Coventry grew in status initially due to the wool industry. Warwickshire wool was in demand, and resulted in prosperity in the town in the Middle Ages. In the 15th and 16th centuries this wealth waned, but began to return with the introduction of silk weaving and watch making. In the late part of the 1800s and for much of the 1900s, Coventry had a thriving motor industry. The first production car was built there in 1896, and the city has been a home at one time or another to manufacturers such as Rover, Jaguar and Triumph.

Many of Coventry’s buildings, including the Cathedral, were hit by bombs in the Second World War. Two major air raids – one in November 1940 and one in April 1941 – killed hundreds of people and decimated most of the city centre. Indeed following the November raid, over half of the city’s 75,000 houses were destroyed or damaged.

Coventry was also home to Lady Godiva. Legend has it that she was outraged by the high taxes her husband, Earl Leofric, had laid upon the town. Although he refused to lower them, she persisted, and finally he said that it she were to ride through the town naked, he would grant her request. Lady Godiva did so, and he lowered the taxes.