101-1016: Cooksey is an English surname. It is commonly found in the West Midlands , originally given to people from Cooksey in Worcestershire . Notable people with the surname include: Catherine Cooksey , American chemist Cleophus Cooksey Jr. (born 1982), American serial killer Danny Cooksey (born 1975), American actor David Cooksey (born 1940), British businessman Donald Cooksey (1892–1977), American physicist Ernie Cooksey (1980–2008), English footballer Frank C. Cooksey (born 1933), American politician and environmental activist John Cooksey (1941–2022), American physician and politician Liam Cooksey (Born 2008), English TikToker. Mark Cooksey (born 1966), English video game musician. Patricia Cooksey (born 1958), American jockey Poppy Cooksey (born 1940), as Janet Wardell-Yerburgh
202-686: A 100-foot deep crater, and is the UK's largest explosion, being caused by around 4,000 tonnes of high explosive , and may be the world's largest non-nuclear explosion . Birmingham was the third most bombed city in the UK after London and Liverpool ; Spitfires were built in Castle Bromwich, Lancasters at Austin's works in Longbridge at Cofton Hackett , and the Birmingham Small Arms Company at Small Heath produced
303-411: A British Olympic fencer Scott Cooksey (born 1972), English footballer Taylor Cooksey (born 1992), US Air Force Officer and American Football Player References [ edit ] ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (2002). The Oxford Names Companion . Oxford University Press. p. 140. ISBN 0198605617 . [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
404-454: A Saxon landowner called Cofa , and a tree which might have marked either the centre or the boundary of the settlement. Around c. AD 700 a Saxon nunnery was founded here by St Osburga , which was later left in ruins by King Canute's invading Danish army in 1016. Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva built on the remains of the nunnery and founded a Benedictine monastery in 1043 dedicated to St Mary. It
505-685: A combined annual budget of around £1 billion. In 2021 Coventry became the UK City of Culture . A range of artistic and local history events and projects took place over the next year, including "Coventrypedia" and the creation of the Coventry Atlas local history map. As with the rest of the British Isles and the Midlands, Coventry experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station
606-551: A large settlement for centuries. Founded in the early Middle Ages , its city status was formally recognised in a charter of 1345. The city is governed by Coventry City Council , and the West Midlands Combined Authority . Formerly part of Warwickshire until 1451, and again from 1842 to 1974, Coventry had a population of 345,324 at the 2021 census, making it the tenth largest city in England and
707-722: A minority of those in power espousing racial equality ; European media and leaders lamented loss of Empire , advocated ultranationalism and prized military physical advantage; Galton saw human eugenics as part of all means to do better . Much of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom began in Birmingham and the Black Country area of West Midlands. The Industrial Revolution is thought to have begun when Abraham Darby substituted coke in
808-403: A particularly severe blow: By 1981, Coventry was in an economic crisis, with one in six of its residents unemployed. By 1982, the number of British Leyland employees in the city had fallen from 27,000 at its height, to just 8,000. Other Coventry industrial giants such as the tool manufacturer Alfred Herbert also collapsed during this time. In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Coventry also became
909-561: A scale) and in 1962 Sir Basil Spence 's much-celebrated new St Michael's Cathedral (incorporating one of the world's largest tapestries) was consecrated. Its prefabricated steel spire (flèche) was lowered into place by helicopter. Further housing developments in the private and public sector took place after the Second World War, partly to accommodate the growing population of the city and also to replace condemned and bomb damaged properties. Several new suburbs were constructed in
1010-558: A site at Cooper's Bank , south of Gornalwood . Ditherington Flax Mill in Shrewsbury was the first iron-framed building in the world in 1797. Thomas Bolton & Sons of Froghall , Staffordshire, made the world's first transatlantic telegraph cable in 1857, having supplied a submarine cable across the English Channel in 1850. On 10 July 1890, a trunk circuit telephone line was opened between London and Birmingham by
1111-406: A unitary authority in 2009) were Bromsgrove, South Staffordshire, Warwick, Wychavon, and Lichfield. At county level, the least deprived areas, in descending order, were Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Solihull, Staffordshire, and Shropshire. In March 2011 the region had the second highest overall unemployment claimant count in England at 4.7%, second to North East England . The highest in the region
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#17328020871461212-502: A while, this caused a devastating slump in Coventry's economy. A second wave of industrialisation, however, began soon after. Coventry's pool of highly skilled workers attracted James Starley , who set up a company producing sewing machines in Coventry in 1861. Within a decade, he became interested in bicycles , and developed the penny-farthing design in 1870. His company soon began producing these bicycles, and Coventry soon became
