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# New Coventry Cathedral of the 1960s beside the ruins of the bombed Cathedral of St Michael
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/v-1960-e-gody-anglichane-reshili-postroit-novyi-sobor-vozle-razbomblennogo-v-1940-godu-sobora-sviatogo-mikhaila-v-koventri-priam-riadom-s-ruinami-chtoby-ne-zabyvat-o-tragedii-i-velichii/
- Published: 2019-10-26T20:50:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:01:56.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Architecture, Faith, London, Observations, Heritage

In the 1960s the English decided to build a new cathedral beside St Michael's in Coventry, bombed in 1940, right next to the ruins, so that neither the tragedy nor the grandeur of the former building should be forgotten. The old Coventry cathedral was once the largest and most beautiful in England; today's is perhaps one of the most extraordinary, and in its own way beautiful too.  
The architect B. Spence chose to give the cathedral's walls a zigzag form, lengthened considerably by their numerous folds, and glazed almost entirely, so as to flood the interior with as much light as possible. The greatest impression is made by the glass façade, where in place of stained glass there is an intricate engraving on the glass itself. The façade has turned out a sort of transparent iconostasis, with angels, saints, biblical prophets, Jesus and the Archangel Michael, who stands in the centre of the second row from the top. I don't know about you, but to me these figures seem at once enchanting and frightening.

PS I found a splendid diagram on which you can make out who is who on the Coventry "window".