, and in 1575 the men of Coventry gave their
play of "Hock Tuesday" before her at Kenilworth Castle. In 1566 Queen
Mary of Scots was in ward here, in the mayoress' parlour, and in 1569
at the Bull Inn.

Coming down to the opening of the Civil War we find that a few days
before the raising of his standard at Nottingham Charles summoned the
city to admit him with three hundred cavaliers, and received for
answer that it was quite ready to receive his Majesty with no more
than two hundred. Whereupon he retired in displeasure, and reappeared
some days later with the threat to lay the city in ruins if it should
persist in its disloyalty. The townsfolk being in no mind to receive a
garrison, the King planted cannon against Newgate and broke down the
gates but was met with a fierce musquetry fire from the walls,
followed up by a vigorous sally, in which the citizens did much
execution and took two cannon.

To prevent the like happening again, the walls were in 1662 breached
in many places and made incapable of defence. Just one hundred years
later New-gate was taken down, and others followed from time to time,
until now there are left only the remains of two of the lesser
ones--Cook Street Gate, a crumbling shell (p. 7), and the adjacent
Swanswell or Priory Gate, blocked up and used as a dwelling.

In 1771 was finally destroyed the famous Cross which had been built,
1541-3, by Sir William Hollis, once Lord Mayor of London, who came of
a Coventry family. It was described by Dugdale as "one of the chief
things wherein this City most glories, which for workmanship and
beauty is inferior to none in England." A few relics of it exist in
St. Mary Hall, a statue of Henry VI, and, in the oriel, two smaller
figures. So too does the very interesting contract for its building,
which shows how much was left to the craftsman's pride in his work and
how little he was trammelled by conditions, save that the work was to
be "finished in all points, as well in imagery work, pictures, and
finials, according to the due form and proportion of the Cross at
Abingdon."

Another building, which was destroyed in 1820, was the Pilgrims' Rest,
a fine timbered house of three storeys, "supposed," as the inscription
upon it records, "to have been the hostel or inn for the maintenance
and entertainment of the palmers and other visitors to the Priory."
Some pieces of carved work were patched together in the windows of the
inn built on its site and there r