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Lichfield Cathedral

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Lichfield Cathedral
The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral
Map
LocationLichfield
CountryEngland
DenominationChurch of England
Websitewww.lichfield-cathedral.org
Architecture
StyleGothic
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DioceseLichfield

Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands. The present bishop is the Right Reverend Jonathan Gledhill, the 98th Lord Bishop of Lichfield.

Overview

William the Conqueror, holding the Domesday Book.

The cathedral is dedicated to St Chad and Saint Mary. Its internal length is 113 metres (370 feet), and the breadth of the nave is 21m (68'). The central spire is 77m (252') high and the western spires are about 58m (190').

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 was removed during renovation work to prevent the walls leaning further.

Lichfield suffered untold damage during the 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, 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.

The Lichfield Gospels are the gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the early part of Luke, written in Latin and dating from around 730. 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 medieval courtyard which once housed the men of the choir. The three spires are often referred to as 'the Ladies of the Vale'.

Within the cathedral is a tomb with a Latin inscription which, when translated, reads: "This monument is sacred to the memory of Michael Johnson, a man fearless, steady, spirited, regardless of dangers, very patient in labour.... His conversation was so chastised, that neither pain nor pleasure ever led him to utter anything which might offend pious or modest ears." We learn from the epitaph that Johnson was born in Cubley, Derbyshire, in 1656 and died in 1731. Michael Johnson was the father of Samuel Johnson of Lichfield, later of London.[1]

History of the cathedral

Early history and elevation to Archbishopric

The Main Nave

When Chad was made Bishop of Mercia in 669 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 700AD when Bishop Hedda built a new church to house the bones of St Chad which had become a sacred shrine to many pilgrims when he died in 672. 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. Offa therefore created his own archbishopric in Lichfield, who presided over all the bishops from the Humber to the Thames. All this began in 786, 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), 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 St. Peter's church 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.

Starting in 1085 and continuing through the twelfth 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

The Sleeping Children by Francis Chantrey (1817), portrays two young sisters, Ellen-Jane and Marianne, who died in tragic circumstances in 1812

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 the 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. 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[citation needed] 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. 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

The Cathedral Close with its many fine buildings, is one of the most unspoilt in England,

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. The ornate west front was extensively renovated in the Victorian era by Sir George Gilbert Scott. 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 medieval stone-work which Scott in turn used to create the 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 High Victorian art, as are the fine Minton tiles in the choir, inspired by the medieval ones found in the Choir foundations and still seen in the Library.

Lichfield Angel

In February 2003, an eighth century sculpted panel of the Archangel Gabriel was discovered under the nave of the cathedral. The panel was broken into three parts but was still otherwise intact and had traces of red pigment from the period. It 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.

Organ

Organists

Assistant organists

  • Thomas Bedsmore 1849 - ???? (organist from 1864)
  • James C. Culwick ???? - 1866 [2]
  • William Grainger
  • Montague Spinney
  • Clement Charlton Palmer 1890 - 1897 (later organist of Canterbury Cathedral)
  • Herman Brearley
  • William Henry Harris 1911 - 1919
  • Montague Herbert Spinney 1919 - 1924[3]
  • Edgar Morgan 1927 - 1947[3]
  • Frayling ???? - Aug 1950[3]
  • PW Read 1950 - June 1952[3]
  • Paul H Matthews Sep 1952 - Aug 1955[3]
  • Donald Cox 1955 - Mar 1959[3]
  • J W Sharwood May - Dec 1959[3]
  • Robert Green Jan 1960 - Dec 1967[3]
  • Peter Noyce 1968 - 1974[3]
  • Peter King 1975 - 1986 (afterwards organist of Bath Abbey)[3]
  • Mark Shepherd Sep 1986 - Aug 1994[3]
  • Robert Sharpe Sep 1994 - Aug 2002[3] (afterwards organist of Truro Cathedral and York Minster)
  • Alexander Mason Sep 2002 - Aug 2007[4] (afterwards organist of St Davids Cathedral)
  • currently: Martyn Rawles (started Jan 2008) and Cathy Lamb (started Sep 2007)[3]

See also the List of Organ Scholars at Lichfield Cathedral.


See also

References

  1. ^ History of the City and Cathedral of Lichfield, John Jackson, London, 1805
  2. ^ The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture By W. J. McCormack, Patrick Gillan
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m http://www.cathedralchoir.org.uk/persfass.htm
  4. ^ http://www.expressandstar.com/2007/04/28/alex-to-play-concert-swansong/
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