Greyfriars was a medieval

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

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 original monastic buildings were lost in the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

; the

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

standing on the site today was most recently part of a 19th-century church that was destroyed in an air raid in 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 spire, also called Christchurch Steeple, 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 ...

History

The first mention of the

s or Greyfriars in

is in the

Pipe Rolls The Pipe rolls, sometimes called the Great rollsBrown ''Governance'' pp. 54–56 or the Great Rolls of the Pipe, are a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or Treasury, and its successors, as well as the Exche ...

of 1234, which show Henry III allowing them timber to use for their oratory or church. From later documents it is evident that Ranulf de Blondeville, Earl of Chester, permitted them to erect their house on his manor of

Cheylesmore Cheylesmore is a suburb in the southern half of the city of Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is one of Coventry's largest suburbs, sharing borders with Whitley, Coventry, Whitley and Stivichall (also spelt Styvechale ...

, on the south-west side of the city. In August 1289, Roger de Montalt granted the Franciscan friars of Coventry a site for the enlargement of their area. He also obtained a licence, contrary to the wishes of the monks of Coventry, to close the way leading from

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

to Coventry, but this was on condition he made another way on the adjacent land also granted to them by Roger. In 1359,

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

granted the Grey Friars as much stone from the quarry in 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, succeeded to the throne instead. Edward n ...

's park at Cheylesmore as they needed for their house. He also granted free access for their workmen for the quarried stone. A grant was also given for the right to dig earth for the walls and plaster, and for a postern gate, or secret gate, into Cheylesmore park for the recreation of the friars. They were not, however, to pass beyond the quarry. The key to the gate was to be kept by the warden, and it was only to be used by those who were sick. The Franciscan friars, or Greyfriars, were content with very humble churches as well as conventual buildings. Through the years, however, their supporters erected churches on their site. In about 1300, the Hastings family built a chapel on the north side of the friars' church, where several generations of the family were buried. John Ward, the first mayor of the city, was also buried in the church of the Greyfriars in 1348.

Dissolution

Greyfriars church was located between New Union Street and Warwick Lane, in the centre of

, and was originally 240 feet in length by 60 feet wide. The structure was

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

in shape, and straddled the centrally placed

. It became victim to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538, but the tower and spire survived.

Rebuilding

In the early 1800s, Coventry's population was on the increase, and through donations and subscription, money was raised to rebuild the church. At this time, the tower and spire were owned by Coventry corporation, who gave it to the church for the rebuilding in the mid-1820s. The second half of the decade was taken up with clearing the land around the spire, which had been built on in the years since the Dissolution. On 16 March 1830 the foundation stone was laid for the new church. By mid-1832, rebuilding was complete, and on 3 August of the same year, a consecration ceremony was held for the now-named Christ Church, Coventry. Due to the constraints of the site, the new church was only 124 feet in length and 55 feet wide, with the spire at one end of the church, rather than in its original central position: thus the chancel of the new church was in the base of the medieval spire. The new, second church did not survive as long as the first, as it was largely destroyed in a

World War II 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 ...

air raid on 8 April 1941. The remains of the walls were demolished in the spring of 1950, exposing again the tower and spire of the old church.

Burials at Greyfriars

Henry de Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings Henry de Hastings (c. 1235 – c. 1268) of Ashill, Norfolk,G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', n.s., vol.VI, p.345 was a supporter of Simon de Montfort in his rebellion against King Henry III. He led the Londoners at the Battle of Lewes in ...

and wife Joan de Cantilupe *

John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (6 May 1262 – February 1313), was an English landowner, soldier and administrator who was one of the Competitors for the Crown of Scotland in 1290 and signed and sealed the Barons' Letter of 1301. He was Lo ...

References

* {{Monasteries in the West Midlands , state=expanded Monasteries in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county)

13th-century establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1230s 1538 disestablishments in England British churches bombed by the Luftwaffe Churches in Coventry

History

Dissolution

Rebuilding

Burials at Greyfriars

See also

References