Summary. There is no written evidence or architecture supporting Norman building for the second or third cathedral. The current cathedral began construction early in the 13th-century and followed a similar timeline to Wells and Salisbury.
Twentieth century historians assumed there was a Norman
second cathedral in Lichfield,[1] built in either the late
11th-century or the early 12th-century. Others gave only qualified or equivocal
support for the dating.[2] If ever there was a second
Norman cathedral, it would have lasted for no more than 110 years before the
current cathedral was built early in the 13th-century. Since there are no clear
and obvious remnants of Norman stonework from the second cathedral, it follows a
monumental Norman cathedral would have been demolished entirely to make way for
a new Gothic cathedral; something not seen elsewhere. Why past writers would
want to invoke a Norman cathedral is an interesting zeitgeist.[3] Reasons to confute this myth are given in the posts, ‘Why
the second cathedral must be Early Medieval’ and ‘Second cathedral has a short
perch layout. It is Early Medieval.’ Two more historical reasons follow.
Four
years after the Conquest in 1066 at a Council held at Windsor, Leofwin,[4] the Early Medieval (Anglo-Saxon) Bishop of
Lichfield, was summarily dismissed with a charge of carnal incontinence meaning he had a wife and children, but this
was a ploy since other bishops were also married. It was backed by papal
legates at the behest of Normans brought in to purge the English church. In actual
fact, Leofwin had been too political and had maintained too close an
association with the dissentient Earls of Mercia. He was never going to be
compliant with the new Norman hegemony. At the next Council in 1075,
headed by the new Archbishop Lanfranc, appointed by William the Conqueror, it
was decided any bishops from villages were to be moved to populous cities, as
cited in the disastrous Council of Serdica (now Sofia in Bulgaria) in 343 and
repeated in the canons of the Council of Laodicea, Turkey, in 363/4. Citing a 4th-century
custom was another ploy to justify the move to oust unwanted cathedrals. This
was not new, in 1050 the diocese in Devon based at Crediton moved to Exeter and
in c, 1072 the diocese based at Dorchester-on-Thames moved to Lincoln.
The Council in 1075 gave impetus to this reorganisation. The bishopric at
Sherborne was moved to Old Sarum in Salisbury, Selsey was moved to Chichester,
Wells went to Bath, Elmham in East Anglia was succeeded by Thetford and later
Norwich, and Lichfield was transferred to Chester. In fact, Peter, consecrated
bishop of Lichfield in 1070, some think earlier in 1067, had already moved to
Chester by 1072 or 1073. The Council, two or three years later, was merely responding
to what had already happened. A letter in late 1072 or early 1073 referred to
the Bishop of Licifeldensis
(Lichfield) who is now Cestrenis
(Chester).[5]
AI rendition of the statue of William I on the
west front with him holding his Domesday Book
The Normans downgraded the
cathedral to be The Church of St Chad,
the designation of the Great Survey, 1086, and entered in the Domesday Book. William
of Malmesbury[6],
1080–1143, justified this by writing “Lichfield
was a tiny village (uilla exigua) far from the busy life of towns, in the
midst of a woody district, on the banks of a brook. Its church was on a cramped
site, revealing the mediocrity and self-repression of its men of old, a place
unworthy of the dignity of a bishop.” He also added ‘the church was famous for its poverty.’ William was a Norman apologist.
AI rendition of William of Malmesbury holding his book ‘Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings.’
The Domesday Survey, 1086,[7] recorded
the cathedral had only five priests and was among the poorest of the
English cathedrals. Furthermore, Lichfield lay at the centre of perhaps the
poorest part of the entire diocese.[8] The downgraded cathedrals (Salisbury,
Wells and Lichfield – Selsey and Elmham had disappeared) were now never likely
to become wealthy and powerful.[9] Morris thought any Norman bishop
would have been safer nearer a castle and this favoured Chester above
Lichfield.[10] Wright saw the downgrading of Anglo-Saxon
churches as engineered by the pope, since the papal court considered the Early
Medieval church was obnoxious and the Norman Conquest was a signal victory for
Catholicism.[11]
Then came another change in
location of the bishopric with Bishop Robert de Limesey leaving Chester c. 1095,
officially 1102, to site his see at Coventry. Why would the Bishop of Chester,
now Coventry, want to build a large cathedral at Lichfield when there was much
to extend and develop at Coventry and much to complete at Chester? Assorted
reasons for the move have been given[12] and all point to the development of a large cathedral
in Coventry and consequently a further downgrading of Lichfield. Restructuring lasted
until mid-12th century.
