page_title: Lady Godiva in popular culture
section_title: Coventry
hierarchical_section_title: Lady Godiva in popular culture / Coventry
caption_attribution_description: English: Lady Godina's Rout;—or—Peeping-Tom spying out Pope-Joan Js. Gy. d: et f: SUMMARY: A fashionable crowd playing cards at two tables. In the foreground, four people playing the game Pope-Joan. One of the women is wearing a loose fitting semi-transparent dress with her breasts exposed. Behind her, peering down her dress, is a man who is about to cut off a candle due to his distracted state. Rear view of a fat woman dominates the left side of the picture. MEDIUM: 1 print&#160;: etching, hand-colored. CREATED/PUBLISHED: [London]&#160;: H. Humphrey, 1796 March 12th. According to the National Portrait Gallery of the UK, the caricature refers to Lady Georgiana Gordon (1781–1853), Duchess of Bedford from 1803 until her death; the title and the lecherous servant refer to Lady Godiva. Pope-Joan is a card game; Lady "Godina" is holding the diamond nine, which is called the "Pope" in that game. The man sitting on Lady "Godina"'s right is John Sneyd (1763–1835); the fat woman sitting on her left is Albinia, Countess of Buckinghamshire (died 1816).
context_page_description: Lady Godiva was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry, in England, covering herself only with her long hair, in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants. Because of the growth of the legend, Lady Godiva has since entered popular culture in a number of countries.
context_section_description: The Godiva Procession, a commemoration of the legendary ride, was instituted on 31 May 1678 as part of Coventry fair and was celebrated up to the 1960s. The part of Lady Godiva was usually played by a scantily clad actress or dancer, and the occasion often attracted controversy. For instance, in 1854, the Bishop of Worcester protested against "a Birmingham whore being paraded through the streets as Lady Godiva." These annual processions were enlivened by constant rumours, beforehand, that the girl playing the part of Lady Godiva would actually appear nude, like the original. These hopes were eventually realised in a play staged in 1974, at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, entitled The Only True Story of Lady Godiva, in which Lady Godiva appeared naked, riding a motor bike. The celebration has been revived as part of the Godiva Festival.
  The wooden effigy of Peeping Tom which, from 1812 until  World War II looked out on the world from a hotel at the northwest corner of Hertford Street, Coventry, can now be found in Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre.  It represents a man in armour and was probably an image of Saint George. Nearby, in the 1950s rebuilt Broadgate, an animated Peeping Tom watches over Lady Godiva as she makes her hourly ride around the Godiva Clock.
  From the mid-1980s a Coventry resident, Pru Porretta, has adopted a Lady Godiva role to promote community events and good works in the city. In 1999 Coventry councillors considered eliminating Godiva from the city's public identity. As of 2005, Porretta retains the status of Coventry's unofficial ambassador. Each September Poretta marks the occasion of Lady Godiva's birthday by leading a local pageant focusing on world peace and unity known as The Godiva Sisters. In August 2007, the Godiva Sisters was performed in front of 900 delegates from 69 countries attending the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children Biennial Conference held at the University of Warwick. In the New Year Honours 2010 Porretta was appointed a Member of the Order of The British Empire for services to the city of Coventry community and tourism services.
  The image of Lady Godiva on horseback is also the corporate symbol of the Coventry Building Society, appearing on letterheads, statements, passbooks and other documents.
  In 2010 an arts project, "Godiva Awakes", involving a 10 metre tall puppet-version of Lady Godiva, powered by 50 bicycles, leading a procession from Coventry to London, was proposed by the independent company Imagineer productions (best known locally for reviving the Coventry Mystery Plays and reimagining the Coventry Carnival as the Godiva Festival). This proposal went on to become the regional winner and will be realised as part of the Arts Council's 2012 Cultural Olympiad.
caption: In Lady Godina's Rout (1796), James Gillray appealed to the Godiva legend in caricaturing the fashions of the time.
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