Lost Coventry

Coventry has been one of the most important cities in England since the Middle Ages. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Coventry became an industrial centre, renowned for clock and watch manufacturing and later for building cars, bicycles and aircraft. Its significance drew massive air attacks during the Second World War and the historic centre of Coventry was destroyed. The city was rebuilt in the post-war era, including a new cathedral, and the city boomed, then was hard hit by industrial decline in the late twentieth century, but recent decades have seen a gradual recovery, recognised with Coventry becoming the 2021 UK City of Culture. Lost Coventry presents a portrait of this corner of the East Midlands over the last century, showing not only industries and buildings that have gone but also people and street scenes, many popular places of entertainment and much more. This fascinating photographic history of lost Coventry will appeal to all those who live in the area or know it well, as well as those who remember it from previous decades.