Thanks. I guess people are now aware that the destruction was started and finished by the council/city planners. I've just been to Dresden after 30yrs, they've rebuilt the FrauenKirke and restored much else. Shame we didn't do the same.
I agree, the city planners made a bad situation much worse for Coventry. Great to hear that Dresden has now recovered. Hopefully Coventry can follow Dresden's example and become more like the dynamic city it was in the past.
I've been to Dresden, and beautiful though it is, all the reconstructed buildings in one part of the town give it the feel of an open air museum, whereas the other 'normal' part is quite separate. I prefer Coventry Cathedral, actually, as it's much more symbolic, combining the old with the new. Also, the Frauenkirche cost nearly €200m to re-build, which is a lot of money for a mere copy.
@@c.v.yardley Thanks for your opinion. But would you prefer a rebuilt Butchers Row or the Precincts? Have you seen photos of Cov before the war? Like York, Chester.. etc. I have been to Dresden before (87) and after the rebuild a few times. I prefer the rebuild. But once again thanks.
Coventry was a great city ..we led the country in industry and commerce.. machine tools..cars ..aircraft ...weaving ..clocks and watches. And much more. WTF happened we can't blame everything on WW2. great memories..thanks Dave from Coventry.
It use to be a lovely place ! Jesus , WTF happened! The City council can’t blame it all on the Luftwaffe! I think their dodgy deals with the University has some part to play !
I know life is of the paramount importance in war, but War is one almighty slap in the face for past generations of builders/craftsmen who took great pride, spending many years building landmarks, bridges, monuments only for them to be completely obliterated from history.....Its a damn shame 😟
I would have loved to be able to of walked the streets before the war, must have been amazing. Some of the recent work they have completed has improved certain areas, hopefully that continues throughout those areas.
It’s interesting how so many cities in Britain that were impacted by the Luftwaffe that are now victims of Britain’s dreadful post-war town planning. Serious damage was done by the bombing, but even more so by the subsequent ‘improvements’. In fact, I don’t really see much improvement today. With banal, generic architectural non-entities, whose vernacular free design can be seen repeated in cities up and down the country. Coventry, like it’s neighbour Birmingham; once Proud industrialised cities, now stand without any identity. The victims of cheap town planning. Now even into the 2020’s the subsequent town planning sees yet more banal architectural monstrosities, like the library in Birmingham; and the Bull-Ring shopping centre that is fading like it’s predecessor. Leaving the brash shop frontage of £1 shops and bookmakers to infiltrate as the nails in the coffin are prepared. Unfortunately, unlike Germany cities, architects detested the pastiche (and still do); town planners didn’t have neither the purse strings, nor the foresight to invest properly. Which is why Dresden’s ‘pastiche’ is still standing and in Britain countless millions are wasted on pulling down Bull-Rings and replacing them with the same ineffectual replacements.
I lived near Cologne in the 2000s. It is very ugly 1950s and 1960s architecture mostly. The cathedral miraculously survived the bombing including a dedicated USAAF terror attack designed to destroy it (to block the surrounding roads with rubble, an idea as mad as hell). Most of inner city Cologne is ugly ugly ugly
Coventry Cathedral should have been rebuilt as the previous. Today it looks grotesque & incongruous. Somehow I can't believe that those who advocated the style believed in it. Was it an attempt to create social realism? It has more in common with a building from??
Peter, I disagree with you regarding the new cathedral as its the only post war building that shouldn't be pulled down. Broadgate House at the top end of Hertford Street should be the first to go, followed by Cathedral Lanes and the Primark building (the rear of the building from Cross Cheaping is hideous). Make Broadgate the front garden of the city it once was.
Alfred Herbert offered financial assistance to restore the cathedral to its once glorious self, however, arrogance and 'progressive' thoughts got in the way no doubt. The 'new' cathedral is pathetic. You have only to consider what they did to Butcher Row as an example! Carry on Sargeant Major, carry on!
