The Council House, Coventry in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, England, is a

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

style city hall building which is the home of

Coventry City Council Coventry City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the city of Coventry in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Coventry has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasi ...

and the

seat of local government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

. It was built in the early 20th century. It is a Grade II-listed building.

History

The Council House was commissioned to replace St Mary's Guildhall as the headquarters of the mayor and city corporation. The site on Earl Street had previously been occupied by a row of shops. A design for new municipal offices on the site was approved in 1895, but a dispute then arose as to whether shops should be incorporated into the ground floor of the new buildings; this was not swiftly resolved and, though the site was cleared, it remained vacant for over a decade. It was finally resolved to proceed without shops; the competitive process for a new design was announced in 1910 and won by architects Edward Garrett and Henry Walter Simister of Birmingham. The brief had been for designs to be submitted for both municipal offices and a town hall, to be envisioned 'as a single scheme' but with the ''caveat'' that the town hall might not (or not immediately) be built, as indeed turned out to be the case. The new Council House was designed in the Elizabethan style, as stipulated by the Borough Corporation, to be in keeping with the old St Mary's Guildhall to the rear. The foundation stone was laid on 12 June 1913 and the building was completed in 1917, although, because of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the official opening by the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

only took place on 11 June 1920. It was mainly an office building, designed to accommodate 1,500 people working across the various different municipal departments (ranging from the Town Clerk and City Treasurer to medical, police, education and waterworks officials); but it also contained large formal rooms such as the Council Chamber, Mayor's Parlour and various committee rooms, many of which were decorated with carvings representing the Forest of Arden. The exterior was clad in

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

stone and roofed with

Cotswold stone The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

. A large clock tower was built, topped by a figure of St Michael; the clock was built by J. Smith & Sons of Derby, working to Simister's ornamental design (dated 1914, is a

timepiece A clock or chronometer is a device that measures and displays time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month, a ...

: although there is a capacious belfry there are no bells). Statues designed by Henry Wilson depicting Leofric (who founded

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

in Coventry), Godiva (who was patron of the local monasteries) and

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

were installed above the entrance in 1924. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the bombings on the night of 14 November 1940, known as the Coventry Blitz, gave rise to some damage to the building including the destruction of the stained glass windows. The former Duke of York returned to the Council House as

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

to survey the damage in the aftermath of the raid. In September 2017, the council moved some 1,500 staff to its new 13-storey tower block at One Friargate. They had previously been housed in a large Civic Centre complex, dating in part from the 1950s, which had faced the east wing of the Council House, and which had latterly been linked to it by a metal walkway over Earl Street (dating from the 1970s). The former Civic Centre was largely demolished after the council had moved out.

Gallery

WTC Wormova Coventry Council House interior.JPG, The foundation stone dated 12 June 1913. Coventry Council House interior - 2015-02-25 - Andy Mabbett - 09.JPG, The interior corridors have decorative

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

and leaded windows Coventry Council House coat of arms over entrance.jpg, The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Coventry over the entrance to the Council House. Coventry's motto ''Camera Principis'' translates as "The Prince's Chamber", used because Coventry was regarded as the chamber of

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...

. WTC Sonia Dines IMG 4292.JPG, The former bridge link to 'Civic Centre 3'

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Coventry Grade II listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) City and town halls in the West Midlands (county) Government buildings completed in 1917