Godiva Way

Lady Godiva was an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who became famous for riding naked through the streets on the back of her horse. She did so in protest against her husband, trying to persuade him to reduce the oppressive taxes of the region they ruled. The tax system that he had implemented was deemed outrageous and made him unpopular with the inhabitants of Coventry and the wider Mercia region. Although Lady Godiva tried to convince Leofric to refrain from implementing the taxes, he really couldn’t care less and intended to implement his plans on short notice. ‘You will have to ride naked through Coventry before I change my ways’, he would’ve said, assuming this would not happen by any stretch of the imagination.

Lady Godiva, however, had other plans. She knew that she was preferred over her husband by the citizens of Coventry. And besides, who wouldn’t root for a fairer tax system? With this knowledge in her possession, Lady Godiva approached the inhabitants of Coventry and asked them to stay indoors so that she could ride naked through the city. And so the legend of the naked ride started. Off she rode, her long hair draping over her back, or actually almost her whole body. Legend has it that only her eyes and legs remained visible while she embarked on the nude ride to protest the crippling taxes of her husband. After she rode naked through the city, she returned to her husband, who kept true to his word and reduced the taxes.