Rare footage and photos bring city's past to life

An exhibition showing visual records of a city's past and present will bring together three collections for the first time.

Coventry Then & Now will feature archive photographs of the city, rare film footage of the construction of Coventry Cathedral and contemporary images.

The exhibition, which opens on 11 September, tells the story of more than 70 years of history.

Alan Denyer, head of LTB Showrooms, the volunteer-run community arts venue where the exhibition will be held, said: "When you walk round Coventry, you think you have seen it all, but a good photograph can see a new image, a new angle, and there is some really great stuff."

Among the exhibits will be 60 images by Elizabeth Tyler, a former Coventry College of Art student, who walked the streets of the city with a 1933 Rolleicord camera in the 1960s.

Earlier this year, she rediscovered the collection in her attic and has now made it available for the first time.

"When you come across new images, particularly of streets that aren't so famous, it is really special," Denyer said.

"I love the detail you get from Tyler's photos, from the fashion to the hairstyles to the way that the houses are decorated."

The second part of the exhibition features a rare public screening of the original colour 16mm films made by Coventry architect Barnard Reyner that document the complete construction of Coventry Cathedral, which began in 1956.

The films capture craftsmen at work, royal visits, the installation of major artworks, the raising of the cathedral spire and the consecration ceremony in May 1962.

Denyer said the films were "fascinating to see", as "this was someone observing something that was happening in front of them".

Jaguar Photographic Society was also involved in taking 60 images of present-day Coventry, which will be on display.

The exhibition will be in the Priory Undercrofts and run until Sunday 20 September.

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