1313-612: A whole as measured by the 2011 census was as follows: For top-tier authorities in the West Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent has the highest teenage pregnancy rate. For council districts, Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire has the highest rate closely followed by Tamworth . For top-tier authorities, Shropshire has the lowest rate, and for council districts Malvern Hills has the lowest rate. The region, from studies of multiple deprivation, shows similarities with Yorkshire and
1414-492: Is 19 miles (31 km) east-south-east of Birmingham , 24 miles (39 km) south-west of Leicester, 10 miles (16 km) north of Warwick and 94 miles (151 km) north-west of London . Coventry is also the most central city in England, being only 12 miles (19 km) south-west of the country's geographical centre in Leicestershire . Coventry became an important and wealthy city of national importance during
1515-654: Is Coundon/Coventry Bablake. Temperature extremes recorded in Coventry range from −18.2 °C (−0.8 °F) in February 1947, to 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) in July 2022. The lowest temperature reading of recent years was −10.8 °C (12.6 °F) during December 2010. Coventry forms the largest part of the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area . The city proper covers an area of almost 100 km (39 sq mi). The protected West Midlands Green Belt , which surrounds
1616-466: Is Warwickshire (its population is between 550,000 and 600,000 people). The other counties and metropolitan boroughs have none, their public education systems are comprehensive in intake. The grammar and independent schools tend to produce pass-rate examination results among the top twenty ranked regionally. Many pupils compete for entrance examinations to attend such long-established Grammar Schools and most have significant parent sponsorship. In 2016 two of
1717-635: Is also the largest kind of boat race in the United Kingdom . The official representative body of the region is the West Midlands Leaders Board which has limited administrative functions such as regional planning and economic development. The board is not an elected body, but is made up of members appointed from local councils across the region and is known as a quango . It is based on Edward Street in Birmingham, near
1818-678: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles West Midlands (region) The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known traditionally as the Midlands . The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire , Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire , West Midlands and Worcestershire . The region has seven cities: Birmingham , Coventry , Hereford , Lichfield , Stoke-on-Trent , Wolverhampton and Worcester . The West Midlands region
1919-570: Is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the West Midlands conurbation to the rural counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire which border Wales . The region is landlocked; however, the longest river in the UK, the River Severn , traverses the region south-eastwards, flowing through the county towns of Shrewsbury and Worcester, and the Ironbridge Gorge , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Staffordshire
2020-594: Is home to the industrialised Potteries conurbation, including the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Staffordshire Moorlands area, which borders the south-eastern Peak District National Park near Leek . The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty : the Wye Valley , Shropshire Hills , Cannock Chase , Malvern Hills and parts of the Cotswolds . Warwickshire is home to
2121-699: Is in Brierley Hill , near the headquarters of West Midlands Police , where the Child Support Agency (CSA) was headquartered. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service was on Wolverhampton Science Park , north of the city centre; this function is now represented by Made in the Midlands , north of Wolverhampton. The DIT West Midlands for the region is based at the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce on Harborne Road , south of NHS West Midlands west of Five Ways. Most of
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#17328020871462222-539: Is known as the Lunt Fort . The fort was probably constructed around AD 60 in connection with the Boudican revolt , and then inhabited sporadically until around 280 AD. The origins of the present settlement are obscure, but Coventry probably began as an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Although there are various theories of the origin of the name, the most widely accepted is that it was derived from Cofa's tree ; derived from
2323-492: Is now North Somerset . High Duty Alloys at Redditch constructed (forged) the compressor and turbine blades for Whittle's first engines, and many of the early jet engines; it made Concorde 's airframe from the Hiduminium R.R.58 aluminium alloy . Maxaret , the world's first ABS braking system, was invented in Coventry by Dunlop in the early 1950s for aircraft; John Boyd Dunlop was a Scottish vet who had first produced
2424-538: Is the oldest working engine in the world. Smethwick was a main centre for making lighthouse lanterns . Valor Fires in Erdington developed the first radiant gas fire in 1967, a balanced flue fire in 1973, and a natural flame gas fire in 1978. The Erdington site, owned by Iceland's BDR Thermea , closed in May 2012. The company also built gas cookers ; since 2011 the company has been part of Glen Dimplex , who have
2525-481: Is thought likely that the idiom " sent to Coventry ", meaning to ostracise someone, derived from this period, owing to the often hostile attitude displayed towards the prisoners by the city folk. Following the restoration of the monarchy , as punishment for the support given to the Parliamentarians, King Charles II ordered that the city's walls be slighted (damaged and made useless as defences) which
