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Lichfield, Staffordshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Lichfield is a city
of Staffordshire, 118 miles northwest of London and 24 miles northeast
of Birmingham. The London and North-Western railway built stations at
Trent Valley Junction on the main line, and in the city on a branch
westward. These
stations are now on the Cross City Line to Redditch via. Birmingham
additionally Trent Valley Station is on the West Coast Main line with
occasional trains to London and more frequent local trains. The town
lies in a pleasant country, on a small stream draining eastward to the
Trent, with low hills to the east and south.
History
At Wall, 3 miles to
the east of the present city, there was a Romano-British village called
Letocetum (from the Celtic for "grey wood"), from which the first half
of the name Lichfield is derived. It was based on a Roman fort next to
Watling Street which was used in the first centuries AD, until about AD
160-170, when the fort's mansio was destroyed by fire at the same time
the forum in Wroxeter was also destroyed by fire. This suggests a
revolt of the local British.
The history of
Lichfield in the following centuries is obscure. The Historia Britonum
lists the city as one of the 28 cities of Britain. In the Welsh poem
The Lament of Cynddylan, Caer Luycoed or Lichfield is said to have been
taken by the sword by pagan opponents, most likely the Mercians to the
east.
The first authentic
notice of Lichfield occurs in Bede's history, where it is mentioned as
the place where St Chad fixed the episcopal see of the Mercians in 669.
In 786, Pope Adrian I raised it at the request of Offa, King of Mercia,
to the dignity of an archbishopric, but in 803 the primacy was restored
to Canterbury. In 1075 the see of Lichfield was removed to Chester, and
thence a few years later to Coventry, but it was restored to Lichfield
in 1148. At
the time of the Domesday survey, Lichfield was held by the bishop of
Chester, where the see of the bishopric had been moved in 1075: it is
not called a borough, only a small village. The lordship and manor of
the town were held by the bishop of Chester until the reign of Edward
VI, when they were leased to the town corporation.
There is evidence
that a castle existed here in the time of Henry I, and a footpath near
the grammar school retains the name of Castle-ditch. Richard II gave a
charter (1387) for the foundation of the gild of St Mary and St John
the Baptist; this gild functioned as the local government, until its
dissolution by Edward VI, who incorporated the town in 1548, vesting
the government in two bailiffs and twenty-four burgesses; further
charters were given by Mary, James I and Charles II (1664), the last,
incorporating it under the title of the "bailiffs and citizens of the
city of Lichfield," was the governing charter until 1835; under this
charter the governing body consisted of two bailiffs and twenty-four
brethren.
Lichfield sent two
members to the parliament of 1304 and to a few succeeding parliaments,
but the representation did not become regular until 1552; in 1867 it
lost one member, and in 1885 its representation was merged in that of
the county. By the charter of James I, the market day was changed from
Wednesday to Tuesday and Friday; the Tuesday market disappeared during
the 19th century; the only existing fair is a small pleasure fair of
ancient origin held on Ash Wednesday; the annual fête on Whit Monday
claims to date from the time of Alfred the Great.
In the English Civil
War, Lichfield was divided. The cathedral authorities with a certain
following were for the king, but the townsfolk generally sided with the
parliament, and this led to the fortification of the close in 1643.
Lord Brooke, notorious for his hostility to the church, led an assault
against it, but was killed by a deflected bullet on St Chad's day, an
accident welcomed as a miracle by the Royalists. The close yielded and
was retaken by Prince Rupert in this year; but on the breakdown of the
king's cause in 1646 it again surrendered. The cathedral suffered
extensive damage from the war.
Famous people
associated with Lichfield include the writer Samuel Johnson and his
friend, the actor David Garrick. Another famous name associated with
Lichfield is Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin and himself
a great thinker and inventor.
Economy
In 1911, brewing was the principal industry, and in the neighbourhood were large market gardens.
In 2000, there are a
number of light industrial areas predominantly on the east of
Lichfield, not dominated by any one particular industry. Many residents
commute to Birmingham.
Leisure
There are two sports
centres situated adjacent to King Edwards and Friary Grange Schools.
Many of the tourist sites are listed below.
Each year there is
an International Arts Festival based primarily around the Cathedral.
Spin off events include a Fringe Festival, Jazz, Blues and Real Ale
Festival and a Medieaval Market.
Sites of Interest
Lichfield Cathedral
A small (the internal length is 370 ft., and the breadth of the nave 68
ft.) church, that dates in its current form from various periods in the
13th and early 14th centuries, but the various portions cannot be
allocated to fixed years, as the old archives were destroyed during the
English Civil Wars. The walls of the nave lean outwards slightly, this
was caused by the weight of stone used in the ceiling vaulting, some
2-300 tons of which was removed during renovation work to prevent the
walls leaning further.
The Bishop's Palace (built 1687) and a theological college (built 1837) are adjacent to the cathedral.
Milley's Hospital dates back to 1504 and was a women's hospital.
St.John's without
the Bars is a distinctive Tudor building with a row of seven tall brick
chimneys. This was built outside the city walls (bars) to provide
hostel accommodation for travellers arriving after the gates were shut.
It now provides home for elderly Gentlemen and has an adjacent Chapel.
Darwin House was once home to Erasmus Darwin and restored to created a museum in the late 1990s.
The church of St
Chad is ancient though extensively restored; on its site St Chad or
Ceadda is said to have occupied a hermit's cell.
Links
www.lichfield.gov.uk/
www.lichfield-tourist.co.uk/
www.lichfield-cathedral.org/
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