Whitefriars Monastery

Whitefriars monastery was founded in 1342 by Sir John Poulteney, a pre-eminent merchant Draper and Lord Mayor of London, and is the longest standing friary church in England. The monastery was dissolved in 1538, where the church, buildings and corresponding land were divided up. John Hales received the buildings and land, where he converted the priory into private residence and demolished parts and made structural alterations. During Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Coventry in 1565, she stayed at Whitefriars and is said to have addressed the city’s citizens from the main oriel window. By 1572, most of the church has destroyed, and in 1574 the steeple fell and the wall was destroyed. The buildings stayed with the Hales family until 1717, when an Act of Parliament obtained sale by remained in private ownership until 1801. The building was transformed into a workhouse from 1801 – 1940s, followed by a salvation army hostel. Currently leased by Coventry City Council and is used for archaeological archive storage and for museum artefacts.

Find out more: https://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/tour/content.php?pg=whitefriars-monastery