Then for 18 years, southern
England was caught in the civil war known as the Great Anarchy, 1135–1153. Most
bishops loyally supported King Stephen against Matilda, though towards the end many
called for a reconciliation. Some believe Bishop Roger de Clinton of Coventry
and Lichfield was a staunch supporter of the king, but some have conjectured
whether he also thought more of Matilda’s claim to the throne. During this time
cathedral building everywhere was paused.[13] The warfare might be the reason
Clinton garrisoned (walled?) the Close, c. 1135. It also explained why
in The Deeds of King Stephen,[14]
c. 1148, it claimed Clinton was heavily involved in the military.[15] With documentary evidence for Clinton selling
land to build monasteries,[16] possibly adding streets
to Lichfield,[17]
probably allowing piped water into the Close[18] and behind various other
projects during his 19-year episcopate, it is odd there is no record of him
founding, or repairing a cathedral.
AI rendition
of Bishop Roger de Clinton on the west front of the cathedral. Holding a church
signifies he built churches. He founded a Savigniac monastery in 1135 that
became Buildwas Abbey. He also founded Farewell Priory.
Reconstruction of Lichfield by mid
12th-century as a garrison town with a castle-cathedral and gridded streets. It
is an adaptation of the 1610 John Speed map.
There is no documentary evidence for a Norman cathedral.
William of Malmesbury,[19] c. 1125, said
Bishop Robert Peche (1121–1126) gave great benefit to Lichfield (magnorum apud Licetfeld edificationum)
and simply described the construction of buildings. In 1691, it was written
there were large buildings (magnas
aedificationes) in Lichfield at the time of Bishop Robert Limesey,
1085–1117.[20]
Bishop Robert Peche (1121-6), is said to have begun large-scale building (magnarum
apud Licetfeld edificationum inchoator).[21] Bishop Roger
Clinton, 1129–1148, raised Lichfield both in workplace and in honour (erexit
tam in fabrica quam in honore).[22] From these statements,
antiquarians, mostly Victorian, have concluded it supported the idea of a
Norman cathedral. A more measured Victorian County History stated, “Of the
cathedral buildings little definite is known before the rebuilding in the 13th
century”.[23]
Greenslade used the word reportedly
to suggest building began in the late 11th century instigated by Bishop Robert
de Limesey.[24]
The reality is there is no empirical or documentary evidence for a Norman
cathedral. The ambiguous and superficial statements of Norman apologists cannot
be accepted.
In 1854, a foundation was found
under the floor of the choir and presbytery and it has been claimed this was
the second cathedral and it was Norman.[25] This was despite the publication
by Robert Willis in 1861, who concluded, “we have no history to guide us in
forming opinions save the most meagre indications”.[26]
Drawing of the foundation of the second cathedral.
Some writers were certain there
never was a Norman cathedral. Clifton-Taylor stated of the 16 cathedrals existing
at the time of the Reformation, only three show no Romanesque or Norman; they
are Salisbury, Wells and Lichfield.[27] Pevsner and Metcalf were convinced
the eastern part of the cathedral was built after c. 1195–1200 and so
much after Clinton and just before the current cathedral was built.[28] Woodhouse[29] claimed the buttresses
outside of the transepts appeared Norman, but these were changed in the
18th-century.
The historical narrative does not
support a building of a second cathedral in Norman times and there is no record
supporting such an undertaking. The reason is simple, the Normans ignored
Lichfield, as they did in Salisbury and Wells. The current cathedral is like
Wells and Salisbury and built in the Plantagenet era (1154-1485). Lichfield was
constructed from early in 13th-century to c. 1340, Wells in two stages
c.1180-c.1260 and 1285-c. 1345, and Salisbury in the short time of 1220-58.[30] All are secular with no
monastic attachment. All are in the Decorated Gothic style. The west fronts have
the descriptive label of a ‘screen façade.’ Lichfield has paired towers and
spires in line with the nave aisles; Wells has paired towers but not in line
with the aisles and Salisbury has paired turrets topped with spirelets. Between
the flanking towers were lancet windows. Lichfield had around 100 statues
adorning the front (now 113), Wells has almost 300 statues and Salisbury has 79
statues. All appear to have, or once had, a singing gallery with slit windows
to the outside. All have a large central tower with Lichfield and Salisbury
having a large spire. Lichfield had a bishop’s palace surrounded by a wall with
a partial moat, whereas Wells has a palace surrounded by a wall and extensive
moat. The three cathedrals have similarities in the layout of the choir and
presbytery. All three are post-Norman.
