Franciscan Friary

             The Franciscans were founded in 1209 by St. Francis of Assisi, 1181–1226. To begin with the Catholic order required Friars to observe extreme poverty, having to beg for food when preaching, but this was relaxed in 1223. Around this time Friars came to England. It was probably Bishop Alexander Stavensby,1224–1238, who instigated a Franciscan Friary, c. 1237,[1] in the town by giving free burgage plots for the friars to set their house on. The bishop supported King Henry III who favoured Franciscan monks. The king allowed oaks to be cut from neighbouring forests to build a church. The Sheriff of Lichfield was authorised in 1241 ‘to clothe the Friars of Lichfield.’ In 1286, Edward I provided eight oak trees from Cannock Chase for further building. A date of c. 1286 has been given for completion of the church, most likely wooden, and all the associated buildings.[2] A fire destroyed much of the town and some say the original church on 4 May 1291.[3]  The friary was rebuilt in stone and with extra buildings expanded over an area of 12 acres. Presumably builders in the last stages of constructing the cathedral helped or advised on building a large friary church.

Wall plaque giving approximate dates. 

 Location of Friary site.

The Franciscan ‘Grey Friars’[4] were noted for poverty, simple living and caring for the unwell in the Community, which earned gratitude from the residents of the town. Many donations for the upkeep of the friary were recorded.

 

Possible layout for Lichfield Friary. The church has a similar unusual compass inclination as the cathedral. It is presumed the tower and spire were at the crossing, with a spire similar in height to the cathedral, c. 60 m. Its length is estimated to be 60-70 m. The right to pipe water was given in 1301 and the water was given for free. It is thought the water passed through wooden (alder) pipes. Three tanning pits have been found and either they preceded the Friary or were part of the friary workshops.

 

Artistic reconstruction of the Friary as depicted on Lichfield District Council city visitor board. Also, Wikipedia.

     Much was demolished after Dissolution[5] in 1538. A group of eight men bought the associated buildings on the understanding they deface the tower, cloister, choir and church within four months and pull down the lot within three years.[6] The land was sold cheaply for £68 in 1545 to the Master of St Mary’s Guild, who turned it into a private house and garden. The only buildings to survive were the dormitory on the west range and a house known as ‘Bishop’s Lodging’ in the south-west corner. The city took over the management of the friaries’ water supply  forming the Lichfield Conduit Lands Trust. In 1920, 11 acres of the Friary estate were bought by Richard Ashmole Cooper, who gave it to the city to develop housing and lay out a new road across the site. The former school and library on the south side of the road almost certainly includes fabric of the cloistral ranges.

 

1638 Map of the Friary site.[8]

Drawing of surviving buildings known as The Friary,[7]

            Bassett believed the Friary site interrupted an important through-route along Bore Street which was diverted along one end of ‘Friars Alley’ before returning to its original line.[9] The church lay along this important route and it is suggested this originally straight route was the high-street of the town. Bassett also suggested the Friary had two cloisters with an earlier, smaller cloister against the choir.

     In 2016, an excavation found a boundary wall with a ditch. From this much 13th and 14th-century pottery sherds were found, as well as two fragmentary shoes. Excavations at the site also recovered large quantities of ornamental floor tiles and two metal gaming counters of 14th-century date. A portion of the north nave wall still stands to a height of c. 0.8 metres. A doorway could be original and would have allowed access to the nave from Friars Alley. It would allow public access to the church nave, but avoid entrance to the rest of the friary precinct. The church site has still to be archaeologically examined in a systematic way.

[1] Some accounts have 1229. There is no certainty Bishop Stavensby gave the land for a friary, see G C Baugh et al, 'Friaries: The Franciscan friars of Lichfield', in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 3, ed. M W Greenslade and R B Pugh (London, 1970), 268-270. 

[2] T. Harwood, The history and antiquities of the church and city of Lichfield. (London: 1806), 481 was of the opinion it had a fine Gothic appearance, with massive gates, thick walls, and windows of coloured glass. Three fields or pastures on the west part of the Lodging were commonly called the Barr Plecke, the Colyers Plecke, and the Orchard. A watercourse ran from a place called Poole-furlong(e) to the Crucifix (water outlet) in Lichfield Streete. The water pipes and outlet still exists, though rebuilt. Poole furlong could be at Aldershawe or more likely along the Trunkfield brook. Another source of water mentioned was Fowlewell, near Aldershawe.

[3] H. Wharton, Anglia Sacra, Volume 1. (London: 1691), stated ‘the city of Lichfield and the entire house of the Friars Minor were burned’. Harwood (1806), see note 2, wrote most of the town was destroyed, but not the church. Bassett (1980), 105, note 18, indicated that Harwood could have been correct. The church was some distance from the rest of the town.

[4] They were later called Grey-Friars, from their habit, which, in imitation of their founder, was a long grey coat down to their heels with a cowl or hood and a cord or rope about their loins, instead of a girdle. The friar’s cowl was in the shape of a bag, narrowing towards the end. It was fastened to the upper part of the coat behind and was hung ready to cover the head, or to fill with provisions, or with whatever they might receive in their supplications from house to house. Harwood (1806), 481 see note 2.

[5] By the time of the Dissolution of the religious orders in the 1530s approximately 189 friaries had been founded for a number of different groups of friars, each with their individual missions. 

[6] C. Upton, A history of Lichfield, (Stroud: 2001), 42.

[7] H. Snowden Ward, Lichfield and its cathedral: A brief history and guide. (Bradford: 1893), 18.

[8] J. Hill map from plate 7 in Harwood (1806), 480, see note 2.

[9] S. R. Bassett, ‘Medieval Lichfield: A topographical review’. Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society Transactions, (1980), 22, 104.