2626-798: The Coventry Gazette and Birmingham Chronicle , first published in 1757; the Coventry Herald, first published in 1808; the Coventry Observer, first published in 1827; and the Coventry Advertiser , first published in 1852. The ribbon weaving and clock industries both rapidly collapsed after 1860, due to cheap imports following the Cobden–Chevalier free trade treaty , which flooded the market with cheaper French silks, and Swiss Made clocks and watches. For
2727-703: The English Civil War Coventry became a bastion of the Parliamentarians : In August 1642, a Royalist force led by King Charles I attacked Coventry. After a two-day battle, however, the attackers were unable to breach the city walls, and the city's garrison and townspeople successfully repelled the attack, forcing the King's forces to withdraw. During the Second Civil War many Scottish Royalist prisoners were held in Coventry; it
2828-531: The Great War. Approximately 35,000 men from Coventry and Warwickshire served during the First World War , so most of the skilled factory workers were women drafted from all over the country. Due to the importance of war production in Coventry it was a target for German zeppelin attacks and defensive anti-aircraft guns were established at Keresley and Wyken Grange to protect the city. In June 1921,
2929-529: The M1919 Browning machine gun . Boulton Paul Aircraft had their main aircraft factory in the north of Wolverhampton. RAF Defford , in the south of Worcestershire between Pershore and Croome Park , was where many important airborne radars were developed, such as H2S (radar) and anti-submarine radars. Thomas Wedgwood , son of Josiah Wedgwood, discovered the first photo-sensitive (light-sensitive) chemicals – silver nitrate and silver chloride in
3030-642: The Middle Ages . Later it became an important industrial centre, becoming home to a large bicycle industry in the 19th century. In the 20th century, it became a major centre of the British motor industry ; this made it a target for German air raids during the Second World War , and in November 1940, much of the historic city centre was destroyed by a large air raid . The city was rebuilt after
3131-555: The National Indoor Arena . From March 2010, the funding decisions at regional level were taken over by Advantage West Midlands , the Regional Development Agency . The West Midlands is the second most ethnically diverse region of the UK (London being the most diverse). This is in large part due to the West Midlands conurbation , which is highly diverse. The ethnic makeup of the West Midlands as
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3232-567: The National Telephone Company ; for the first time this allowed phone calls between the London and the north. The world's first coaxial cable was laid between London and Birmingham in 1936 to give 40 channels for telephone traffic. and brought into use in 1938, later extended to Manchester in 1940. Alexander Parkes invented the first man-made plastic ( thermoplastic ) in Birmingham in 1856. Princess Square, Wolverhampton,
3333-485: The Perrott's Folly . Philip Larkin came from Coventry. Rowland Hill (stamps) was from Kidderminster. The writer George Eliot came from Nuneaton . Anthony E. Pratt from Birmingham invented Cluedo . Frederick Gibberd of Coventry designed Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral . Edward Cave from Rugby made Britain's first magazine in 1731 – The Gentleman's Magazine . Philip Astley from Newcastle-under-Lyme invented
3434-511: The Peugeot factory at Ryton-on-Dunsmore in 2006, ended volume car manufacture in Coventry. By 2008, only one motor manufacturing plant was operational, that of LTI Ltd, producing the popular TX4 taxi cabs. On 17 March 2010 LTI announced they would no longer be producing bodies and chassis in Coventry, instead producing them in China and shipping them in for final assembly in Coventry. Since
3535-579: The Peugeot 206 , closed at the end of 2006, with production moving to Trnava in Slovakia, and some to a plant at Kolín in the Czech Republic . Alfred Herbert of Coventry was the largest machine-tool manufacturer in the UK for many decades; it was brought down in the 1970s by advancing technology overseas, and complacent strategic decisions of the management, finally closing in 1982; many Midlands manufacturing companies followed similar fates in
3636-560: The War Memorial Park was opened on the former Styvechale Common to commemorate the 2587 soldiers from the city who lost their lives in the war. The War Memorial was designed by Thomas Francis Tickner and is a Grade II* building. It was unveiled by Earl Haig in 1927, with a room called the Chamber of Silence inside the monument holding the roll of honour. Soldiers who lost their lives in recent conflicts have been added to
3737-567: The Wars of the Roses , the Royal Court was moved to Coventry by Margaret of Anjou , the wife of Henry VI , as she believed that London had become too unsafe. On several occasions between 1456 and 1459 parliament was held in Coventry, including the so-called Parliament of Devils . For a while Coventry served as the effective seat of government, but this would come to an end in 1461 when Edward IV
3838-436: The doom painting at Holy Trinity Church which features Christ in judgement, figures of the resurrected, and contrasting images of Heaven and Hell. By the 13th century, Coventry had become an important centre of the cloth trade, especially blue cloth dyed with woad and known as Coventry blue . Throughout the Middle Ages , it was one of the largest and most important cities in England, which at its Medieval height in
