St. Mary'S Guildhall

St. Mary's Hall is a guildhall built in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, first built 1340–42 and much altered and extended c. 1392–1430, The building has a vaulted undercroft which is currently a restaurant. HistoryThe guildhall originally served as the headquarters of the merchant guild of St. Mary, and subsequently of the united guilds of the Holy Trinity, St. Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Katherine. Following the suppression of guilds in 1547, for a time it served as the city's armoury and (until 1822) its treasury, as well as the headquarters for administration for the city council until the Council House was opened in 1920. In November 1569, following the Catholic Rising of the North, Mary Queen of Scots was rushed south from Tutbury Castle to Coventry. Elizabeth I sent a letter, instructing the people of Coventry to look after Mary. She suggested that Mary be held somewhere secure such as Coventry Castle. However, by that time it was too decayed and Mary was instead first held at the Bull Inn, Smithford Street before being moved to the Mayoress's Parlour in St. Mary's. Following the defeat of the rebels, Mary was once more sent north to Chatsworth in May 1570. George Eld, mayor of Coventry (1834–5) was an antiquarian who encouraged appreciation of Coventry's ancient buildings. He initiated the restoration of the fourteenth-century interior of the mayoress's parlour.

St. Mary's Hall is a guildhall built in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, first built 1340–42 and much altered and extended c. 1392–1430, The building has a vaulted undercroft which is currently a restaurant. HistoryThe guildhall originally served as the headquarters of the merchant guild of St. Mary, and subsequently of the united guilds of the Holy Trinity, St. Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Katherine. Following the suppression of guilds in 1547, for a time it served as the city's armoury and (until 1822) its treasury, as well as the headquarters for administration for the city council until the Council House was opened in 1920. In November 1569, following the Catholic Rising of the North, Mary Queen of Scots was rushed south from Tutbury Castle to Coventry. Elizabeth I sent a letter, instructing the people of Coventry to look after Mary. She suggested that Mary be held somewhere secure such as Coventry Castle. However, by that time it was too decayed and Mary was instead first held at the Bull Inn, Smithford Street before being moved to the Mayoress's Parlour in St. Mary's. Following the defeat of the rebels, Mary was once more sent north to Chatsworth in May 1570. George Eld, mayor of Coventry (1834–5) was an antiquarian who encouraged appreciation of Coventry's ancient buildings. He initiated the restoration of the fourteenth-century interior of the mayoress's parlour.