The buildings known as Whitefriars are the surviving fragments of a Carmelite

Carmelites

The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...

 friary founded in 1342 in Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, England. All that remains are one side of the cloister, a postern gateway in Much Park Street and the foundations of the friary church.

History

The friary was established in 1342 with the help of Sir John Poultney about a century after their first introduction to England. The Carmelites were a mendicant (begging) religious order, dependent on charity from those they taught and on the gifts from pilgrims visiting their shrine of Our Lady of the Tower. According to Dugdale, 'This Chapell is in the tower of the Cittye Wall without New Gate, close by the roadway leading towards London. On the outside thereof was a picture of the blessed Virgin, richly painted, and within an image and her altar, whereat most travellers which passed by did offer more or lesse, out of confidence that their journey would be better blest'. It was closed on 1 October 1538 as part of Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries in England, with the 14 remaining friars signing the instrument of surrender. The crown granted the friary to Sir Ralph Sadler in 1544, who sold it to John Hales, who had bought much of the former monastic property in Coventry. Hales demolished parts of it, converted part of the cloister into a residence, calling it Hales Place, and the chancel of the church into a grammar school, using the choir stalls as seating for the boys. Coventry Corporation regained the Church around 1556/7 and the grammar school transferred to St John’s Hospital, which also belonged to Hales. The remainder of the church was demolished a few years later.

In August 1565, on a state tour around her realm, Queen Elizabeth I made her one and only visit to Coventry, staying for two days at Whitefriars with John Hales. Between 25 November 1569 and 2 January 1570, Mary Queen of Scots was held in Coventry on Elizabeth's orders, spending part of this time in Whitefriars.

The residence passed through several owners before being sold to the Board of Directors of the Poor in 1801 and converted to a workhouse

Workhouse

In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...

. In 1948 it became a Salvation Army

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

 hostel. The buildings were extensively restored in 1965 and became a branch museum, which closed in the early 1990s. The buildings are not currently open to the public, and are used for storage by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum

Herbert Art Gallery and Museum

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry, United Kingdom....

.