@@jimmorrison2657 you're dead right: the layout of modern Broadgate as a square is postwar. The prewar Broadgate was narrower, but still wide, and longer terminating somewhere within the footprint of the Primark building. What I should have said was that the northern, western, and Hertford Street sides of the square are way past their shelf life and should be redeveloped. Cathedral Lanes is just awful full stop.
@@nottmjas Ideally speaking, I think you are right. Those buildings in Broad gate should be demolished and replaced with something decent. But I just think that if the council demolished them they would put something even worse in their place. I don't say that everything the council does is crap, but a lot of it is. E.g. They knocked the Hippodrome down, which was quite a nice building, and replaced it with a curved wall.
Do people really think that Coventry as the prosperous almost zero unemployment City of the 1960s could have existed with Broadgate and the surrounding areas as shown in the video? Coventry and Plymouth were first off the mark with redevelopment after the war, and though there are errors it represented the best thinking of the time. If The Luftwaffe hadn't done it some other developer than Ravenseft with the City Council would have had to, in order to attract the big retail businesses of the day. When I lived there between 1944 and 1972 it was a good place to live, what happened after the Motor Industry self destructed is another matter.
![Hitler declares war on the USA - Reichstag Speech of December 11, 1941 [german/ english subtitles]](/img/n.gif)
Thanks. I guess people are now aware that the destruction was started and finished by the council/city planners. I've just been to Dresden after 30yrs, they've rebuilt the FrauenKirke and restored much else. Shame we didn't do the same.
I agree, the city planners made a bad situation much worse for Coventry. Great to hear that Dresden has now recovered. Hopefully Coventry can follow Dresden's example and become more like the dynamic city it was in the past.
Yes most citys were rebuilt with ugly cheap buildings and tower blocks.
I've been to Dresden, and beautiful though it is, all the reconstructed buildings in one part of the town give it the feel of an open air museum, whereas the other 'normal' part is quite separate. I prefer Coventry Cathedral, actually, as it's much more symbolic, combining the old with the new. Also, the Frauenkirche cost nearly €200m to re-build, which is a lot of money for a mere copy.
@@c.v.yardley Thanks for your opinion. But would you prefer a rebuilt Butchers Row or the Precincts? Have you seen photos of Cov before the war? Like York, Chester.. etc.
I have been to Dresden before (87) and after the rebuild a few times. I prefer the rebuild. But once again thanks.
I agree
Coventry was a great city ..we led the country in industry and commerce.. machine tools..cars ..aircraft ...weaving ..clocks and watches. And much more. WTF happened we can't blame everything on WW2. great memories..thanks Dave from Coventry.
Wow the old Coventry really looked better than now.
Some beautiful buildings we had back in the day
I was born and bred in coventry and I have done so much research on our home town definitely nothing like the place is now unfortunately 😔
I know Coventry very well, so i recognise quite a few places in this video.
Great! Thanks...
Thank you for sharing these photos.. really enjoyed them 😊
It use to be a lovely place ! Jesus , WTF happened! The City council can’t blame it all on the Luftwaffe! I think their dodgy deals with the University has some part to play !
I know life is of the paramount importance in war, but War is one almighty slap in the face for past generations of builders/craftsmen who took great pride, spending many years building landmarks, bridges, monuments only for them to be completely obliterated from history.....Its a damn shame 😟
I would have loved to be able to of walked the streets before the war, must have been amazing.
Some of the recent work they have completed has improved certain areas, hopefully that continues throughout those areas.
They are still working very hard on it even today
Just to recognize the city one more time...
It’s interesting how so many cities in Britain that were impacted by the Luftwaffe that are now victims of Britain’s dreadful post-war town planning. Serious damage was done by the bombing, but even more so by the subsequent ‘improvements’. In fact, I don’t really see much improvement today. With banal, generic architectural non-entities, whose vernacular free design can be seen repeated in cities up and down the country.
