City of Coventry

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Region: West Midlands
Country: England

§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.

Coventry’s civic status traces to its royal charter of incorporation in 1345 and later cathedral city history; since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough within the West Midlands, with Coventry City Council delivering most services and working through the West Midlands Combined Authority (established 2016) on transport, skills and investment, alongside culture-led regeneration accelerated by its UK City of Culture 2021 year.

City Council Status

Coventry City Council is a metropolitan district council within the West Midlands; it delivers principal services locally and partners with the West Midlands Combined Authority on transport, skills and investment.

Civic Honours: Lord Mayors & Lord Provost

Coventry gained a Lord Mayoralty on 3 June 1953 as part of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation honours.

In the UK, city status and the dignity of Lord Mayor (or Lord Provost in Scotland) are separate honours, each granted by the monarch via letters patent. Of the 76 cities, 28 have a Lord Mayoralty and 4—Scotland’s four cities—have a Lord Provost; these titles don’t automatically follow from city status. A Lord Mayoralty exists in 24 cities in England, 2 in Wales, and 2 in Northern Ireland.

Only 24 cities in England have Lord Mayors: Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Canterbury, Chester, Coventry, Exeter, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, the City of London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, the City of Westminster, and York.

In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.

Cities in West Midlands