3939-476: The surname Cooksey . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cooksey&oldid=1252558153 " Categories : Surnames English-language surnames English toponymic surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
4040-493: The 13th largest in the United Kingdom. It is the second largest city in the West Midlands region , after Birmingham , from which it is separated by an area of green belt known as the Meriden Gap ; it is the third largest in the wider Midlands after Birmingham and Leicester . The city is part of a larger conurbation known as the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area , which in 2021 had a population of 389,603. Coventry
4141-569: The 1790s. Sir Norman Lockyer of Rugby discovered helium in 1868, for which he used electromagnetic spectroscopy . Edward Weston of Oswestry, who emigrated to the US, built the first accurate voltmeter in the late 1880s, and the Weston cell in 1893. Francis W. Aston of Harborne, educated at the University of Birmingham, developed mass spectrometry in 1919, which helped him to identify
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4242-635: The 1850s, Coventry had overshadowed its rivals to become the main centre of British watch and clock manufacture, which by that time employed around 2,000 people. The watch and clock industry produced a pool of highly skilled craftsmen, who specialised in producing precision components, and the Coventry Watchmakers' Association was founded in 1858. As the city prospered industrially in the 18th and early 19th centuries, several Coventry newspapers were founded. These include Jopson's Coventry Mercury, first issued by James Jopson of Hay Lane in 1741;
4343-442: The 1970s and 1980s. Henry Wiggin & Co of Hereford developed the metal alloys necessary for other Midlands' (and beyond) automotive and aerospace companies – Inconel , Incoloy and Nimonic . It was the lack of vanadium for high-melting point alloys , caused by Royal Navy action, that prevented German Me 262 engines being serviceable; had German Second World War engineers had a greater supply of vanadium and molybdenum ,
4444-465: The 1980s, Coventry has recovered, with its economy diversifying into services, with engineering ceasing to be a mass employer, what remains of manufacturing in the city is driven by smaller more specialist firms. By the 2010s the biggest drivers of Coventry's economy had become its two large universities; the University of Warwick and Coventry University , which between them, had 60,000 students, and
4545-469: The BBC election exit poll . 6 ft 9 Daniel Kawczynski , a Shropshire MP, is the tallest MP ever. Although having a slightly smaller percentage of the vote than the neighbouring East Midlands , the geographic area of the West Midlands is more Conservative, due to Labour's vote now consigned to the urban areas of Birmingham, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent. The number of seats is more favoured towards Labour than
4646-554: The Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, or Lichfield and Coventry (from 1102 to 1541), and in the medieval period Coventry was a major centre of pilgrimage of religion. The Benedictines , Carthusians , Carmelites and Franciscans all had religious houses in the city of Coventry. The Carthusian Priory of St Anne was built between 1381 and 1410 with royal patronage from King Richard II and his queen Anne of Bohemia Coventry has some surviving religious artworks from this time, such as
4747-595: The Black Prince . In 1451 Coventry became a county in its own right , a status it retained until 1842, when it was reincorporated into Warwickshire . Coventry's importance during the Middle Ages was such, that on a two occasions a national Parliament was held there, as well as a number of Great Councils . In 1404, King Henry IV summoned a parliament in Coventry as he needed money to fight rebellion, which wealthy cities such as Coventry lent to him. During
4848-715: The Ecology Party and then the Green Party in 1985. In the ONS International Territorial Levels (ITL), the West Midlands form a level-1 ITL region, coded "UKG", which is subdivided as follows: The region consists of the following administrative subdivisions: Key: †two-tier non-metropolitan county | * metropolitan county including the West Midlands Combined Authority and mayor The West Midlands' population accounts for almost 11% of England's overall population. 49.36% of
4949-748: The Humber , and is more deprived than the neighbouring East Midlands. From the Indices of deprivation 2007 , it can be seen that, in common with Northern England , the region has more Lower Area Super Output Areas in the 20% most deprived districts than in the 20% least deprived districts. The region's most deprived council districts, in descending order, are Birmingham (10th highest in England), Sandwell (14th), Stoke-on-Trent (16th), Wolverhampton (28th), Walsall (45th), Coventry (61st), and Dudley (100th). The least deprived districts in 2007 (before Shropshire became
5050-511: The UK's car industry would be centred in Coventry and Birmingham; most of this has now gone. Midland Motor Cylinder (part of Birmid Industries ) of Smethwick was the largest producer of automobile cylinder blocks in Europe. Fort Dunlop was Europe's largest tyre plant. Metro-Cammell in Birmingham made most of the 1970s and 1980s London Underground trains. MG Rover (a company of Rover) closed in 2005 (from 1885), The Ryton plant , which made
