, England. It is the only Mediaeval English Cathedral with three Spires. The
. The present Bishop is the Right Reverend
The Nave of Lichfield Cathedral.
Photo: 29 December 2007
(30 December 2007 (original upload date)).
(Wikimedia Commons)
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
Mediaeval 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 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.
The
Lichfield Gospels, also known as the Book of Chad, are the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the early part of Luke, written in
Latin 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. The manuscript is on display in the Chapter House from
Easter to
Christmas.
The Close is one of the most complete in the Country, and includes a Mediaeval Courtyard which once housed the men of the
Choir. The three Spires are often referred to as 'the Ladies of the Vale'.
Early history and elevation to Archbishopric.
When Chad was made
Bishop of Mercia in 669 A.D., he moved his See from
Repton to Lichfield, possibly because this was already a holy site, as the scene of Martyrdoms during the
Roman period. The first Cathedral to be built on the present site was in 700 A.D., when
Bishop Hedda built a new Church to house the bones of
Saint Chad, which had become a sacred shrine to many pilgrims when he died in 672 A.D.
Offa, King of
Mercia, seemed to resent his own Bishops paying allegiance to the
Archbishop of Canterbury, in
Kent, who, whilst under Offa's control, was not of his own Kingdom of Mercia.
Lichfield Cathedral
at Sunset.
Photo: October 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tony Grist.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Cathedral Church of The Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad.
Mediaeval English Cathedral to have three Spires.
Photo: March 2007 (17 February 2008 (original upload date)).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons
(Wikimedia Commons)
Offa, therefore, created his own Archbishopric, in Lichfield, which presided over all the Bishops from the River Humber to the River Thames. All this began in 786 A.D., with the consent of
Pope Adrian. The Pope’s official representatives were received warmly by Offa and were present at the
Council of Chelsea (787 A.D.), often called "the Contentious Synod", where it was proposed that the Archbishopric of Canterbury be restricted, in order to make way for Offa's new Archbishop.
It was vehemently opposed, but Offa and the Papal Representatives defeated
Archbishop Jaenbert, installing
Higbert as the new Archbishop of Lichfield. Pope Adrian sent Higbert the
Pallium, denoting his support for this move. In gratitude, Offa promised to send an annual shipment of gold to the Pope, for alms and supplying the Lights in
Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. However, The Archbishopric of Lichfield only lasted for 16 years, ending soon after Offa's death, when it was restored to Archbishop
Aethelheard of Canterbury.
The Nave, Lichfield Cathedral.
Photo: January 2008.
Author: Nick from Chelmsford, Essex.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Starting in 1085, and continuing through the 12th-Century, the original wooden Saxon Church was replaced by a Norman Cathedral made from stone, and this was, in turn, replaced by the present
Gothic Cathedral, begun in 1195. 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 in 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 treasure, the Lichfield Gospels, an 8th-Century illuminated manuscript.
Devastation of the English Civil War.
There were three great sieges of Lichfield, during the period 1643–1646. As the Cathedral was surrounded by a ditch and defensive walls, it made a natural fortress. The Cathedral authorities, with a certain following, were for the King, but the townsfolk, generally, sided with Parliament, and this led to the fortification of The Close in 1643.
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, led an assault against it, but was killed by a deflected bullet 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 of the Central Cathedral Spire, on 2 March 1643.
The view of Lichfield Cathedral from the South-West,
over the Minster Pool. From an 1888 postcard.
Current File: January 2013.
User: Hogweard.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Brooke's deputy,
Sir John Gell, took over the siege. Although the
Royalist garrison surrendered to Gell, two days later, The Close yielded and was retaken by
Prince Rupert of the Rhine on 20 April of the same year. Rupert's engineers detonated the first mine to be used in England to breach the defences. Unable to defend the breach, the Parliamentarians surrendered to Rupert the following day. The Cathedral suffered extensive damage: The central Spire was demolished, the roofs ruined and all the Stained Glass smashed.
Lichfield Cathedral.
Photo: July 2012.
(Wikimedia Commons)
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. Up until the 19th-Century, on top of an ornamented gable, between the two Spires, stood a colossal figure of
Charles II, by Sir
William Wilson. Today, it stands just outside the South doors.
Victorian restoration.
Although the 18th-Century was a golden age for the
City of Lichfield, it was a period of decay for the Cathedral. The 15th-Century Library, on the North side of the Nave, was pulled down 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 worship area of Choir and Lady Chapel, and adding a massive stone Screen at the entrance to the Choir.
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 Sir
George Gilbert Scott.
Photo: March 2007.
(Wikimedia Commons)
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. Wyatt's
Choir-Screen had utilised Mediaeval stonework, which Scott, in turn, used to create the Clergy's seats in the Sanctuary.
The interior of Lichfield Cathedral.
View from the North Transept, in the 1880s.
19th-Century Print.
Current File: January 2013.
User: Hogweard.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The new metal Screen, by
Francis Skidmore and
John Birnie Philip, to designs by Scott, is a triumph of High Victorian art, as are the fine Minton tiles in the Choir, inspired by the Mediaeval ones found in the Choir foundations and still seen in the Library.
Lichfield Angel.
In February 2003, an 8th-Century sculpted panel of the Archangel Gabriel was discovered under the Nave of the Cathedral. The 600mm tall panel is carved from limestone, and originally was part of a stone chest, which is thought to have contained the Relics of Saint Chad. The panel was broken into three parts, but was still otherwise intact and had traces of red pigment from the period. The pigments on the Lichfield Angel correspond closely to those of the
Lichfield Gospels, which have been dated to around 730 A.D. 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.
The entrance to the Cathedral Close,
Lichfield, Staffordshire, England.
The three Spires of Lichfield Cathedral
can be clearly seen.
Photo: October 2011.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Fan Vaulting in the Chapter House,
Lichfield Cathedral.
Very-deep-set Fan Vaults. The elongated octagonal two-storey design makes the Chapter House unique. It was completed in 1249 and was the only part of the Cathedral with a roof intact, following the ravages of the Civil War. The Chapter House houses an exhibition of the Cathedral's greatest treasure, the 8th-Century manuscript, known as The Lichfield Gospels.
Photo: November 2009.
Attribution: Trevor Rickard.
(Wikimedia Commons)
