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Coventry Central Baths

Buildings and structures in CoventryModernist architecture in the United Kingdom
Coventry baths side Feb 2020
Coventry baths side Feb 2020

Coventry Central Baths is a leisure centre in Coventry, England. It is located on Fairfax Street in the city centre, and was the main building of the Coventry Sports & Leisure Centre until its closure in February 2020.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Coventry Central Baths (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Coventry Central Baths
Fairfax Street, Coventry Hillfields

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Wikipedia: Coventry Central BathsContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.4091 ° E -1.50452 °
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Address

CLOSED (Former Coventry Sports & Leisure Centre)

Fairfax Street
CV1 5RY Coventry, Hillfields
England, United Kingdom
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Coventry baths side Feb 2020
Coventry baths side Feb 2020
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Coventry University
Coventry University

Coventry University is a public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the founding of the Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lanchester Polytechnic from 1970 until 1987, and then as Coventry Polytechnic until the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 afforded its university status that year and the name was changed to Coventry University. Coventry is the larger of the two universities in the city, the other being the University of Warwick. It is the UK's fastest growing university and the country's fourth largest overall. It has two principal campuses: one in the centre of Coventry where the majority of its operations are located, and one in Central London which focuses on business and management courses. Coventry also governs their other higher education institutions CU Coventry, CU Scarborough and CU London, all of which market themselves as an "alternative to mainstream higher education". Its four faculties, which are made up of schools and departments, run around 300 undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Across the university there are 11 research centres which specialise in different fields, from agroecology and peace studies to future of transport. The annual income of the institution for 2021–22 was £447.3 million of which £15.8 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £463.4 million. The university holds a Gold rating in the 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework. Coventry is a member of the University Alliance mission group.

St Michael's Victory over the Devil
St Michael's Victory over the Devil

St Michael's Victory over the Devil is a 1958 bronze sculpture by Jacob Epstein, displayed on the south end of the east wall outside of the new Coventry Cathedral, above the steps leading up from Priory Street to the cathedral's entrance and beside the stained glass of John Piper's bowed baptistry window. The cathedral is dedicated to St Michael. The sculpture symbolises the victory of good over evil, and depicts a winged angel with spear, standing with arms and legs spread above the bound figure of the horned devil lying supine. The larger than life statue stands some 25 ft (7.6 m) high, with the angel's wings spreading 23 ft (7.0 m). For the face of the angel, Epstein made busts of his daughter Kitty's two husbands, Lucian Freud and Wynne Godley, and selected Godley as his model. The angel's body may be inspired by Epstein's 1944–45 statue of Lucifer, now at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The features of the devil may be based on a distorted version of Epstein himself. Epstein was first asked to make a maquette, a small model about 18 in (46 cm) high. He made several preliminary studies in plasticine and bronze, and had started to work on the main work by the time his commission was approved in 1957. Reportedly, some members of the cathedral reconstruction committee objected to Epstein being commissioned, with one complaining "But he is a Jew", to which the architect Basil Spence responded "So was Jesus Christ". A similar controversy had arisen before, when Epstein created his floating lead statue of the Virgin Mother and Holy Child for the Convent of the Holy Child in Cavendish Square, London (now the offices of the King's Fund). The sculpture was one of the last major works of art completed by Epstein before his death on 21 August 1959. It was cast in bronze and unveiled at the cathedral in 1961 by Epstein's widow, Kathleen. A 53.6 cm (21.1 in) high bronze maquette was sold at Christie's in 2014 for £15,000. One maquette now resides in the chapel of Wesley House, Cambridge.