Visitors to the cathedral are often surprised by the west front. Twin towers,[1] tall spires, a flat, symmetrical elevation, numerous aligned statues and the great west window combine to give an unusual welcome.[2] It is an ‘architectural screen’ similar to the cathedral façades of Wells and Salisbury.[3] Five layers of statues, 113 in total (153 around the whole cathedral), two pointed spires with many pinnacles encourage the viewer to look to the heavens; the Gothic objective. The original frontage was probably more spectacular with gilded statues, Cobb thought there were about a hundred figures all gilded,[4] and stonework painted red and green. Erdeswicke in the 16th-century described “a great number of tabernacles containing statues of prophets, apostles, kings of Judah and divers’ other kings of this land.” The original top statue was Christ seated.[5] The story of a seated Christ statue, 2.1 m (7 feet) high and 13th-century, found at Swynnerton Church as being the lost statue is plausible, but unlikely.[6] Willis gave an approximate date for the front as c. 1275,[7] but this was probably the start of construction and it took several decades for completion.
W. Hollar’s
etching, early 16th-century. This is the earliest known image of the west
front. Thanks to Univ. of Toronto Libraries.
Almost the entire front of the
cathedral was destroyed in the Civil War; mostly in the 1646 heavy bombardment.
There was a partial restoration completed by 1666, further reordering in 1749[8], twice
in the19th[9]
and more work in the 20th centuries; all of which means little is original. The
statues are the third set, very Victorian in composition, and undoubtedly
different from the original decoration.[10] The
top statue of Charles II, added with post-Civil War restoration, was removed
between 1877–84 and by 1977 stored forlornly by the South Transept door.
Charles II
West front
post-Civil War. S. Shaw, The history and antiquities of Staffordshire,
Volume 1. (London: 1798) who copied from Gale, 1720.
Much has been written on Joseph Potter’s addition of stucco[12] to the eroding statues on the west front, 1820–2, and then the removal of the grey figures begun by G. Gilbert Scott and finished by his son, J. Oldrid Scott, 1877–84. Almost everyone expressed disdain[13] at the early restoration and later gave praise for the current, reddish, sandstone, figures. Many of the new statues were copied from sepia drawings taken before the 1820–2 restoration,[14] but there is an obvious Victorian bias regarding which figures were included and how they were portrayed. The apostles in the lowest tier sculpted by Mary Grant are considered the finest. Other figures were sculpted by Gilbert Seale and Walter Rowlands Ingram of London and 63 were executed by Robert Bridgeman of Lichfield. The figure (probably just the head) of Queen Victoria, was sculpted by her daughter Princess Louise and added in 1885.[15] Princess Victoria visited Lichfield in 1832. The doorways had bushy foliage added around the arches in the early 19th-century and this was removed by Scott and replaced with small statues. The smaller doors were studded and the studs replaced with shaped, wrought-iron decoration. The large central doors had ironwork at the bottom replaced. Hinges and ironwork could be late-13th century and by Thomas Leighton an ironsmith.
West Front, c.
1845. Old statues have been removed and the old west window has still to be
replaced. C. Knight, Old England: A Pictorial Museum of Regal,
Ecclesiastical, Baronial, Municipal, And Popular Antiquities. 2 Volumes.
(London: 1845). p252.
Great west window being replaced in 1869. Like all the cathedral windows after the Civil War it contained various effigies and coats of arms of bishops and other eminent men.[16] The west window had the arms of England and the Earl of Chester and Clare. The new window was furnished by Clayton and Bell and consisted of six lights filled with figures of the Archangel Gabriel, St. Joseph, the Virgin and Child, and the Three Magi; under which respectively are scenes representing the Annunciation, the Angel appearing to St. Joseph, the Birth, with angels adoring; the Journey of the Magi, the Magi before Herod, and the Flight into Egypt. It is sometimes referred as the ‘Nativity Window’. John B. Stone, A history of Lichfield Cathedral (London: 1870).
West Front
restoration in the early 1880s. The south side and tower have been finished.
West front post-Victorian Reordering.
Four statues on the top left are 14th-century and believed to be original. Three are shown. They could have been queens of the kings involved in the early construction of the cathedral (Edward I, Henry III and Richard II are possibilities). Other cathedrals with kings on the front include Canterbury, Exeter, Lincoln and York.
