Things you didn't know about... Coventry

What's the origin of "being sent to Coventry"?
During the English Civil War, Royalist Cavaliers who were captured in Birmingham by Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads were sent to a Parliamentary stronghold prison in Coventry—where they were given a very rough time by the locals.

Two wheels good, four wheels better
Coventry was where James Starley created the Penny Farthing bicycle and kick-started an entire industry. In 1896, Daimler became the UK's first car manufacturer, operating out of a disused cotton mill. In time, another 100 other car firms would base their operations in Coventry too.

Coventry's Lady Godiva—first in the book
Lady Godiva, of naked horseback fame, was married to Leofric, the Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry, and was the first woman to be mentioned in the Domesday Book. Together they founded the Benedictine Priory and later the Cathedral of St Mary.

Coventry started from a small tree
Coventry's name is thought to come from "Cofa's tree", which grew at a crossroads that later became the site of Coventry Castle and which is now Broadgate, the very heart of the city.

Coventry boasts world's largest tapestry
Coventry Cathedral, which combines a new building built in the 1960s and the ruins of the original that was bombed during World War II, has a vast altar tapestry created by Graham Sutherland. It is said to be the largest in the world.

Dragons shudder when they hear the word Coventry
According to legend, Coventry was the birthplace of St George the dragon-slayer and patron saint of England.

Coventry—too prosperous for Orwell
George Orwell had planned to use Coventry as the focus for his study of poverty in England in the 1930s, but found when he got there that it was simply too prosperous. He went instead to Wigan, and wrote The Road to Wigan Pier.

How Coventry's children made their mark
Coventry is the birthplace of jet pioneer Sir Frank Whittle; the poet Philip Larkin; Olympic runner David Moorcroft; the great Victorian actress Ellen Terry; and Sir Henry Parkes, five times Premier of New South Wales and the father of modern Australia.