The diocese of Mercia was created in 656, and a cathedral was present on this site at the time of Saint Chad, c. 669-672. Chad of Mercia, was the first bishop of Lichfield and his relics were housed at the cathedral until the English Reformation, 1538.[2][3] In 1075 the seat of the diocese was moved to St John the Baptist's Church, Chester and then from there to St Mary's Priory in Coventry. Lichfield gained co-cathedral status in 1148, and became the sole cathedral in the diocese after St Mary's Priory was dissolved in 1539 and the new diocese of Chester created in 1541.[4][5][6] During the English Civil War the cathedral close was besieged three times; the church was severely damaged, losing a spire, much roof, all of its medieval glass and many monuments.[2][3][7]
The cathedral was built between early 13th century and c.1320 in the Decorated Gothic style. The work probably began with the central tower and choir at the east end and progressed west through the transepts, chapter house, nave, and south-west tower. This lady chapel, central tower, south-east tower, and three spires followed. The building was extensively restored after the Civil War under bishop John Hacket and several times in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many of the details of the building date from the restorations undertaken by George Gilbert Scott, owing to the soft sandstone of which it is constructed as well as war damage.[2]
Overview
The cathedral is dedicated to St Chad and St Mary. Its internal length is 113m (371ft), and the breadth of the nave is 21m (69ft). The central spire is 77m (253ft) high and the western spires are about 58m (190ft) with the southern spire a little taller than the northern one. The stone is Mercian red sandstone and came from quarries close to Lichfield. The walls of the nave lean outwards slightly, due to the weight of stone used in the ceiling vaulting; some 200–300 tons of which was removed during renovation work in 1788 to prevent the walls leaning further.[8]
Lichfield suffered severe damage during the English Civil War, in which all of the stained glass was destroyed. In spite of this the windows of the Lady Chapel contain some of the finest medieval Flemish painted glass in existence. Dating from the 1530s, it came from the Abbey of Herkenrode in Belgium, in 1801. It had been purchased by Brooke Boothby after the abbey was annexed in 1795 by the advance of the French Revolutionary Army. There are also some fine windows by Betton and Evans (1819), and many fine late 19th century windows, particularly those by Charles Eamer Kempe.[8]
The Lichfield Gospels, also known as the St Chad's Gospels, dated 720–740, are the gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the early part of Luke, written in Latin with some marginalia in early Welsh. It has similarities to the Lindisfarne Gospels.[9] The manuscript is on display in the Chapter House.
The Cathedral Close is one of the most complete in the country and includes a medieval courtyard which once housed the men of the choir. The three spires are often referred to as the "Ladies of the Vale".
Bede stated that Chad established his See at Lichfield; and the first cathedral would presumably have been on this site in 669.[10] When he died in 672, his grave site, near the church of St Mary, became a sacred shrine for many pilgrims.[11] In 2003, excavations under the east end of the nave revealed a grave cut into the sandstone bedrock which has been attributed to Chad. It was within the foundation of a tower-like building seven metres square.[12]
In 787, Offa, King of Mercia, created his own archbishopric in Lichfield, and this archbishop then presided over all the bishops from the Humber to the Thames. This was with the consent of Pope Adrian and agreed at the Council of Chelsea, 787, often called the "contentious synod". Higbert, or Hygeberht was installed as the new Archbishop of Lichfield. In gratitude, Offa promised to send an annual shipment of gold to the pope for alms and supplying the lights in St. Peter's church in Rome. However, the Archbishopric of Lichfield lasted for only 14 years, ending soon after Offa's death, when it was restored to Archbishop Aethelheard of Canterbury.[13]
In 1854, a foundation, 1.5 metres wide and 1.7 metres high, was found under the choir and presbytery floor. This basilica-shaped foundation was recognised as the second cathedral.[14] The Victorians assumed this was a Norman cathedral, but its shape, dimensions and material (much concrete hard mortar) suggest otherwise. It has yet to be carbon-dated and a case has been made that the church was built by Offa for his archbishopric.[15] The date for construction of the present Gothic cathedral is unclear since all fabric accounts were destroyed in the Civil War sieges and early texts are ambiguous. The general opinion is that the cathedral was begun in the early 13th century. It was completed by the building of the Lady Chapel in the 1330s. The Choir dates from 1200, the Transepts from 1220 to 1240 and the Nave was started around 1260. The octagonal Chapter House, which was completed in 1249 and is one of the most beautiful parts of the cathedral with some charming stone carvings, houses an exhibition of the cathedral's greatest treasures, the Lichfield Gospels, an 8th-century illuminated manuscript and the Lichfield Angel stonework.[13]
Devastation of the English Civil War
There were three great sieges of Lichfield during the period 1643–1646 as the cathedral close was surrounded by a moat and defensive walls, which made it a natural fortress. Clergy followed Charles I, but the townsfolk generally sided with Parliament. Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, led an assault against it, but was killed by a musket shot said to be from John Dyott (known as 'dumb' because he was a deaf mute) who along with his brother Richard Dyott had taken up a position on the battlements on 2 March 1643.[16] Brooke's deputy John Gell, took over the siege and the garrison surrendered to Gell two days later.
