Coventry, Bournville, and Wolverhampton

I spent some time in December visiting the surrounding areas of Birmingham. One stop was Coventry. There's a saying that when people ignore you (pretend you don't exist), you've been 'sent to Coventry.' It's also famous for Lady Godiva. The Cathedral in Coventry was destroyed by bombing in WWII and its remains are still standing beside the new church from the 1960s. The present-day site of the library used to be a popular concert venue in the 1960s and 70s, The Locarno. The Who, The Small Faces, The Yardbirds, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin all performed here!

Welcome to Coventry

Lady Godiva statue, Coventry

Coventry City Council building

Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral remains

Coventry Cathedral, interior (photo from National Churches Trust)

Central Library, Coventry (former site of The Locarno)

Gosford Books, Coventry

Earlsdon branch library, Coventry

At Earlsdon branch library

Bournville in south Birmingham is where Cadbury World, the Cadbury chocolate factory, is located. I did visit the chocolate shop, but actually I was in town to see The Clean Kilo, a neat little grocery store in Bournville. And I also walked by Selly Manor, a 15th century house that was relocated in 1916. It looks really cute! I'd love to stop for a tour on a different day. Events and workshops are occasionally held there.

Cadbury World

The Clean Kilo

Selly Manor

One day I rode the tram all the way from central Birmingham to Wolverhampton. (There are faster ways to get to Wolverhampton, but I had a ticket for the tram.) Of course my soundtrack was Led Zeppelin, because Wolverhampton is Robert Plant's home town! I visited the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, neighbouring St Peter's Gardens, the outdoor market, the library, and some other shops. Since the City of Wolverhampton Council library system is different than the Birmingham City Council library system, I'm planning to sign up for both libraries. At the Art Gallery, I saw an exhibit of Evelyn De Morgan's work. It is nearly the same as an exhibit that was first held there in 1907, the first solo exhibit by a woman artist in England—many of the same paintings are collected again for Painted Dreams: The Art of Evelyn De Morgan.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Night and Sleep by Evelyn De Morgan

The Undiscovered Country by Evelyn De Morgan

This was made out of paper in the 1800s! (possibly by Robert Warwicke)

Tea at the art gallery

St Peter's Gardens (statue is of Wulfrun)

Royal London Buildings

Prince Albert statue

Wolverhampton Market

Wolverhampton Central Library (photo from Google)

Thanks for reading!

Wymondham

 I had a lovely visit to Wymondham near Norwich to see Kett's Books and join in some Scottish country dancing. Here are some photos of my walk around town. 

No "shelf control"

Inside Kett's Books

Beautiful painted walls!

Town centre, Wymondham

Becket's Chapel

The Green Dragon Inn

Wymondham Abbey

Wymondham Library

Birmingham

Last week I visited Birmingham, England's second-largest city. I really enjoyed seeing the stained glass windows made by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris at Birmingham's Cathedral. St Philip's Cathedral started as a parish church and was made a cathedral in 1905. At the time the special windows were installed in the 1880s, it was still a parish church. During World War II the windows were removed and stored in Wales to protect them from any bombing. 

Another highlight for me was the Victorian Radicals exhibit at the museum and art gallery. There was lots of Rossetti, Burne-Jones, and Ford Maddox Brown, but I would have liked to see more by Millais. I did get to see The Germ (although a reprint). I learned about a few of the women Pre-Raphaelite artists, too, including Kate Elizabeth Bunce and Mary Jane Newill. I also toured Aston Hall, a Jacobean house built in the 1600s for Sir Thomas Holte and visited by both King Charles I and Queen Victoria. I especially liked the Long Hall and the Green Library.

And of course I visited the Library of Birmingham and the Secret Garden rooftop. The library is home to a language centre (Brasshouse Languages), a music library, the Parker Collection of Children's Books, the Shakespeare Library, and more. There are 36 branches, and on my visit to one of these, I picked up a neat little library zine which some famous authors have made in support of the Birmingham library service.

The Last Judgement window

Birmingham Cathedral

The Ascension window

The Nativity window (notice it's set in a cave!)

The Crucifixion window

At Birmingham Cathedral

Corporation Street

Victoria Square (with Christmas market set up)

Council House

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

My kind of exhibit!

The Annunciation by Edward Burne-Jones

Jasmine by William Morris

Beauty and the Beast by John Dixon Batton (image from Birmingham Museum)

The Keepsake by Kate Elizabeth Bunce (image from Google)

Sleepe after Toile by Mary Jane Newill

The Germ magazine

View of Art Gallery and Gas Hall (image from Google)

Tea at Boston Tea Party

The courts across from Boston Tea Party

Aston Hall (was never a sanatorium—really!)

The Long Hall

Window in the Long Hall

The Green Library

The Library of Birmingham

Inside the Library of Birmingham

The Secret Garden

Secret Garden rooftop

View from the rooftop

Big Wheel

Birchfield branch library

Erdington branch library

Save our libraries!

Brum Library Zine

And I had another significant reason for visiting Birmingham! More on that soon. Thanks for reading!