Our History

Early records tell us that St Mary Magdalen Church originally started life in 1168 as the chapel of a hospital, falling to ruin before the land arrived in the hands of Sir Thomas White in 1542. With the industrialisation of Coventry throughout the 19th Century, the city grew to provide both housing and workshop premises for incoming workers, and the suburb of Chapelfields had begun to take form. In 1895 the nearest church - St Thomas' in Spon End - recognised the growing need for a new church and opened the 'Tin Tabernacle', barely more than a ramshackle hut of corrugated iron. In 1917, this hut was moved to the current site and renamed the District Church of St Mary Magdalen. By 1926, the congregation had grown to become the new parish of St Mary Magdalen, with The Reverend Harold Tuff licensed as The Vicar.