Coventry City of Culture programme proceeds as lockdown eases

Lychgate Cottages, Priory Row, Coventry (Historic Coventry)

As lockdown continues to ease in the UK, tickets have gone on sale, for those wanting to participate in Coventry's City of Culture 2021 programme which begins on 15th May.

More than 55,000 tickets will be available for 15 events, taking place at seven different venues across the city. These include 'Faith' a celebration of many faiths in a city-wide theatre event produced by the Coventry City of Culture Trust, and the Royal Shakespeare Company in collaboration with Coventry's diverse faith communities; 'Turner Prize 2021' presenting its annual exhibition of short-listed artists at Coventry's Herbert Art Gallery and Museum; and 'Observations on Being', an installation of music, voice, sensory effects and technologies located in Coventry's London Road Cemetery and Charterhouse Heritage Park.

Preparations in the city have been taking place for months and there has been a drive to renovate some historic buildings to provide accommodation for visitors. Historic Coventry Trust (HCT) awarded a £600,000 contract to Messenger Construction Ltd to restore three timber-framed Lychgate Cottages in Priory Row (image above) and convert them into four self-contained units which will be let for short breaks.

The black and white cottages were built in 1415 and are the only buildings from St Mary's Priory to survive the destruction of Godiva's Cathedral during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.

Funding for the project was secured from the Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF), the Cultural Capital Investment Fund and the Government's Getting Building Fund through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The City Council and Historic Coventry Trust collaborated previously on the restoration of The Charterhouse, Drapers hall and - with funding from Historic England's Heritage Action Zone Programme - are working on the regeneration of The Burges, a historic streetscape close to the city centre.