5151-627: The arts benefited. A new sports centre, with one of the few Olympic standard swimming pools in the UK, was constructed and Coventry City Football Club reached the First Division of English Football. The Belgrade Theatre (named in recognition of a gift of timber from the Yugoslavian capital city ) was also constructed along with the Herbert Art Gallery . Coventry's pedestrianised Precinct shopping area came into its own and
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#17328020871465252-650: The border with Powys , Wales. The region contains five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), including the Shropshire Hills , Malvern Hills and Cannock Chase , and parts of the Wye Valley and Cotswolds . The Peak District national park also stretches into the northern corner of Staffordshire . Major towns and cities in the West Midlands region include: The West Midlands region contains several urban areas with populations of 100,000 or more in 2021, which include: The RAF Fauld explosion on 27 November 1944 in east Staffordshire produced
5353-399: The cathedral tower The spire of the ruined cathedral forms one of the "three spires" which have dominated the city skyline since the 14th century, the others being those of Christ Church (of which only the spire survives) and Holy Trinity Church (which is still in use). St Michael's Cathedral is Coventry's best-known landmark and visitor attraction. The 14th century church
5454-726: The centre of the Two-tone musical phenomena. The two-tone style was multi-racial, derived from the traditional Jamaican music genres of ska , reggae and rocksteady combined with elements of punk rock and new wave . Bands considered part of the genre include the Specials , the Selecter , Madness , the Beat , Bad Manners , the Bodysnatchers and Akrylykz . Most famously the Specials 1981 UK no.1 hit ' Ghost Town ' reflected
5555-439: The centre of the British bicycle industry. Further innovation came from Starley's nephew, John Kemp Starley , who developed the Rover safety bicycle , the first true modern bicycle with two equal-sized wheels and a chain drive in 1885. By the 1890s Coventry had the largest bicycle industry in the world, with numerous manufacturers, however bicycle manufacture went into steady decline from then on, and ended entirely in 1959, when
5656-414: The city a connection to the growing national canal network. Nevertheless, during the 18th century, Coventry lost its status as the Midlands' most important city to nearby Birmingham , which overtook Coventry in size. During the same period, Coventry became one of the three main British centres of watch and clock manufacture and ranked alongside Prescot , in Lancashire and Clerkenwell in London. By
5757-458: The city centre and to Coventry's historic cathedral , leaving only a shell and the spire. More than 4,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, along with around three quarters of the city's industrial plants. Between 380 and 554 people were killed, with thousands injured and homeless. Aside from London, Hull and Plymouth , Coventry suffered more damage than any other British city during the Luftwaffe attacks, with huge firestorms devastating most of
5858-424: The city centre, the University of Warwick on the southern outskirts and the smaller private Arden University with its headquarters close to Coventry Airport . In addition, Coventry was awarded UK City of Culture for 2021. The Romans founded a large fort on the outskirts of what is now Coventry at Baginton , next to the River Sowe , it has been excavated and partially reconstructed in modern times and
5959-420: The city centre. The city was probably targeted owing to its high concentration of armaments, munitions, aircraft and aero-engine plants which contributed greatly to the British war effort, although there have been claims that Hitler launched the attack as revenge for the bombing of Munich by the RAF six days before the Coventry Blitz and chose the Midlands city because its medieval heart was regarded as one of
6060-429: The city on all sides, has prevented the expansion of the city into both the administrative county of Warwickshire and the metropolitan borough of Solihull (the Meriden Gap ), and has helped to prevent the coalescence of the city with surrounding towns such as Kenilworth , Nuneaton , Leamington Spa , Warwick and Rugby as well as the large village of Balsall Common . Panoramic views of Coventry City Centre from
6161-412: The city was badly hit by Henry VIII 's dissolution of the monasteries . Between 1539 and 1542, monasteries, priories and other properties belonging to the Carmelites , Greyfriars , Benedictines and Carthusians , were either sold off or dismantled. The greatest loss to the city was of Coventry's first Cathedral, St Mary's Priory and Cathedral which was mostly demolished, leaving only ruins, making it
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#17328020871466262-444: The city, starting in the 1930s and being completed in 1940, helped deliver more urban areas to the city on previously rural land. In the 1910s plans were created to redevelop Coventry's narrow streets and by the 1930s the plans were put into action with Coventry's medieval street of Butcher Row being demolished. even before the war, the plans had been put in place to destroy the medieval character of Coventry. The London Road Cemetery
6363-537: The early 15th century had a population of up to 10,000, making it the most important city in the Midlands , and possibly the fourth largest in England behind London , York and Bristol . Reflecting its importance, in around 1355, work began on a defensive city wall , which, when finally finished around 175 years later in 1530, measured 2.25 miles (3.62 km) long, at least 12 feet (3.7 m) high, and up to 9 feet (2.7 m) thick, it had two towers and twelve gatehouses. Coventry's city walls were described as one of
