Disappearing Coventry: Coventry's Old Grammar School
These pages are devoted to Historic Buildings and areas of Coventry that are suffering from neglect or ill treatment.
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Coventry Old Grammar School
The old Grammar School taken in 1988 before it was left to decay
This wonderful part of Coventry’s history is being allowed to decay at an alarming rate.
You cannot help but feel that if this building had been in another city it would have been maintained and used as a tourist attraction. Certainly not left to deteriorate until nothing can be done and then be happily demolished and forgotten. It has already been damaged by arsonists and threatened by road widening plans. How much longer can it survive?
The Old Grammar School was built circa 1340 as a chapel for the 12th Century St John the Baptist Hospital. The Hospital was a victim of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Then, in 1545, this once beautiful sandstone building was turned into a Grammar School by John Hales. The pupils used choir stalls, moved from Whitefriars Church, as desks. It survived as a school for about 300 years then came under threat when the school moved, and was only saved by public subscription.
This photo was taken during and open day several years ago.
Millions of pounds have been spent in Coventry on building windswept squares. Should not the Old Grammar School have been restored as part of the Phoenix Development? How about spending money on keeping our past alive?
Photo shows the interior of the Old Grammar School in Hales Street, including the choir stalls moved from Whitefriars church, many bearing the graffiti of bored students from hundreds of years ago.
A welcome update May 2011
Some great news about Coventry’s Old Grammar School. Plans have been mooted to regenerate the Bishop Street area, and this ancient Coventry building could, according to the chairman of Coventry Civic Society, become a focus for the plan.
The Church of England has announced that they have set up a trust fund to pay for ‘significant restorations’ for this historical building. No specific details are available at the time of writing so we watch with interest.
"This is a brilliant and long overdue piece of restoration work to save this crumbling piece of local history, and we wish the plans all the best." - Jane Hewitt
