Coventry blue
A blue cloth from Coventry, dyed with woad and known for its lasting colour
No single value: Coventry blue is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, blue.
Coventry blue is a blue cloth that was woven and dyed with woad in Coventry. Its colour was famous for not fading, which led to the saying "as true as Coventry blue". The exact method for making it was lost after the mid-17th century, following a decline in trade.
- Coventry blue was dyed with woad in Coventry.
- The colour was famous for not fading.
- The phrase "as true as Coventry blue" comes from its lasting quality.
- Used in blue ribbons for wedding favours called bride-laces.
- The recipe was lost after the 17th century.
What colour is Coventry blue?
Coventry blue refers to a blue cloth that was both woven and dyed in the city of Coventry. The colour came from woad, a plant used as a source of blue dye. Coventry blue was especially valued for its ability to keep its colour over time, which set it apart from other blues that faded more quickly. The phrase "as true as Coventry blue" was used to describe something reliable or unchanging.
Where does Coventry blue come from?
The name comes directly from Coventry, the English city where the cloth was made. The blue dye was produced from woad, a plant that was widely used in Europe before indigo became common. The method for making Coventry blue was lost after the Interregnum in the 17th century, when trade was disrupted and festivities were suppressed.
How is Coventry blue made?
Coventry blue was dyed using woad, a plant that yields a blue pigment. The exact recipe and process for achieving the distinctive and lasting shade of Coventry blue are no longer known, as they were lost when the trade declined in the mid-1600s.
Where Coventry blue is used
This blue cloth was used in ribbons, especially for wedding favours known as bride-laces. These were sprigs of rosemary tied with blue ribbon and worn by guests at weddings. Coventry blue ribbons were the preferred choice until such celebrations were restricted during the Puritan period.
Blue around the world
What the blue family means from country to country.
Lapis lazuli has been mined in the mountains of Badakhshan for more than six thousand years. Ground to powder it gave ultramarine, the costliest blue in European painting.
Royalty and powerSacred and holyAweSource: Lapis lazuliThe chadari is a full-length covering for women with a mesh panel over the eyes. In Kabul and the north it is most often a light blue.
Protection and healingSource: BurqaThe blue band of the flag stands for the wish of the Armenian people to live under peaceful skies. The red above it is for the highlands and the struggle to survive.
Politics and protestHopeSource: Flag of ArmeniaThe flag is sky blue, white and sky blue, created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812. National teams are called the Albiceleste, the white and sky blue.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of ArgentinaBoca Juniors play in blue and gold. The club's story is that in 1907 it took the colours of the flag of the next ship into port, which was Swedish.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: Boca JuniorsTo be true blue is to be honestly and loyally Australian. The phrase is older than the country, but Australians have made it their own.
Politics and protestTrustSource: True Blue (John Williamson song)Shades and relatives of Coventry blue
Coventry blue is sometimes mentioned alongside other traditional English colours like Lincoln green. Its lasting quality made it notable, but the specific shade is no longer produced as the original recipe is lost.
Questions people ask about Coventry blue
What colour is Coventry blue?
Coventry blue is a shade of blue cloth that was dyed with woad in Coventry. It was known for its deep and lasting colour, but the exact shade is not known today.
Where does the name Coventry blue come from?
The name comes from Coventry, the city in England where this blue cloth was woven and dyed using woad.
What was Coventry blue used for?
Coventry blue was used in ribbons, especially for wedding favours called bride-laces, which were sprigs of rosemary tied with blue ribbon and worn by guests.
Why did Coventry blue become rare?
The exact recipe for Coventry blue was lost after trade declined and festivities were suppressed during the Puritan period in the mid-17th century.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Coventry blue", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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