News

Coventry Society historian, Peter James, tells us the story of the Luddites in Coventry and what became of some of them.

So today I took a look in my Spam folder and realised all the amazing things that I have been missing. Well, it seems that my anti-virus protection is about to expire and I must act with urgency. Not just McAffee but also Norton, AV 2025 and Virtual Shield. Strange them all expiring at the… Read more: A Quick Look in the Spam Basket

Coventry City Council have recently been awarded £294,915 from the Forestry Commission’s Local Authority Treescapes Fund to the plant 151 semi-mature trees and 7068 whips in 10 Wards across Coventry. 3600 of these whips will be planted as Tiny Forests. This project is in partnership with Citizen Housing and Earthwatch Europe, with opportunities for local… Read more: Tiny Forests

Coventry in 1952/3: (from Alfred Herbert News Vol 31 No 1 Jan-Feb 1957) Historian and CovSoc Committee member, David Fry, has been studying past editions of the Alfred Herbert Newsletter. These newsletters are much more than just a works newsletter and give an invaluable insight into the thinking in the city at the time they… Read more: The King Dies and Coventry Reborn

The Coventry Observer has reported that the first phase of a new 3,000-home development on the western edge of Coventry is to open next month. Housebuilder Bellway is building 244 new homes at Arden Glade, off Fivefield Road in Keresley. A four-bedroom Weaver showhome is due to open on Saturday February 22, with the first… Read more: New Homes in Keresley

People in Coventry and the West Midlands are asked to give their views on the plans for bus franchising. This would mean that instead of private companies running the bus network, Transport for West Midlands would be able to set their bus fares, timetables and routes to bring buses back under public control. In December… Read more: Consultation on Bus Franchising

Coventry Society historian, Peter James, tells us the fascinating story of Sir William Dugdale, perhaps Warwickshire’s most famous historian. Peter writes… Born on 12th September 1605 at Shustoke in Warwickshire, William Dugdale lived and was educated locally. He was taught by a curate at Nether Whitacre until 1615. Aged ten he then moved to Coventry… Read more: Sir William Dugdale 1605-1686

Coventry’s affiliated naval ship, HMS Diamond, is now undergoing a major refit in Portsmouth and the Cross of Nails it had has been returned to the Cathedral. In the days after the Coventry blitz on the night of 14th November 1940 Revd. Arthur Wales, of St. Mark’s Church, fashioned together three of the large medieval… Read more: Diamond Cross of Nails Returns to Coventry

Coventry Society founder member, Paul Maddocks, reviews the latest exhibition at Coventry University’s Delia Derbyshire Building. Paul writes….. Last week I visited Coventry University’s Delia Derbyshire Art school building and ‘The Gallery of Living History’. The current exhibition is called ‘Black Sound – Coventry’. It is easy to find; go to the Cox Street entrance,… Read more: Black Sound at the Delia Derbyshire

Members of the Coventry Society attended the unveiling of a plaque to Alice Arnold on 28th January 2025. The plaque was unveiled at 28 Short Street, her home in the 1920s. Alice Arnold was born on 19 January 1881. She was a socialist and trade unionist in Coventry. She was one of the first women… Read more: Plaque to Alice Arnold