6464-492: The engine life (around 12 hours maximum, from entering service in April 1944 to the end of the war) of their jet engine would have increased much more, which would have been significant to the war's outcome. Bristol Siddeley developed the rocket engines for Black Arrow at Ansty; in fact all of R-R's rocket engines were developed and built there at R-R's Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine Division; Britain's smaller rocket engines for missiles were built by Bristol Aerojet in what
6565-460: The finest in Britain. Following the raids, the majority of Coventry's historic buildings were demolished by a council who saw no need of them in a modern city, although some of them could have been repaired and some of those demolished were unaffected by the bombing. In the post-war years Coventry was largely rebuilt under the general direction of the Gibson Plan , gaining a new pedestrianised shopping precinct (the first of its kind in Europe on such
6666-417: The first isotopes , receiving the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1922. Dennis Gabor invented holography at British Thomson-Houston in Rugby in 1947, receiving the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1971. James Glaisher in 1862 took a record balloon flight with Henry Tracey Coxwell for the BAAS near Wolverhampton. They reached 29,000 feet (8,800 m) the composition of the Earth's atmosphere until then
6767-433: The first pneumatic tyres in 1889. Matthew Piers Watt Boulton , grandson of Matthew Boulton, and born in the area, invented the aileron , an important flight control surface in 1868, decades before the first actual flight. Triumph Engineering was a famous motorbike firm in Meriden. About a quarter of all British WWI planes were built in Coventry. The Jensen Interceptor FF was the first production four-wheel-drive car in
6868-411: The geographic spread, with 35 Conservative seats and 24 Labour. All of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire is now Conservative. The Green Party of England and Wales was formed at the Bridge Inn in Napton-on-the-Hill , Warwickshire, in February 1973, originating from an article by Paul R. Ehrlich about population growth in Playboy magazine. In 1975, it became
6969-491: The growth of the car industry attracting workers, Coventry's population doubled between 1901 and 1911. For most of the early-20th century, Coventry's economy boomed; in the 1930s, a decade otherwise known for its economic slump , Coventry was noted for its affluence. In 1937 Coventry topped a national purchasing power index, designed to calculate the purchasing power of the public. Many Coventry factories switched production to military vehicles, armaments and ammunitions during
7070-416: The large influx of workers who came to work in the city's booming factories. The areas which were expanded or created in this development included Radford , Coundon , Canley , Cheylesmore and Stoke Heath . As the population grew, the city boundaries underwent several expansions, in 1890, 1928, 1931 and 1965, and between 1931 and 1940 the city grew by 36%. The development of a southern by-pass around
7171-593: The last bicycle manufacturer in the city relocated. By the late-1890s, bicycle manufacture began to evolve into motor manufacture. The first motor car was made in Coventry in 1897, by the Daimler Company . Before long Coventry became established as one of the major centres of the British motor industry . In the early-to-mid 20th century, a number of famous names in the British motor industry became established in Coventry, including Alvis , Armstrong Siddeley , Daimler , Humber , Jaguar , Riley , Rootes , Rover , Singer , Standard , Swift and Triumph . Thanks to
7272-542: The modern day circus in 1768 – Astley's Amphitheatre . The Castlemorton Common Festival in May 1992 near Malvern, led to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 . The Nowka Bais is a Bengali boat racing festival which takes place annually in Birmingham . It is a cultural event in the West Midlands, United Kingdom attracting not only the Bangladeshi diaspora but a variety of cultures. It
7373-490: The monks from the adjacent priory of Saint Mary in 1144, and converted it into a fortress from which he waged a battle against the castle which was held by the Earl. Marmion perished in the battle. It was demolished in the late 12th century. St Mary's Guildhall was built on part of the site. It is assumed the name "Broadgate" comes from the area around the castle gates. The Bishops of Lichfield were often referred to as
7474-496: The name is also used for the much smaller West Midlands county and conurbation which is in the central belt of the Midlands and on the eastern side of the West Midlands Region. It is also still used by various organisations within that area, such as West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service . The highest point in the region is Black Mountain , at 703 metres (2,307 ft) in west Herefordshire on
7575-483: The number of seats, with 42% of the region's electorate voting Conservative, 33% Labour, 16% UKIP, 6% Liberal Democrat and 3% Green. The Conservatives gained 2 seats with virtually no swing from Labour to Conservative. In the 2017 general election , South Staffordshire ( Gavin Williamson ) had the second-highest Conservative vote proportion in the UK – 69.8%. David Firth , at the University of Warwick , invented