Coventry, like it’s neighbour Birmingham; once Proud industrialised cities, now stand without any identity. The victims of cheap town planning. Now even into the 2020’s the subsequent town planning sees yet more banal architectural monstrosities, like the library in Birmingham; and the Bull-Ring shopping centre that is fading like it’s predecessor. Leaving the brash shop frontage of £1 shops and bookmakers to infiltrate as the nails in the coffin are prepared.
Unfortunately, unlike Germany cities, architects detested the pastiche (and still do); town planners didn’t have neither the purse strings, nor the foresight to invest properly. Which is why Dresden’s ‘pastiche’ is still standing and in Britain countless millions are wasted on pulling down Bull-Rings and replacing them with the same ineffectual replacements.
Plymouth was also made worse by over zealous town planners in the 50's and 60's. Southampton too.
The town planners had a clean slate to rebuild Coventry after the war. It all went well till the late ‘70’s, now it’s just a mess.
Why was it so badly built back? Compare and contrast with German cathedral cities like Cologne
It wasn't coventry people building it🤪
I lived near Cologne in the 2000s. It is very ugly 1950s and 1960s architecture mostly. The cathedral miraculously survived the bombing including a dedicated USAAF terror attack designed to destroy it (to block the surrounding roads with rubble, an idea as mad as hell). Most of inner city Cologne is ugly ugly ugly
Coventry Cathedral should have been rebuilt as the previous. Today it looks grotesque & incongruous. Somehow I can't believe that those who advocated the style believed in it. Was it an attempt to create social realism? It has more in common with a building from??
Peter, I disagree with you regarding the new cathedral as its the only post war building that shouldn't be pulled down.
Broadgate House at the top end of Hertford Street should be the first to go, followed by Cathedral Lanes and the Primark building (the rear of the building from Cross Cheaping is hideous). Make Broadgate the front garden of the city it once was.
Alfred Herbert offered financial assistance to restore the cathedral to its once glorious self, however, arrogance and 'progressive' thoughts got in the way no doubt. The 'new' cathedral is pathetic. You have only to consider what they did to Butcher Row as an example! Carry on Sargeant Major, carry on!
@@nottmjas When it was a garden, all of those buildings you mentioned were already there. The Broadgate in this video was not a garden.
@@jimmorrison2657 you're dead right: the layout of modern Broadgate as a square is postwar. The prewar Broadgate was narrower, but still wide, and longer terminating somewhere within the footprint of the Primark building.
What I should have said was that the northern, western, and Hertford Street sides of the square are way past their shelf life and should be redeveloped. Cathedral Lanes is just awful full stop.
@@nottmjas Ideally speaking, I think you are right. Those buildings in Broad gate should be demolished and replaced with something decent. But I just think that if the council demolished them they would put something even worse in their place. I don't say that everything the council does is crap, but a lot of it is. E.g. They knocked the Hippodrome down, which was quite a nice building, and replaced it with a curved wall.
Sad. I was there. The ruins r terrible to see. Very emotional experience.
I know I lived in there for 10 years it makes me sad that such a butiful city was bombed
I wish my own city was still looking like that these days!!!
Do people really think that Coventry as the prosperous almost zero unemployment City of the 1960s could have existed with Broadgate and the surrounding areas as shown in the video? Coventry and Plymouth were first off the mark with redevelopment after the war, and though there are errors it represented the best thinking of the time. If The Luftwaffe hadn't done it some other developer than Ravenseft with the City Council would have had to, in order to attract the big retail businesses of the day. When I lived there between 1944 and 1972 it was a good place to live, what happened after the Motor Industry self destructed is another matter.
The church spires are astounding !
Architecture went to pot in the fifties and has never recovered !
A beautiful place
Don't forget the Germanazi predilection for Baedeker Raids, Vandal atavism oblige.
They were the 1st to bomb London in WW1 by Zeppelin air ships.
The RNAS had already bombed cities in Germany in 1914.
I live in Coventry there's soo much bombed areas
Like about 30% of them are churches
Terrible music choice