Lichfield Cathedral.

Lichfield Cathedral.

Illustration: TWITTER/STAINED GLASS ZEALOT

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Lichfield Cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, is the only Mediæval English Cathedral with three Spires.

The Anglican Diocese of Lichfield covers Staffordshire, much of Shropshire, and parts of The Black Country and West Midlands.

The current Bishop of Lichfield, Michael Ipgrave, was appointed in 2016. It is a Grade I Listed Building.[1]

The Cathedral is Dedicated to Saint Chad and Saint Mary. Its internal length is 113 m (371 ft), and the breadth of the Nave is 21 m (69 ft). The Central Spire is 77 m (253 ft) high and the Western Spires are about 58 m (190 ft).

The stone is Sandstone and came from a quarry on The South side of 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 were removed during renovation work to prevent the walls leaning further.[2]

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 Mediæval Flemish Painted-Glass in existence. Dating from the 1530s, it came from The Abbey of Herkenrode, in Belgium, in 1801, having been purchased by Brooke Boothby when that Abbey was Dissolved during The Napoleonic Wars. It was sold on to the Cathedral for the same price. There are also some fine Windows by Betton and Evans (1819), and many fine Late-19th-Century Windows, particularly those by Charles Eamer Kempe.[2]

The Lichfield Gospels, also known as The Book of Chad, are The Gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint Mark, and the early part of Saint Luke, written mainly in Latin, with some Text in Early-Welsh and dating from around 730 A.D. There were originally two Volumes but one went missing around the time of The English Civil War. It is closely-related in style to The Lindisfarne Gospels.[3] The Manuscript is on display in The Chapter House from Easter to Christmas.

The Cathedral Close is one of the most complete in the Country, and includes a Mediæval Courtyard which once housed the men of the The Choir. The three Spires are often referred to as “The Ladies of The Vale”.