, Maury, monsignori, Montessori, multistorey, Pori, Rory, satori, saury, storey, story, Tory, vainglory •Aubrey • aumbry •Audrey, bawdry, tawdry •laundry •gallimaufry, orphrey •palfrey • paltry • outlawry • centaury •clerestory (US clearstory) •understorey •cowrie, kauri, Lowry, Maori •Cowdrey • foundry • Rowntree •ochry (US ochery) • poultry •coxcombry • matsuri • Kirkcudbright •shoetree •Hurri, potpourri •kukri • century • penury • estuary •residuary • augury • mercury

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

COVENTRY CONTINUES INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION, OPENS HK OFFICE.
News Wire article from: AsiaPulse News; 7/9/2009
Coventry Telegraph.net.(Features)
Newspaper article from: Coventry Evening Telegraph (England); 7/17/2008
Coventry Health Care Subsidiaries to Begin Using Coventry Brand.
Business Wire; 12/13/1999

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