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Coventry
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Cathedral city in Warwickshire. It developed around an important priory, founded in 1043 by Earl Leofric and Countess Godgifu (‘Lady Godiva’ of Coventry folklore). In the 14th cent. the city rose spectacularly through cloth‐manufacturing to become the fourth largest English town. It declined equally spectacularly in the 16th cent., but found renewed industrial prosperity from the 18th cent. It was heavily bombed in the Second World War.
