St Mary Magdalen, Coventry
Sir Thomas White's Road
Chapelfields
Coventry
CV5 8DR
In 1168 a leper hospital, was founded in what was then called Godiva’s Wood in Whoberley, outside the city walls of mediaeval Coventry, by Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester, for his knight William D’Auney who had contracted the condition whilst on a Crusade to the Holy Land. The hospital chapel was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen, and is believed to have been located in the area bounded by Duke Street, Allesley Old Road and Hearsall Lane. As a result, the area became known as the Chapel Fields.
A Victoria mission room served the expanding population of Chapelfields until the present Church, with its Romanesque and Byzantine features, was completed in 1934. The Church roof is of blue glazed tiles, and because of this, the building is known throughout the region as ‘the Church with the blue roof’.
Worship at Saint Mary Magdalen’s is ‘High Church’ in style and it has a strong musical tradition.
Website
Email Address
Opening Times
Daily for services - [see website above)
Destinations
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Coventry Cathedral
Take time to visit the Cathedral with its historic ruins destroyed in WWII. The remains of the original Priory can also be found in Priory Gardens.
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Coventry Watchmaking Museum
Museum celebrating Coventry's 18th and 19th century watchmaking industry. Open Tuesday and Saturday from 11.00am to 3.00 pm
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Weaver's House
A medieval house restored to show how John Croke the Weaver, lived in 1540.