Coventry City Wall

In the civil parish of Coventry. In the historic county of Warwickshire (Modern Authority of Coventry, 1974 county of West Midlands).

Length of C15 wall which was originally over 2 miles long. Murage granted 1329 but work probably didn't start until 1364 and circuit was only finally completed in 1540. Licence to crenellate granted 1363.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 218462; 218490)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP334790

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 869475
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website, or elsewhere.

• Web site links
  • http://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/wall/wall.html
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/coventry.html
• Books
  • Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p18, 24, 32, 34, 71-2, 85, 87, 90, 127, 167, 169, 173, 185-7, 191, 212, 214, 222, 237, 238, 265, 278
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p256
    Salter, Mike, 1992, Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire (Malvern) p27
    Bateman, J. and Redknap, M., 1986. Coventry: excavations on the town wall 1976–1978. (Coventry: Coventry City Council)
    Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p487
    Lancaster, J.C., 1975, 'Coventry' in Lobel, M.D. (ed) The Atlas of Historic Towns Vol2 (London: Scolar Press/Historic Towns Trust) p1-13
    Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71 plan p62
    Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p118-19
    Joan C. Lancaster and Margaret Tomlinson, 1969, in Stephens, W.B.(ed), VCH Warwick Vol8 p1-23, 208-21 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16005#s9 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16029
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co) p222-3
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p240, 416
• Journal Articles
  • Mason, P. and McAree, D., 2005, 'Coventry, Bond Street' West Midlands Archaeology Vol48 p122-24
    Bradley, J and Gaimster, M. (eds), 2004, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 2003' Medieval Archaeology Vol48 p294 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Youngs, S.M. et al, 1988 ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1987' Medieval Archaeology Vol32 p285 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Youngs, S.M., Clark, J. and Barry, T., 1987, ‘Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1986' Medieval Archaeology Vol31 p166 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Youngs, S.M. and Clark, J., 1982, ‘Medieval Britain in 1981' Medieval Archaeology Vol26 p212 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Youngs, S.M. and Clark, J., 1981, ‘Medieval Britain in 1980' Medieval Archaeology Vol25 p214 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p214
    Stokes, M.A., 1981, ‘Excavation of medieval defensive ditch at New Law Courts, Earl Street' West Midlands Archaeology Vol24 p61 63-4
    Stokes, M.A., 1980, ‘Excavation of medieval defensive ditch at New Law Courts, Earl Street' West Midlands Archaeology Vol23 p83-4
    Rylatt, M., 1980, ‘Salvage recording of medieval defensive ditch at Kirby House’,West Midlands Archaeology Vol23 p83
    Bateman, J., 1978, ‘Late medieval town defences, Coventry' West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet Vol21 p90-2
    (Rylatt), 1975, Medieval Archaeology Vol19 p241 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    (Hobley), 1973, Medieval Archaeology Vol17 p171 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    (Radcliffe), 1972, Medieval Archaeology Vol16 p183 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Gooder, E., Woodfield, C. and Chaplin, R., 1966, 'The walls of Coventry' Transactions of the Birmingham Archaeological Society Vol81 p88-138
    1966, Medieval Archaeology Vol10 p200 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    1961, Medieval Archaeology Vol5 p324-5 [downloadable via http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?medarch]
    Fretton, 1881, North Staffordshire Naturalist's Filed Club p31-6
• Guidebooks
  • Goodyer, E., 1967, Coventry's Town Wall (Coventry: Coventry and North Warwickshire History Pamphlets 4)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1327-1330) p343-4 [murage grant]
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1361-1364) p417 [licence to crenellate]
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1364-1367) p22 [commission to apportion subsidy for work]
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1364-1367) p260 [Mandate to levy and collect murage]
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1367-1370) p369 [revoking of mandate to collect murage]
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1381-1385) p557 [permission to levy money and grant of money and stone for walls]
    The Coventry Leet Book . . . 1420-1555, transcribed and edited by M. D. Harris (Early English Text Society, 1907-13) [numerous accounts regarding funding wall]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/warkseng.html#warks13]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p473-4
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol2 p106-7 http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofjohnl02lelauoft