Lichfield cathedrals are not Norman, as are Wells and Salisbury

Summary.  Until recently many historians believed the second and third cathedrals were built during, or soon after, the Norman era. Yet there is no documentary evidence or architecture to support any Norman building. Construction for the present, third cathedral is deduced to have been in the early 13th century. This follows the same timeline as at Wells and Salisbury cathedrals and there are resemblances between the three buildings.

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. Some 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 completely demolished to make way for an entirely new Gothic cathedral; something not seen with other cathedrals. 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 reasons follow.

 

The Normans marginalised Lichfield

Four years after the Conquest in1066 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. 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 reflecting 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]

William I with his Domesday Book

 

The Normans downgraded the cathedral to be The Church of St Chad, the designation in 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.

 William of Malmesbury

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 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? Various 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 they called for a reconciliation. Some believe Bishop Roger de Clinton of Coventry and Lichfield was a strong 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 why 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.  

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 this has been interpreted as constructed 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.

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, 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 13th-century in the Gothic style.[30] This helps to explain why the west fronts of these cathedrals are alike, why the size and layout of the bishop’s palaces have similarities, and why the choir and presbytery areas have identical features.

[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.