Facades of
Lichfield, Wells and Salisbury.
A carbon
dating of the second cathedral foundation, it is only 0.3m below the floor, would
prove beyond doubt there is no Norman stonework at Lichfield. Hewitt (1882)
wrote ‘documents are rare and tradition is vague’.[31] The history needs
updating.
[1]
Clinton
built a cathedral about the time he was installed, as I guess. R. Plot
(1686) 362, 367. Clinton repaired and much adorned the church. T. Cox
(1738), 125. Clinton about the year 1140 built a new cathedral church. T.
Tanner (1744), 485. Little or nothing of the old Norman work appears at this
day. J. Bentham (1771), 36. Clinton added greatly both to the size and
beauty of the church. S. Shaw (1798), vol.1, 233. Clinton pulled it
entirely down and rebuilt it. J. Jackson (1805), 75. Clinton took down the
ancient Mercian cathedral and rebuilt it. T. Harwood (1806), 9. Present fabric
was begun by Bishop Clinton. J. C. Woodhouse (1811), 4. Clinton added to the
extent and beauty of the cathedral. W. Pitt (1817), 90. Clinton either
re-edified or greatly augmented the cathedral. J. Storer (1817) sect. e. Clinton
took down the Mercian building and erected the present edifice. T. J. Lomax
(1819), 11. Clinton is said to have rebuilt the cathedral. J. Britton
(1820), 19. Clinton almost rebuilt the cathedral. S. Erdeswick (1820),
213. Clinton is said to have rebuilt a great part of the cathedral. W.
White (1834), 65. A great part of the present cathedral was built by
Clinton. W. Dugdale (1846), 1240. 1238.Clinton is reputed to have
entirely rebuilt the cathedral. J. B. Stone (1870), 16. Clinton’s Norman
cathedral has disappeared by degrees. C. Bodington (1899), 20. Clinton
may have erected or helped to erect the Norman cathedral. A. B. Clifton
(1900), 5. (Bells).
[2]
The
Normans rebuilt Lichfield Cathedral. All the Norman work has vanished with the
exception of a few undistinguished carved stones. S. A.
Jeavons (1962), 11. Nothing of the pre-Conquest church has been discovered
but foundations of an apsidal building may be assigned to the 11th-century. A.
R. Dufty (1963), 293. Clinton certainly rebuilt or more likely completed the
rebuilding of the cathedral though nothing of his work now remains. C. C.
Taylor (1969), 48. The antiquated Anglo-Saxon cathedral was pulled down and
a new edifice in the very latest Romanesque style of architecture was built. R.
Studd (1980), 32. A Norman cathedral was built between c. 1090 and 1150, but
nothing has been found of the pre-Conquest church. P. Johnson (1980), 113. Work
was probably completed by Bishop Clinton 1129–1148. M. Greenslade (1990) The
Saxon church was quickly replaced after the Conquest by a new cathedral in
Norman style, begun in 1085. R. Mead (2001), 132.
[3]
Many Victorian writers repeated the myth of a Norman cathedral. Invoking Norman
fitted with their zeal to build large churches, railway stations like
cathedrals and public buildings with a great façade. It was a conservative
antidote to their major advances in science and technology which challenged the
existence of God. It was the zeitgeist of the Victorian Age. So, Lichfield
Cathedral is mostly a Victorian restoration and harks back to the surge in
cathedral building in Norman times.
[4]
He was possibly related to supporters of the Early Medieval Earls of Mercia. On
resignation he returned to be abbot of Coventry monastery.
[5]
Lanfranc’s third letter page 42, see C. P. Lewis, ’Communities, conflict and
episcopal policy in the diocese of Lichfield, 1050—1150’. In: P. Dalton, C.
Insley and L. J. Wilkinson, eds. Cathedrals, communities and conflict in the
Anglo-Saxon world. (Woodbridge: 2011), 61—76, for a full account of this
time at Lichfield. See H. Clover and M. Gibson, The letters of Lanfranc, Archbishop
of Canterbury, Oxford Medieval Texts. (Oxford: 1979), for the letters of
Lanfranc.
