| 1016 |
Destruction of St Osburg’s nunnery by King Canute |
| 1043 |
Dedication to St Mary of a Benedictine Monastery, built by Leofric, Earl of Mercia & Lady Godiva on remains of St Osburg’s nunnery. Leofic endowed monastery with the northern half of his estates in Coventry, making it one of the richest in England |
| 1085 |
See of Chester moved to Coventry & renamed |
| 1102 |
Papal authorisation granted for Priory (monastery) church to also be cathedral |
| 1113 |
First reference to Holy Trinity Church, described as a chapel belonging to the priory |
| 1257 |
First church destroyed by fire, but quickly rebuilt. The North Porch is thought to be the only remnant of the earlier church |
| 1296 |
St Thomas’ chapel (now known as the Peace chapel) added |
| ~1350 |
Archdeacon’s chapel added, used as consistory court |
| Late 1300s |
Nave, chapel and transepts built |
| 1391 |
Building of chancel started |
| Early 1400’s |
Roof level altered, and second line of windows added |
| 1430-1433 |
Doom painting added to west-facing tower wall (in nave) |
| 1470 |
The pulpit and the font were added around this time, and the brass eagle lectern (cast in East Anglia) also dates from the mid 15th century |
| 1536 |
Start of the dissolution of the monasteries. King Henry VIII offered to sell the monastery to the city, but the city was unable to raise sufficient funds, so the King ordered the building to be destroyed |
| 1539 |
With no cathedral in Coventry, the diocese moved its seat to Lichfield, and became the diocese of Lichfield and Coventry |
| 1666 |
The spire and the upper part of the tower were blown down in “a great gale”, but were rebuilt by 1669 |
| 1843 – 1849 |
The west front and porch were remodelled and faced in Bath stone, as part of a major restoration of the church’s exterior |
| 1854 - 1856 |
The church was extensively remodelled, under the guidance of the architect Gilbert Scott. This included changes to the sanctuary, including adding the Minton floor tiles and the brass communion rail. The bells were also removed from the tower and relocated to a wooden campanile located in the burial ground to the north of the church. This allowed the ringing floor to be removed and the lantern stage to be opened up. Also at this time, various memorials and monuments that were previously around the church were relocated to the Archdeacon’s court |
| 1918 |
The parish church of St Michael is re-designated as Coventry Cathedral, and the Diocese of Coventry is established on 6th September |