7676-549: The only English Cathedral to be destroyed during the dissolution. Coventry would not have another Cathedral until 1918, when the parish church of St Michael was elevated to Cathedral status, and it was itself destroyed by enemy bombing in 1940. Coventry therefore has had the misfortune of losing its Cathedral twice in its history. William Shakespeare , from nearby Stratford-upon-Avon , may have witnessed plays in Coventry during his boyhood or 'teens', and these may have influenced how his plays, such as Hamlet , came about. During
7777-427: The onset of frozen food in the UK. Alfred Bird invented egg-free custard in 1837 in Birmingham – accidentally given to guests at his home, being created as his wife had an allergy to eggs; he then invented baking powder in 1843 as his wife also had an allergy to yeast . J. R. R. Tolkien grew up in Birmingham, Kings Heath, then part of Worcestershire, and was inspired by Moseley Bog and Sarehole , and perhaps by
7878-792: The place of charcoal to smelt iron, at his Old Furnace. The Black Country may be regarded as the world's first industrial landscape, while nearby Ironbridge Gorge claims to be the Birthplace of Industry. The world's first cast iron bridge in 1779 spans the Gorge. The first self-propelled locomotive to run on rails in 1803 at Coalbrookdale, was built by Richard Trevithick . The first iron rails for horse-drawn transport, were made at Coalbrookdale in 1768 by Richard Reynolds at Ketley Ironworks . Iron rails only became widely successful in 1820 when made out of wrought iron at Bedlington Ironworks in north-east England. Birmingham's industrial development
7979-411: The post-war period, including Tile Hill , Wood End , and Stoke Aldermoor . Coventry's motor industry boomed during the 1950s and 1960s and Coventry enjoyed a 'golden age'. In 1960 over 81,000 people were employed in the production of motor vehicles, tractors and aircraft in Coventry. During this period the disposable income of Coventrians was amongst the highest in the country and both the sports and
8080-680: The region is covered by the Midlands Air Ambulance , except Warwickshire is covered by the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance , based at Coventry Airport ; both are charity-funded. Sir Anthony Bamford of Staffordshire is the richest British industrialist, at around £3.15bn in 2014; Sir James Dyson is second (£3bn). Selective schools are in low numbers as follows: Birmingham (8), Walsall (2), Wolverhampton (1), Warwickshire (6), Stoke-on-Trent (1), and Telford and Wrekin (2). The highest proportion per head therefore
8181-837: The region's population resides in the West Midlands county, 20.17% in Staffordshire, 10.49% in Worcestershire, 9.91% in Warwickshire, 8.56% in Shropshire, and 3.37% in Herefordshire. Business Link West Midlands was based on the Quinton Business Park in Quinton , next to Highways England . NHS West Midlands, the strategic health authority was in Edgbaston. The West Midlands Ambulance Service
8282-401: The roll of honour over the years. With many of the city's older properties becoming increasingly unfit for habitation, the first council houses were let to their tenants in 1917. With Coventry's industrial base continuing to soar after the end of the Great War in 1918, numerous private and council housing developments took place across the city in the 1920s and 1930s to provide housing for
8383-469: The time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, Coventry was probably a modest sized town of around 1,200 inhabitants, and its own minster church. Coventry Castle was a motte and bailey castle in the city. It was built in the early 12th century by Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester . Its first known use was during The Anarchy when Robert Marmion , a supporter of King Stephen , expelled
8484-599: The top ten such schools nationally were in Warwickshire, where in the CV37 postal district prices were 34% higher than the county as a whole. Coventry Coventry ( / ˈ k ɒ v ən t r i / KOV -ən-tree or rarely / ˈ k ʌ v -/ KUV - ) is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county, in England , on the River Sherbourne . Coventry had been
8585-408: The towns of Stratford upon Avon , birthplace of writer William Shakespeare ; Rugby , the birthplace of Rugby football ; and Nuneaton , birthplace to author George Eliot . The official region contains the ceremonial counties of Herefordshire , Shropshire , Staffordshire , Warwickshire , West Midlands and Worcestershire . There is some confusion in the use of the term "West Midlands", as
8686-608: The unemployment and desolation of Coventry at the time. Some motor manufacturing continued into the early 21st century: The research and design headquarters of Jaguar Cars is in the city at their Whitley plant and although vehicle assembly ceased at the Browns Lane plant in 2004, Jaguar's head office returned to the city in 2011, and is also sited in Whitley. Jaguar is owned by the Indian company, Tata Motors . The closure of
8787-585: The very first in Coventry—was opened on Eagle Street to serve the city's growing Pakistani community. The 1970s, however, saw a decline in the British motor industry and Coventry suffered particularly badly, especially towards the end of that decade. By the 1970s, most of Coventry's motor companies had been absorbed and rationalised into larger companies, such as British Leyland and Chrysler which subsequently collapsed. The early 1980s recession dealt Coventry
8888-412: The war, and the motor industry thrived until the mid-1970s. However, by the late-1970s/early-1980s, Coventry was in an economic crisis, with one of the country's highest levels of unemployment due to major plant closures and the collapse of the respective local supply-chain. In recent years, it has seen regeneration and an increase in population. The city also has three universities: Coventry University in
