Chronology of the Coventry Area
(1066 - 1400)
| 1066 | The Norman Conquest of England |
| 1068 | William I (1066-1087)
abolishes the earldom of Mercia after meeting no resistance in
the area. Coventry placed under the Earls of Chester |
| 1068 | William I starts the
(re-) building of Warwick Castle |
| 1086 | Coventry in the
Domesday Book is little more than a village. Rugby is called Rocheberie |
| 1120 | Kenilworth Castle started
by Geoffrey de Clinton - the town begins to grow |
| 1122 | The Austinian Priory founded in
Kenilworth |
| 1123 | William
II (1087 -1100) creates the earldom of Warwickshire |
| 1133 | First mention of the Chapel of St Michael, later formed part of Coventry Cathedral |
| 1145 | Coventry
sides with Empress Matilda against King Stephen in a dynastic war. King Stephen (1135 -1154) seizes Coventry Castle as a result |
| 1150 | Coombe Abbey started to be built on
the edge of present day Coventry in the district of Smitham |
| 1173 | Coventry sides with the Barons against Henry II (1154-1189) in their revolt. Henry II cancels Coventry's privileges |
| 1177 | Henry II grants new privileges
to Coventry |
| 1180 | Coventry Castle falls into serious
disrepair and eventually into ruins, though traces of the castle
remained until the 1500's |
| 1182 | Further privileges granted
to Coventry by Henry II |
| 1230 | Greyfriars Church (later known as
Christchurch) built on land given by Ranulf, Earl of Chester |
| 1237 | Legend of Lady Godiva
boosted by the discovery of Richard Wendover's (Recorder to the
Abbey of St Albans) book 'Flowers of History' |
| 1248 | Simon de Monfort, Earl of Leicester, given Kenilworth Castle by Henry III (1216 - 1272) |
| 1250 | Cheylesmore Manor House built in Coventry. Later to be the home
of the Black Prince, son of Edward III (1327-1377) |
| 1265 | Battle of Kenilworth - Prince Edward son of Henry III defeats the pro Parliament barons |
| 1269 | Guild of the Holy Cross
established in Stratford upon Avon - dissolved by Henry VIII in
1547 |
| 1278 | Edward 1 grants the Benedictine Monastery
a licence to develop Cheylesmore Park which by 1400 covered 180
hectares |
| 1295 | Coventry sends two members to Parliament for the first time |
| 1307 | Edward II's wife, Queen Isabella, daughter of Phillip IV of France, became a major benefactress of the city until her death in 1358 |
| 1311 | Balsall is taken over by the Knights
Hospitallier (Order of St John of Jerusalem) from the Templars |
| 1334 | Coventry goods exempted from all English tolls |
| 1337 | Edward III (1327-1377) bans people from wearing anything but English wool. Coventry's textile industry protected |
| 1340 | Guild of St Mary founded in Coventry |
| 1342 | St Mary's
Guildhall built in Coventry |
| 1345 | Edward III grants
Coventry a corporation status |
| 1345 | Abbot Geoffrey killed in Coombe
Abbey. His ghost is said to haunt the Abbey |
| 1346 | John Ward becomes
first mayor of Coventry |
| 1348 | Second market granted
to Coventry held at Cross Cheaping |
| 1350 | The Black Death affects Coventry |
| 1351 | City records show that four suns shone
in the city |
| 1352 | Carmelite Friary established at Whitefriars in Coventry. Whitefriars built in Much Parks Street |
| 1355 | Coventry Wall started - 2½ miles long, 2½m wide and 4 m high |
| 1364 | Trinity Guild founded in Coventry |
| 1372 | Richard II (1377-1399) grants stone for the building of Spongate in the Wall |
| 1377 | Poll Tax paid by 5,000 people making Coventry one of the five largest cities in England |
| 1390 | William Bagot attacks
Coventry with a 'gang' of some 200 bandits |
| 1396 | William Onley
becomes Mayor for the first time. He was born in English Calais |
| 1397 | Battle of Gosford Green, Coventry - fight between the Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk. This is mentioned in Shakespeare's Richard II |
© 1996 Coventry City Council. City Development Directorate. Myles Mackie
Page updated 20.10.96 by Ecosaurus: coventry@ecosaurus.co.uk