ABSTRACT
The dissolution of Coventry’s monasteries would push the city to the brink of economic collapse, perhaps saved only by the emergence of a new breed of entrepreneurs, businessmen and speculators, whose profits were returned to buy the old monastic establishments. The burgeoning wealth of the city, in no small part due to the influence of the Benedictine cathedral, attracted the Franciscans in 1224, the Carmelites in 1342 and the Carthusians in 1381. The jewel in Coventry’s monastic crown was surrendered to the Crown on 15 January 1539 and the monks ejected. However, bolted and barred for the next six years, the church and priory remained intact. Excavation has shown that destruction of the cathedral and cloister commenced in or soon after 1545, after some vandalism had taken place. Tombs were desecrated and the nave of the church became a dumping ground for the city’s butchers in nearby Butcher Row.