8989-479: The wonders of the late Middle Ages. Today, Swanswell Gate and Cook Street Gate are the only surviving gatehouses and they stand in the city centre framed by Lady Herbert's Garden . Coventry claimed the status of a city by ancient prescriptive usage , and was granted a charter of incorporation and coat of arms by King Edward III in 1345. The motto " Camera Principis " (the Prince's Chamber) refers to Edward,
9090-700: The world, designed by Major Tony Rolt , and built at their factory in West Bromwich. Cadbury launched Dairy Milk in 1905, Bournville in 1906, Fruit & Nut in 1928, Whole Nut in 1930, Cadbury Roses in 1938, and the Cadbury Creme Egg in 1971. George and Richard Cadbury built their factory in 1879 and Bournville in 1893, named after the Bourn brook . Iceland (supermarket) opened its first store in Oswestry in 1970 – heralding
9191-494: Was Wolverhampton at 7.7%, the joint second highest (with Manchester) unemployment rate in England. Next is Sandwell with 7.1%, Birmingham with 7.0%, and Walsall with 6.4%. The lowest rate in the region is the district of Stratford-on-Avon , with 1.6% – one of the lowest unemployment rates in England. In the 2015 general election , the Conservatives gained the largest share of the region by popular vote and took control of
9292-538: Was an early eugenicist rooted in improving animal breeding stock and examining heredity. He invented terms eugenics and nature versus nurture . His limited calls for human eugenics were widened by the German Society for Racial Hygiene in 1905 founded by Alfred Ploetz , which coupled with the racial superiority fallacies of Aryanism reached its nadir in genocidal antisemitism . Moral teachings and inherent repulsions towards human eugenics were overcome by
9393-471: Was carried out in 1662. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, silk ribbon weaving and watch and clock making became Coventry's staple industries. In the 1780s, the silk ribbon weaving industry was estimated to employ around 10,000 weavers in Coventry, and its surrounding towns like Bedworth and Nuneaton . Coventry's growth was aided by the opening of the Coventry Canal in 1769, which gave
9494-421: Was considered one of the finest retail experiences outside London. In 1965 the new University of Warwick campus was opened to students, and rapidly became one of the country's leading higher-education institutions. Coventry's large industrial base made it attractive to the wave of Asian and Caribbean immigrants who arrived from Commonwealth colonies after 1948. In 1950, one of Britain's first mosques —and
9595-516: Was designed by Joseph Paxton on the site of a former quarry to meet the needs of the city. Coventry suffered severe bomb damage during the Second World War . The most severe was a massive Luftwaffe air raid that the Germans called Operation Moonlight Sonata. The raid, which involved more than 500 aircraft, started at 7pm on 14 November 1940 and carried on for 11 hours into the morning of 15 November. The raid led to severe damage to large areas of
9696-423: Was during this time that the legend of Lady Godiva riding naked on horseback through the streets of Coventry, to protest against unjust taxes levied on the citizens of Coventry by her husband, was alleged to have occurred. Although this story is regarded as a myth by modern historians, it has become an enduring part of Coventry's identity. A market was established at the abbey gates and the settlement expanded. At
9797-582: Was installed on the throne. In 1506 the draper Thomas Bond founded Bond's Hospital , an almshouse in Hill Street, to provide for 10 poor men and women. This was followed in 1509 with the founding of another almshouse, when the wool merchant William Ford founded Ford's Hospital and Chantry on Greyfriars' Lane, to provide for 5 poor men and their wives. Throughout the Middle Ages Coventry had been home several monastic orders and
9898-411: Was largely destroyed by German bombing during the Second World War , leaving only the outer walls and spire. At 300 feet (91 metres) high, the spire of St Michael's is claimed to be the third tallest cathedral spire in England, after Salisbury and Norwich . Due to the architectural design (in 1940 the tower had no internal wooden floors and a stone vault below the belfry) it survived the destruction of
9999-629: Was not understood; the altitude records for the UK have not been exceeded since; Project Excelsior in the US in 1960 would later reach 20 miles (110,000 ft). Philip Lawley of Burton upon Trent was first person to realise that chemical damage to DNA caused cancer (at the Chester Beatty Research Institute in London) in the early 1960s. Francis Galton (d. 1911) of the Darwin–Wedgwood family 's Birmingham branch
10100-604: Was the site of Britain's first traffic lights in 1927. Infrared cameras were developed at the Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern (with EMI Electronics) in 1967. The world's first Maglev train operated at Birmingham Airport in 1983. The tallest freestanding structure in the region was the chimney of Ironbridge power station at 673 ft. John Baskerville of Birmingham, a former stone carver, largely invented fonts, or typefaces , for printing. Much of
10201-552: Was triggered by discussions at the Lunar Society of Birmingham at Soho House , Boulton's house, and products were carried along the BCN Main Line canal. Soho Manufactory was the first man-made-powered factory in world. Chance Brothers of Smethwick built the glass for The Crystal Palace in 1851. Smethwick Engine , now at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum , is the oldest working steam engine, made in 1779, and
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