For
a detailed exposition with images of the 113 statues see the website https://statues.vanderkrogt.net/object.php?webpage=ST&record=gbwm025
The
current eclectic mix of statues contains King Richard II, reigning 1367–1400, (immediately
left of Chad) and thus well after the front had been completed.
Confusion
on the Early Medieval (Anglo-Saxon) kings to the right of Chad.
There
was much uncertainty on who was being replaced from the second set of statues
and there was also a deep Victorian bias. The line is: Peada, 655‑6, Wulfhere,
658-75, Æthelred, 675-704, Offa, 757-96, Egbert, king of Wessex,
802-39,
Æthelwulf,
king of Wessex, 839-58, Æthelberht, king of Wessex, 860-65, Æthelred, king of
Wessex, 865-71, Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, 871-86 and then king of the
Anglo-Saxons to 899, Edgar the Peaceful, 959-75, Cnut 1016-35,
Edward
the Confessor, 1042-66. Including the Wessex line of kings, 839‑886 is
inexplicable, unless it was believed Æthelwulf’s father, king
Ecgberht of Wessex, defeated and completely subdued the Mercians in battle in
825. If so, why is Ecgberht not figured. Why is Æthelstan, king of all
Britain (rex totius Britanniae), 924‑39, missing? Woodhouse
thought the figures removed in 1749 might have included Æthelstan.[17]
There is a case for king Coelwulf II, 874‑880s, who consolidated the Mercians
after defeat by the Vikings (Danes), and even Æthelred, Lord of the
Mercians, c. 881‑911 who maintained the sub-kingdom and prepared the way
for Æthelstan.
The downgrading of Æthelstan and the lauding of his grandfather Alfred is a bias
from medieval times repeated by many Victorian narratives.[18]
Work in 1878 included the lowering of the ground across the whole of the front of the cathedral. At one time there were railings across the front of the cathedral. Also, there has been an entire restoration of the southwest tower, exclusive of the sculpture.[19] Another bout of conservation is imminent.
Conjecture
on Great Window extending above the stone vault
The
top of the Great West window cannot be seen from the inside of the cathedral; the
stone vault roof cuts off the top of the window. This has led to much
speculation on whether the stone roof was added later and whether originally
the window was so large. The plausible view is the window was built to be
admired from the outside and being foreshortened internally was considered not
a problem.
‘Singing
Windows’
The west fronts of Wells, Salisbury and Lichfield Cathedrals[20]
have statues with windows behind them. Behind these openings are passageways in
which it is contended choristers, and maybe trumpeters, sang and played so that
worshippers outside could hear and be welcomed on Palm Sunday.
Gallery with ten slit windows, each now with glass.
Wells has
four groups of three round holes plus two narrow slits in the middle. All are
now glazed.
Salisbury
has nine small quatrefoil windows almost hidden behind the sculptures. All have
been filled in with cement.
Ascending spiral staircases in the west towers lead to a
doorway below the level of the triforium. This opens with steps leading down
into a passageway built into the wall, 1.8 m high (6 feet) and 0.6 m wide (2
feet). The chamber is lit by ten slit windows each 500 mm high (20 inches) and
75 mm wide (3 inches). Higher up the staircases, above the triforium and level
with the sill of the west window, is a second passageway.[21] Having
two passageways, also seen at Wells and possibly at one time at Salisbury, cannot
be explained.
The lower
passageway has been equated with the ‘trumpet openings’ at Wells Cathedral and
thought to be for broadcasting responses and perhaps music outwards to
processing worshippers standing below on Palm Sunday. It is a re-enactment of
the entry into Jerusalem.[22]
The liturgy[23]
specified seven choristers were to be ‘elevated’ and to sing ‘Gloria, laus, et
honor’[24]
as the congregation approached the west front of the cathedral, having
processed both inside and around the outside of the cathedral taking in the
cloister and the lay cemetery.
The company of angels is praising you on high; and we
with all creation in chorus make reply. The people of the Hebrews with palms
before you went; our praise and prayer and anthems before you we present. ‘All Glory Laud and Honour’
Conjecture on the existence of ‘singing windows.’
