The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

108
THE BEITISH ISLES.
Coventry, on the Sherbourne, a small tributary of the Avon, is far mare
populous than either of the towns mentioned. Its name recalls the ancient
convent around which the first houses were built. Originally Coventry was a
place of processions and pilgrimages, and legends and popular sayings testify to
the reputation which it enjoyed during the Middle Ages. Best known amongst
these legends is that of Lady Godiva, the wife of Leofric, and " Peeping Tom."
St. Michael's Church, with a steeple 303 feet in height, is one of the finest Gothic
edifices in the country. Formerly Coventry was noted for its cloth, but for its
Fig. 58.
—
Stratfohd-on-Avon.
Scale \ : 88,400.
present prosperity it is mainly dependent upon the manufacture of ribbons,
which was introduced by French refugees who settled there after the revoca-
tion of the Edict of Nantes. Foleshill and Bedworth, higher up on the Sher-
bourne, carry on the same branches of industry, besides which the latter has
some collieries. Nuneaton, in the valley of the Anker, on the northern slope of
the county, engages largely in cotton-spinning, whilst its neighbour Atherstone,
in the same valley, in addition to collieries, carries on the manufacture of hats
and caps.