This article is about the history of Coventry, a city in the West Midlands, England. Coventry grew to become one of the most important cities in England during the Middle Ages due to its booming cloth and textiles trade. The city was noted for its part in the English Civil War, and later became an important industrial city during the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the centre of the British bicycle and later motor industry. The devastating Blitz in 1940 destroyed much of the city centre, and saw its rebuilding during the 1950s and 60s. The motor industry slumped during the 1970s and 80s, and Coventry saw high unemployment. However, in the new millennium the city, along with many others saw significant urban renaissance and in 2017 it was announced that the city had been awarded the title of 2021 UK City of Culture. Early history Beginnings Little is known of the earliest history of Coventry, but prior to its existence there were Celtic settlements in nearby Corley and Baginton, which came to be occupied by the Romans, and later by Saxon invaders. These locations were probably chosen because they lay on early trackways, and were situated on light, easily worked soil free from thick forest and undergrowth; unlike the heavy clay soil, covered in marsh and forest near the north-eastern reaches of the Forest of Arden on which Coventry would rise. It is likely that the first settlement here grew around a Saxon nunnery which had been founded c. AD 700 by St. Osburga. With the forest being mostly unsuitable for the cultivation of crops, the Saxon settlers would have cleared the land and concentrated on raising cattle and sheep, eventually leading to Coventry's successful wool industry and great wealth. The name "Coventry" would have had its origins at this time and has had several forms of spelling, as well as many theories regarding its meaning, but "Cofa's tree" (also spelt "Coffa's tree") is thought to be a most likely source of the name. Nothing is known of Cofa, but a tree planted by, or named after him may have marked the centre or the boundary of the settlement. An alternative favoured by some is "Coventre" – derived from the words "Coven" (old variation of "Convent") and "tre" (Celtic: "settlement" or "town"), giving rise to "Convent Town". Origins of St. Mary's Priory and Cathedral The first chronicled event in