At York, the same liturgy was used with the choristers
elevated on a temporary platform raised on the front of the Minster.[25]
At Wells the openings are at different heights from the floor suggesting it
accommodated two heights of choristers. The hidden voices would appear as if
coming from the angels sculptured on the front. At Salisbury there was an
elaborate procession.[26]
Passages, both internal and external, exist elsewhere,[27]
but the majority, especially northern churches, do not appear to be churches
that used the Sarum liturgy prepared around 1210. Consequently, singing from
the gallery has been questioned.[28]
Furthermore, the procession relied on the particular layout of the cathedral
and since this varied, it cannot be assumed the procession stopped at the west
door at the right time in the Missal. Mahrt thought the opposite and worked out
the Gloria would be sung at Wells just as the procession reached the west door.[29]
Another objection is it would have made the procession ‘dither under the west
front.’[30]
Finally, the construction of a passageway and openings for one service seems
extravagant. Especially since the voices would sound muffled and echoey when
compared with being in an open space. If singing windows are mythical, it
raises the question why build two passageways with openings? If they are for
some kind of maintenance, why make them so small? Explaining the purpose and
function of the singing windows at Lichfield depends on linking them with the
Sarum liturgy used at Wells and Salisbury Cathedrals. If it was used, it
strongly suggests the original façade of the west front, that is pre-Civil War,
had angels in the arcades where the slit windows occur. The procession was
entering the New Jerusalem with heavenly angels singing. It also links with Chad’s
death when ‘the song of joyful voices was heard descending from heaven’[31]
and that opens a new context for the use of the windows on March 2 and a figure
of ascendent Chad surrounded by singing angels.
Conjecture
on a date for an earlier lower west front
Rodwell,
1989, examined the stonework below the internal lower passage and conjectured
it was Romanesque and earlier than the 1320s.[32]
Moulding profiles and mason’s marks led him to believe a date of 1220‑30 was
more appropriate. It might also explain the two buttress foundations under the
pavement and either side of the central door. If true, it means an earlier nave
front was contemporary with that at Wells cathedral and earlier than Salisbury.
It also gives doubt to the dates of the nave.
[1]
There are differences between the towers which has led to the speculation they
were built at different times. It is more likely they were built by different
masons and the lower ground on the south side was a complication. Furthermore,
the south tower held the heavy bells and clock. The south side spire is a
little taller than the north side spire. The first recorded bell in the
southwest tower was in 1477. This ‘Jesus Bell’ was destroyed in the Civil War
and removed in 1653. It was replaced after the War, but had to be recast again
in 1688.
[2]
J. Leland, 1540s, wrote ‘the glory of the church is the work of the west end
which is exceedingly costly and fayre’. T. Fuller, Church History of
Britain. Vol. 1. (London: 1842), Book 4, 499, wrote ‘the west front is a
stately fabric adorned with exquisite imagery’.
[3]
J. P. McAleer, The west front of Lichfield Cathedral. A hidden liturgical
function. 52nd Friends Annual Report held in cathedral library. (1989),
26–9. There are similarities between the southwest spire of Lichfield Cathedral
with the central spire at Salisbury Cathedral.
[4]
G. Cobb, English Cathedrals: the forgotten centuries. Restoration and change
from 1530 to the present day. (London: 1981), 140.
[5][5]
Noted from Hollar’s etching, early 17th-century, appearing in Thomas Fuller’s
book, Church history of Britain. Volume 1. (London: 1842).
[6]
It depends on a Royalist climbing the front and retrieving a very heavy statue
in the middle of a siege. That assumes it avoided damage from cannon and musket
and could be taken north without discovery. In contrast the statue is in a
stone similar to that used for the cathedral and it has red paint on the
sleeve; the cathedral was painted in red and green.
[7]
R. Willis, ‘On foundations of early buildings
recently discovered in Lichfield Cathedral’. The Archaeological Journal, (1861),
18, 1–24. Willis visited the Cathedral in 1849 to examine window
tracery. In 1854 he was invited to forward a drawing for the restoration of the
choir area. Before publication Willis gave a lecture reported in The
Gentleman’s Magazine, March 1861, Vol. 210, 296‑300.
[8]
Several statues in a poor state were removed.
[9]
1820–22 and 1877–84.
