The War Memorial Park is a large park of about 48.5 hectares in southern

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. The park was opened in July 1921 as a tribute to the 2,587 Coventrians who died between 1914 and 1918 fighting in 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 landscaped gardens and sports areas were created in the late-1920s and 1930s,Coventry City Council: History of the War Memorial Park
Retrieved 4 October 2008 and the most prominent structure in the park is the city's

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

, built in 1927.

History

Land

The park was opened in July 1921 as a tribute to the 2,587 Coventrians who died between 1914 and 1918 fighting in the

. Coventry Council used money donated by the public to purchase the land from the Lords of Styvechale Manor, the Gregory-Hood family, when it was little more than a large grassed area that once formed Styvechale common. In the north of the park, the landscaped gardens and sports areas were created in the late-1920s and 1930s, 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 ...

, barrage balloons and anti-aircraft guns were sited in the park, and the large concrete blocks where they were positioned still exist in the Coat of Arms bridge area of the park. In 2013, the park was listed at Grade II on the statutory

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England {{R from move ...

. The war memorial is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in its own right. In July 2013 the park gained

green flag Green Flag Limited is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used a network of ...

status, retaining it in 2017. On 16 July 2014

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

visited the park to formally launch the Centenary Fields programme of the Fields in Trust by granting the first designation under the scheme to the park.

Monument

At around high, the war memorial monument is the most prominent construction in the park. It was designed by local architect T. F. Tickner and £5,000 was raised from a public appeal that commenced in 1924 to fund the building work. It was built in 1927 and dedicated by Field Marshal Douglas Haig on 8 October 1927. It is made of Portland stone, and was built by John Gray who also built the

Courtaulds Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtauld ...

works at

Foleshill Foleshill ( ) is a suburb in the north of Coventry, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Longford, Courthouse Green and Rowley Green are to its north and Keresley is to its west. The population of the Ward at the 2021 census was 22, ...

and a number of housing estates. Inside the memorial is a room called the Chamber of Silence which contains the "Roll of the Fallen", a list of all Coventry men killed in the two World Wars and the Gulf War, and is open to the public every year on

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

Refurbishment

Work started in August 2010 on a multi-million pound refurbishment of the park, involving about 30 projects taking place around the park over a ten-month period. The work was funded by a £2.8 million grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and the

Big Lottery Fund The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for " good causes". It is the largest community funder in the UK and ...

together with money from

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 ...

. Additionally a grant of £50,000 was awarded in February 2011 to create a new under-8s play area in the park.

Facilities and events

The park's facilities include football pitches, bowling greens, a small golf course, tennis courts, a splash and play area, an aviary for small birds, and a skate board area, but it mainly comprises large open green areas with many trees and shrubberies. A perimeter path lies just inside the park's boundaries, and now encircles the entire park following completion of groundwork on the south-western segment in the summer of 2006. The park is the venue for a number of annual events including the

Godiva Festival The Godiva Festival is a three-day music festival held each year in the War Memorial Park, Coventry, England, named after the city's famous former inhabitant Lady Godiva. It first appeared as a day-long event in 1997 and became a three-day eve ...

, Donkey Derby, Caribbean Festival and the Vaisakhi Mela. The park also holds weekly parkruns – free, timed 5 km (3.1 mi) runs – that attract over 300 people to the park every Saturday. The park was also the host of Radio 1's Big Weekend festival, the first event since 2019. The festival took place there from 27 to 29 May 2022 and featured big stars, including the likes of

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Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

Anne-Marie Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. She has attained various charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's " Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm", " Ciao ...

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George Ezra George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English musician. After releasing two EPs, '' Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and '' Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single "Budapest", which reached number one ...

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Sam Fender Samuel Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in North Shields (near Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle), Fender discovered his passion for music during his teenage years and released sev ...

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

and

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...

Car parks

The main car park is a large tarmaced area with access from Kenilworth Road. Travel de Courcey (in conjunction with

and

Transport for West Midlands Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services in the West Midlands metropolitan county in England. It is an executive body of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), with bus fran ...

) operates a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

scheme between here and Coventry city centre. There is a much smaller car park on Coat of Arms Bridge Road on the southern side of the park and another small car park near the northern end of Leamington Road.

Images

File:Memorial park monument and steps 11a07.JPG, Steps at the base of the war memorial File:War memorial park aviary 11a07.JPG, The small aviary File:War memorial park skate board 11a07.JPG, The skate board and BMX area File:WM park 25a07.JPG, View from the south of the park looking northeast File:Bowling green war memorial park 5y07.JPG, A bowling green File:Tennis court war memorial park 5y07.JPG, Tennis courts File:War Memorial Park - perimeter path east 13f08.JPG, An old section of the perimeter path on the west side of the park File:Park and ride bus 25a07.JPG, A "park and ride" bus at the bus stop on the western side of the main car park in 2007

References

External links

* {{Official website 1921 establishments in England Parks in Coventry World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Monuments and memorials in the West Midlands (county)