An exhibition at Coventry Cathedral is pulling back the curtain on a pivotal moment in postwar design, the 1951 competition to rebuild after the city’s medieval cathedral was bombed during World War II.
Towards a New Cathedral opens Saturday inside the cathedral and runs until Sept. 21. The show brings together competition entries, many of them not displayed since the judging, along with contemporary newspaper reports and photographs that capture the debates of the time.
The original 14th-century St. Michael’s Cathedral was destroyed in the Coventry blitz in 1940. More than 200 architects from around the world submitted proposals that ranged from traditional concepts to modernist visions. Scottish architect Basil Spence won the competition, and the completed cathedral opened in 1962. It divided opinion at the time, but today the building is Grade I listed and stands as one of the Midlands’ architectural landmarks.
For mason contractors who work in restoration, preservation, and major institutional projects, the exhibit is a reminder that “how it was meant to be built” starts with the record set, drawings, models, photos, and early press. Those documents shape field decisions later, including repair scope, matching existing details, and protecting historic fabric during any future work around a landmark building.
The exhibition was curated by Harry Foley, a PhD candidate at University College London, who called the competition a turning point in British architecture that helped open the door to modern church designs in the late 1950s and 1960s. Featured runners-up include proposals by Colin St John Wilson and Donald Hanks McMorran, plus an unused entry from Alison and Peter Smithson, later associated with Brutalist architecture. Cathedral archivist Dianne Morris said the show highlights forgotten designs that were not chosen, reflecting the bishop’s vision for a “people’s cathedral.”
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