[10]
Apart from four (two and six are quoted elsewhere) at the top left-hand corner
where cannon and musket appear not to have reached out of a total of 113 now
present. Wells Cathedral has 297.
[11]
J. Gould, ‘Saxon cathedral or 17th-century niche in Lichfield Cathedral?’ South
Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society transactions for 1976–7. (1976)
18, 69–72.
[12]
A proprietary formula labelled ‘Roman Cement’ which was very hard wearing, had
low shrinkage, but was brittle. Roman Stucco is made with a natural cement by
burning limestone in a traditional kiln.
[13]
A. W. Pugin wrote a censorious letter in 1834 describing brown, (grey?) cracked
cement and heads devoid of expression. The letter was published by B. Ferrey, Recollections
of A. W. Pugin and his father Augustus Pugin. (1861), 85–6.
[14]
R. Prentis, The restoration of the west front, 1877–1884. Unpub. article
in Cathedral Library (2007), 11.
[16]
T. Harwood, The history and antiquities of the church and city of Lichfield.
(London: 1806), 51.
[17]
J. C. Woodhouse, A short account of Lichfield Cathedral. (London: 1885),
38‑42 (8th ed.)
[18]
S. Foote, Æthelstan. (New
Haven and London: 2011), 234‑42.
[19]
G. H. Holderness, ‘The cathedral a hundred years ago.’ (1977). Unpub. article
in cathedral library.
[20]
These are the only medieval cathedrals without any Norman architecture.
Lichfield differed from the other two in having its frontal twin towers in line
with the nave aisles so the west half of the cathedral is a rectangle. At Wells
and Salisbury, the towers project out on the sides of the west end.
[21]
J. P. McAleer, The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral: A hidden liturgical
function. Friends of Lichfield Cathedral 52 Annual Report. (1989), 26–9.
[22]
P. Z. Blum, ‘Liturgical influences on the design of the West End at Wells and
Salisbury’. Gesta (1986), 25, 1, 145–150.
[23]
It was a reformed liturgy first used at Sarum cathedral during Bishop Osmund's
prelacy. 1087-1099. It was commonly used throughout southern England and most
likely included Lichfield.
[24]
It is possibly a 9th-century hymn and a modern translation is the hymn ‘All Glory, Laud and Honour’.
[25]
H. Gittos and S. Hamilton (eds) Understanding Medieval Liturgy. Essays in
interpretation. (London and New York: 2017), 228.
[26]
According to N. Orme, Going to church in Medieval England, (New Haven
and London: 2022), 274–5. The procession started in the choir with the carried
cross, candle holders, incense bearer, someone holding the relics, the holy
sacrament inside a pyx, clerks with palm branches, clergy and then the laity.
They left the church, and in the churchyard heard the Gospel of Luke describing
Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. They re-entered the cathedral with the
choristers singing Gloria, laus, et honor. In a description of the
procession, 1542, it stated the Gospel was read beside a Palm Cross. After the
hymn was sung the cathedral doors were opened only when the priest banged on
the door with the foot of the processional cross. Another account has people
being given palms which were taken home and attached to their house-door
believing this would drive away the Devil.
[27]
Examples include Lindisfarne Priory, Rochester, Colchester, Arbroath, Holyrood,
St Andrew, Kelso and Elgin. See note 2. Kilkenny has been since added.
[28]
C. Hohler, The Palm Sunday procession and the
west front of Salisbury Cathedral. Private letter written early 1990s and
considered by M. S. Andås, Ø. Ekroll, A. Haug and N. Holger (eds.),
‘Architectural and ritual constructions. The Medieval Cathedral of Trondheim in
a European Context’. Ritus et Artes (Turnout, Brepols: 2007), 3,
279–284.
[29]
W. P. Mahrt, Review of Façade as Spectacle: Ritual and ideology at Wells
Cathedral. (Leiden and Boston: 2004).
[30]
M. Spurrell, ‘The procession of Palms and west-front galleries’, The
Downside Review. (2001), 415, 136–7.
[31]
Historia Ecclesiastica Book 4, chapter 3. J. McClure and R. Collins, Bede:
The ecclesiastical history of the English People. (Oxford: 2008), 176.
[32] W, Rodwell, ‘Lichfield cathedral. Notes on the gallery and other features at the west end of the nave.’ (1989), Unpub. article in the cathedral library.
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