Drapers' Hall, Coventry
| Drapers' Hall | |
|
Warwickshire | |
|---|---|
 Drapers' Hall | |
| Location | |
| City: | Coventry |
| History | |
| Address: | Bayley Lane, Coventry |
| Built 1831-1832 | |
| For: | The Fellowship of Drapers of Coventry by Thomas Rickman |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Coventry City Council |
Drapers' Hall is a historic guildhall in the heart of Coventry in Warwickshire, and a Grade II* listed building.[1] It stands in the city's Cathedral Quarter. The building is built in Greek Revival style and was designed by Thomas Rickman and H. Hutchinson.
The hall was built in 1832 by the Drapers' Company (or 'Fellowship of the Drapers of Coventry', a large trading guild of the city.
The present building is believed to the third guildhall on the site.[2]
It ceased to be used by the Guild during the twentieth century and fell into disrepair, but has recently become the subject of restoration projects.
History
Drapers' Hall was constructed 1831-32 to be the headquarters of the Coventry Drapers' Guild,[1] and an east wing was added in 1864.
The hall claims a connection to the expression "sent to Coventry", meaning shunned by society. The Drapers' Company of London claim that it has a derivation from their own trade, namely that a draper who failed to achieve success in London would go to Coventry, as the kingdom’s second centre of the trade, and thus would come to the later city's Drapers' Hall, if not the current building.[3]
The basement of the building was used as an air raid shelter for 200 people during the Second World War.[4]
It was also used as a church centre. In 2012 it was reported that the building would be converted into a music centre.[4]
In 2018 The Prince's Foundation announced a project for the restoration of the Drapers' Hall to serve as a music and cultural venue.[3]
The building has been opened to the public under the auspices of the Heritage Open Days scheme.[2]
See also
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Drapers' Hall, Coventry) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Heritage List 1076660: Draper's Hall, Coventry
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Drapes Lifted Off Historic Hall". Coventry and Warwickshire News. 15 September 2000. http://www.cwn.org.uk/heritagedays/2000/09/000915-drapers-hall.htm. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Prince's Foundation: Restoration of Coventry's Drapers' Hall
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Drapers Hall to become Coventry music centre". BBC News Online (BBC). 20 September 2012. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-19658497. Retrieved 28 September 2012.