[6]
Note the reference to a cramped site for the
cathedral, presumably still restricted by a surrounding enclosure. The men of
old is pejorative for Anglo-Saxons. William had a Norman father, an English
mother and was a monk, but living in Norman times he distained most things
Anglo-Saxon. T. Wright, Biographia Britannica Literaria. Anglo-Norman
Period. (London: 1846) wrote it was the fashion for at least two centuries
after the Conquest to speak contemptuously of everything Saxon.
[7]
Great Domesday Book 247r Lecefelle/Licefelle NA E31/2/2/1932 (Phillimore ref.
Staffs. 2,16)
[8]
R. Studd, ‘Pre-Conquest Lichfield’. Transactions South Staffordshire
Archaeological and Historical Society, (1980), 22, 31. Also F. Barlow, The
English Church, (London: 1979), 36, 62, 117.
[9]
The Normans were preoccupied by strengthening their defences in Mercia and this
was seen with the building of castles at Dudley, Shrewsbury, Tamworth, Tutbury,
Warwick and later Stafford and Bridgnorth.
[10]
M. Morris, The Norman Conquest. (London,
2013).
[11]
See note 6 and Wright (1846), 7.
[12]
See note 5 and Lewis (2011), 75. The
formation of a Lichfield-Chester-Coventry diocese, with Lichfield the minor
partner, by Bishops Peter and Robert was a way of augmenting their limited
resources, as well as reforming the diocese along monastic lines.
[13]
H. Braun, An introduction to English Medieval architecture. 2nd ed. (London:
1968). Also K. J. Conant, Carolingian and
Romanesque architecture, 800–1200 (New Haven & London: 1978).
[14]
Gesta Stephani an anonymous
mid-12th-century history of King Stephen’s reign,
[15]
T. Cox, Survey of the ancient and present state of Great Britain. (London:
1738) overstated this believing Clinton’s inclination was “to shine in armour”.
This was supported with his involvement in the ill-fated Second Crusade,1147–1149,
ending in his death.
[16]
M. J. Franklin, Roger of Clinton (Oxford,
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: 2004).
[17]
C. C. Taylor, ‘The origins of
Lichfield’, South Staffordshire
Archaeological and Historical Society Transactions, (1969),10, 43–52.
[18]
J. Gould, ‘The twelfth-century water
supply to Lichfield Close’. The Antiquaries J. (1976), 56, 1,
73–79.
[19]
William of Malmesbury, De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum. (Rolls Ser.), 311 (Cambridge
University Library: 1125). It conflicts with his assertion that Lichfield was a
small village (uilla exigua).
[20]
H. Wharton, Anglia Sacra. Volume 1(London: 1691), 433. This was possibly
from Thomas de Chesterfield, 1347.
[21]
See note 3.
[22]
Ibid, Wharton (1691), 434.See note 20.
[23]
M W Greenslade and R B Pugh (ed), 'House
of secular canons - Lichfield cathedral: To the Reformation', in A
History of the County of Stafford: Volume 3, (London, 1970), 140-166.
[24]
M. Greenslade, Lichfield: The Cathedral. In: A history of the County of
Stafford: Volume 14, Lichfield. (London: 1990), 47–-57.
[25]
W. Rodwell, The Norman quire of Lichfield Cathedral. Its plan and liturgical
arrangement. 50th Annual report to the Friends of Lichfield Cathedral. In
Lichfield Cathedral Library. (1987), 10-14.
[26]
R. Willis, ‘On foundations of early buildings recently discovered in Lichfield
Cathedral’. The Archaeological J., (1861), 28I, 17–8.
[27]
A. Clifton-Taylor, The Cathedrals of England. (London: 1986), 15.
[28]
N. Pevsner and P. Metcalf, The Cathedrals
of England: Midland, Eastern and Northern
England. (New York: 1985), 182, 187-8.
[29]
J. C. Woodhouse, A short account of
Lichfield Cathedral (Lichfield, Thomas George Lomax: 1811).
[30]
Lichfield cathedral is one of nine non-monastic cathedrals of the ‘Old
Foundation’. That is, they all have an early beginning and were set up without
a monastic attachment. Of the nine (St Pauls, York, Chichester, Exeter,
Hereford, Lincoln, Salisbury, Wells and Lichfield) only Hereford and Lichfield
cathedrals still occupy the same site as their original church.
[31]
J, Hewitt, Handbook of Lichfield Cathedral, (Lichfield: 1882), 2.
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