In April of the same year (1643) Prince Rupert led an Royalist expeditionary force from Oxford to recapture Lichfield. The siege started on 8 April. During the second assault Rupert's engineers detonated what is thought to be the first explosive mine to be used in England to breach the defences. Unable to defend the Close, Colonel Russell, the parliamentary commander of the garrison, surrendered on terms to Rupert on 21 April.[17]
The cathedral suffered extensive damage: the central spire was demolished, the roofs ruined and all the stained glass smashed. Bishop Hacket began the restoration of the cathedral in the 1660s, aided by substantial funds donated by the restored monarch, but it was not until the 19th century that the damage caused by the Civil War was fully repaired. Until the 19th century, on top of an ornamented gable, between the two spires, stood a figure of Charles II, by William Wilson. Today it stands just outside the south doors.[13]
Victorian restoration
Although the 18th century was a golden age for the City of Lichfield, it was a period of alteration for the cathedral. The 15th-century library, on the north side of the nave, was pulled down in 1798 and the books moved to their present location above the Chapter House. Most of the statues on the west front were removed and the stonework covered with Roman cement. At the end of the century James Wyatt organised some major structural work, removing the High Altar to make one long worship area of Choir, Presbytery and Lady Chapel and adding a massive stone screen with glass to the roof at the entrance to the Choir.[8]Francis Eginton painted the east window and was commissioned by the chapter to do other work in the cathedral.
The ornate west front was extensively renovated in the Victorian era by George Gilbert Scott.[13] It includes a remarkable number of ornate carved figures of kings, queens and saints, working with original materials where possible and creating fine new imitations and additions when the originals were not available. Between 1877 and 1884 the empty niches on the west front were given new statues, most carved by Robert Bridgeman of Lichfield: the statue of Queen Victoria on the north side of the central window was carved by her daughter, Princess Louise.[8]
Wyatt's choir-screen had utilised medieval stone-work which Scott in turn used to create sedilia with clergy's seats in the sanctuary. The new metal screen by Francis Skidmore and John Birnie Philip to designs by Scott himself is a triumph of metalwork art, as are the fine Minton's tiles in the choir, inspired by the medieval ones found in the Choir foundations and some still seen in the Library.[13]
In February 2003, an eighth-century sculpted panel of the Archangel Gabriel was discovered under the nave of the cathedral in and near the grave of Chad. The 600mm-tall panel is carved from limestone from quarry at Ancaster, Lincolnshire. It was part of a stone chest, which is thought to have contained the relics of St Chad. The panel was broken into three parts but was still otherwise intact and had traces of red, black, yellow and white pigment from the period. The pigments on the Lichfield Angel correspond closely to those of the Lichfield Gospels which have been dated between 720 and 740. The Angel was first unveiled to the public in 2006, when visitor numbers to the cathedral trebled. After being taken to Birmingham for eighteen months for examination, it is now exhibited in the cathedral.[18]
On the 7 and 8 November 2022 a new shrine to St Chad was consecrated and a relic of the saint was translated from St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham, at two separate services.[21]
Notable organists of Lichfield Cathedral include the 17th-century composer Michael East, and the musical educator and choral conductor William Henry Harris who conducted at the coronations of both George VI and Elizabeth II.
Priest Vicars Choral
The Precentor's Vicar: Vacant
The Dean's Vicar: Vacant
The Chancellor's Vicar: Vacant
The Treasurer's Vicar: Vacant
Lay Vicars Choral and Choristers
The Choir has six Lay Vicars Choral on staff and in 2021 reduced the full time equivalents from 9 to 6. In the front rows Lichfield has 18 boy choristers and up to 18 girl choristers.[25] There are also sixth-form choral scholarships available.[26]
1 2 3 Pevsner, Nikolaus; Metcalf, Priscilla; etal. (and various hands) (1985). The Cathedrals of England: the West and Midlands. London: The Folio Society (published 2005). pp.169–189.
Manuscripts of Lichfield Cathedral—Digital facsimiles of the St Chad Gospels and Cathedral's Wycliffe New Testament; includes overlay viewer, multispectral images, historical images (going back to 1887), collation, and presently sixteen interactive 3D and RTI renderings—University of Oklahoma
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