Race to save cathedral ruins as campaign launches

A global campaign has been launched to raise money to protect the "at-risk" cathedral ruins in Coventry.

The original medieval Cathedral of St Michael was built between the late 14th and 15th centuries, but nearly 500 years later, it was destroyed during the Coventry blitz in 1940.

Cathedral leaders said the ruins were never designed to be exposed to the elements and that both the remains and the spire were beginning to deteriorate.

More than 200,000 people visit the site each year, and the Building Hope initiative has been set up to raise donations to help preserve it.

The campaign has been backed by well-known Coventry figures including former Sky Blues chairman and life president Joe Elliott, current Coventry Rugby executive chairman Jon Sharp and David Roberts from Evtec Automotive.

Inspections have shown the ruins are under threat from issues like water damage and crumbling masonry - with the World Monument Fund placing them on their "At Risk register".

It is hoped people from across the world will support the project to protect the site for future generations.

Acting dean of the cathedral, the Reverend Canon Kate Massey, said it was about making sure the site, and what it represents, was there in years to come:

"The ruins are iconic; they are known globally; they have such importance, not just for us as the city, but for the whole human family, to be quite frank. But the ruins were never meant to be open to the weather; the church was not built for the inside to be on the outside. Now we could just do a patch-up job, but we decided we don't want to do that; we want to future-proof the ruins for the coming generations."

The 85th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz was marked last year, and she says they are looking ahead to the future whilst making sure the past is properly commemorated:

"Do we talk to UNESCO about getting this site listed? We're having some interesting conversations with the World Monument Fund, because the Coventry Cathedral and its ruins are a building of that significance, and it's really important that we recognise that and take good care of it for the future."

The story of the old cathedral and how it was destroyed is well-known across the world.

On 14 November 1940, Coventry was hit with the most concentrated attack on a British city in World War Two.

The German air raid involved almost 500 Luftwaffe bombers, dropping 500 tonnes of high explosives, 30,000 incendiaries and 50 landmines – killing 554 people and leaving many unaccounted for.

More than half the city's housing stock, about 43,000 homes, was damaged, and it also saw the loss of its medieval church St Michael's – the only English cathedral to be destroyed during the war.

In the days following the German bombing attack, both King George VI and Winston Churchill visited the city, and the cathedral ruins became a symbol of hope, rebuilding and reconciliation.

The main issues affecting the ruins include:

• Water damage
• Deteriorating masonry
• Structural movement in the tower
• Barriers to accessibility

Specialist investigations need to be carried out first before options can be considered for further preservation work.

The Building Hope initiative is also exploring ways to create a world-class visitor experience. Ideas include a new multilingual app, a VR reconstruction of what St Michael's looked like before 1940 and a new visitors centre.

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