and painting as well as tile manufacture, and by the 14th century and throughout the medieval period, Coventry was the fourth largest city in England, with a population of around 10,000; only Norwich, Bristol and London were larger. City walls Reflecting Coventry's commercial and strategic importance, in 1355 construction began on city walls, a vast and expensive undertaking funded by local tolls and taxes, and for which King Richard II allowed stone to be quarried from his park in Cheylesmore. The building started at New Gate and was initially finished in around 1400, but much repair work and re-routing was subsequently carried out and its final form was not completed until 1534. They were an impressive feature; measuring nearly around and consisting of two red sandstone walls infilled with rubble over thick and high, with 32 towers including 12 gatehouses. With its walls, Coventry was described as being the best-defended city in England outside London. Major buildings By the 15th century, the size of the city had become more-or-less fixed and its streets and main buildings had largely been completed. Within the city walls were a number of impressive churches: in addition to Holy Trinity, by this time considerably enlarged; and St. Michael's, which had been rebuilt as one of the largest parish churches in England with a magnificent tower and spire; the nearby priory with its cathedral church now dominated the scene and is thought to have possibly had three spires itself. The church of the greyfriars (later Christ Church) also had a spire, while the guild church of St. John the Baptist at Bablake had a short square tower. The whitefriars or Carmelites had a church not far from the remains of their friary, and there was also a church that belonged to the hospital of St. John. The Guest House on the corner of Palmer Lane provided lodgings for pilgrims to the priory, and there were numerous inns in the city to cater to the needs of travellers, merchants and local inhabitants. In 1465 the Coventry mint was established where nobles, half-nobles and groats were coined, but it was disbanded a few years later, and the Golden Cross inn, built in 1583, now occupies the site. St. Mary's Hall, a guildhall built and extended 1340–1460, served as the combined headquarters of the united guilds of the Holy Trinity, St. Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Katherine.