St Mary's Guildhall
St Mary's Hall is a municipal building in Bayley Lane in Coventry, West Midlands, England. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]
| St Mary's Guildhall | |
|---|---|
 The entrance to St Mary's Hall in Bayley Lane | |
| Location | Coventry, West Midlands |
| Coordinates | 52.4077°N 1.5078°W |
| Built | 1342 |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Designated | 5 February 1955 |
| Reference no. | 1116402 |
  Location of St Mary's Guildhall in West Midlands county | |
History
The building was built in the Medieval style between 1340 and 1342 and much altered and extended in 1460.[1]
The guildhall originally served as the headquarters of the merchant guild of St Mary, and subsequently of the united guilds of the Holy Trinity, St Mary, St John the Baptist and St Katherine. Following the suppression of guilds in 1547, for a time it served as the city's armoury and as its treasury (until 1822),[2] as well as the headquarters for administration for the city council (until the Council House opened in 1920).[3]
In November 1569, following the Catholic Rising of the North, Mary, Queen of Scots was rushed south from Tutbury Castle to Coventry.[4][5] Elizabeth I sent a letter, instructing the people of Coventry to look after Mary.[6] She suggested that Mary be held somewhere secure such as Coventry Castle. However, by that time the castle was too decayed and Mary was instead first held at the Bull Inn, Smithford Street before being moved to the Mayoress's Parlour in St Mary's Guildhall. Following the defeat of the rebels, Mary was once more sent north to Chatsworth in May 1570.[7]
George Eld, mayor of Coventry (1834–5) was an antiquarian who encouraged appreciation of Coventry's ancient buildings. He initiated the restoration of the fourteenth-century interior of the mayoress's parlour.[8]
In 1861, the artist David Gee painted The Godiva Procession Leaving St Mary's Hall, which is now on display in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry.[9]
Restoration work by the council received the approval of the committee of the Coventry City Guild in 1930. Improvements had included the repair of the door at the north entrance to the crypt and providing glass and grilles in the windows of the fore crypt. Outside the crumbling exterior stonework was stabilized.[10]
The building retains a collection of royal portraits from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, arms and armour, fine stained glass and one of the country's most important tapestries dating from circa 1500.[11] The building also has a vaulted undercroft which is currently a restaurant.[12]
References
- Historic England. "St Mary's Hall, Coventry (1116402)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- Fox (1957), pp. 96, 101, 175.
- Historic England. "Council House, Coventry (1342927)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- Marie Stuart Society Mary, Queen of Scots: England
- "Step inside Coventry's Guildhall". BBC Coventry and Warwickshire. BBC. 19 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- Pearce, Matt. "Mary Queen of Scots". www.stmarysguildhall.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- "Mary, Queen of Scots: Residences 1568-1587". Elizabeth I. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- Joanne Potier, ‘Eld, George (1791–1862)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
- Reader offers: Coventry Telegraph 26 November 2001
- The Times, News in Brief, 16 April 1930
- Pearce, Matt. "The Coventry Tapestry". www.stmarysguildhall.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- Pearce, Matt. "Home". www.stmarysguildhall.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
External links
