Dating the cathedral

 Abstract.  The lack of documentary evidence makes exact dating of the current cathedral difficult. The best estimation is early 13th century to around the late 1330s. At least 3 kings, 12 bishops, several master-masons, many stonemasons, and numerous labourers took 110-140 years for construction. Further micro-analysis of the stonework could give greater precision.

A problem

During the Civil War sieges of the cathedral and Close,1643–6, the external library, a two storied, half-timbered building north of the nave, which contained the records and muniments of the cathedral was destroyed.[1] Lost records possibly included fabric accounts for when and how the current cathedral was constructed. Consequently, dating the cathedral must be derived from comparing with what has happened elsewhere, accounting for the behaviour of bishops, canons and kings and interpreting the building by its architectural styles. 

Conclusion: Fixing dates for the phases of construction of the cathedral can only be by deduction; it is imprecise. 

 Previous narratives.

Wikipedia describes a Gothic cathedral begun in 1195 and completed by the building of the Lady Chapel in the 1330s.[2] Clifton,[3] 1900, thought the first part of the present building was begun very early in the thirteenth century. A cathedral guide, 2015, stated there was a rebuilding of the second Norman cathedral in the early 13th-century and the crossing was rebuilt c. 1200–1220. There are many more variations, mostly minor, and all are highly subjective.

 Conclusion: Accounts differ, with the cathedral begun at the very end of the 12th-century or early in the 13th-century. There are conjectures on when the second cathedral was reordered or demolished. Narratives before the 1980s were commonly biased by thinking Lichfield was included in the considerable Norman construction of churches.

 What is factually known.

In 1221, Henry III gave the Dean and Chapter twenty oaks from Cannock Forest to be used for rafters and timber for the church.[4] In 1231, he gave timber from Ogley Hay for ladders.[5] In 1235, a royal licence was given to dig stone from the forest of Hopwas for the fabric of the church of Lichfeld.[6] In 1238, the canons of the cathedral were granted another licence to take more stone.[7] The account mentions ad fabricum (to fabricate) which could mean either repair or new construction. However, the title was Pro nová fabricá (for the new fabrication) indicating this was the building of a new cathedral.[8] In 1244, the chapter was granted forty oaks from the bishop's woods, ad operationem ecclesie, which might have been for the building of the Chapter House. During the deanery of Ralph of Sempringham, c.1258-80, a right to dig for sand in ground on the Longdon Road was bought and a quarry at Hoppelee (Hopwas?) Building was still in progress by 1270, when the king granted the cathedral chapter timber from Kinver Forest. This forest has very tall trees suitable for scaffolding to a roof or spire. All these licences have no mention of procurement of large quantities of material. Perhaps, much timber and stone was available from demolition of the previous cathedral and maybe from land owned by the bishops and canons and this was not recorded.

Two Friars Minor, Symon Semeonis and Hugo Illuminator, kept notes on their pilgrimage from Clonmel, Ireland, to Jerusalem. On Easter 1323, they entered Lichfield and described a most beautiful church in honour of St. Chad, with most lofty stone towers and splendidly adorned with pictures, sculptures, and ornaments.[9]

In 1323, there was an entry of agreement between the Chapter and Bishop Langton’s executors to halve the costs for the raising of stone from a new quarry. Another entry in the accounts for 1335 stated the works (on the Lady Chapel) were still in progress.

 Conclusion: Material for a building was obtained in 1221 and the spires were in place in the 1320s. The Lady Chapel was nearing completion in 1335.

 Dating from traditional ways of construction

Traditionally cathedrals were built from east to west and the choir at the east end of the old cathedral was the first to be constructed or re-constructed. This meant another part of the old cathedral would be temporarily used for services. Once the new choir was completed and sanctified, the rest of the cathedral could be built in sections without interrupting worship. Walls and pillars were built followed by constructing a timber scaffolding to support a roof. After the walls were reinforced with buttresses and side rooms, construction of the vaulted roof could begin. It might be the roofs on the middle part of the cathedral were built concurrently using scaffolding that was mobile.

 Conclusion: Lichfield is thought to follow a known pattern of building a cathedral. The earliest thorough account likened the sequence of building to that at York, but there are striking analogies with Lincoln and Wells regarding the nave and west front.

West front of Wells cathedral.

 Dating derived from the history of bishops, deans and canons

An early chapterhouse was mentioned in the statutes of Bishops Nonant and Pateshull, and could have stood in the angle between the north transept and the nave.[10] If so, this must have been an addition to the second cathedral and mid-12th century. It does not make sense to build a new cathedral by starting on a chapterhouse.

From 1208 to 1385, all the bishops were interred in the cathedral (before they were either buried in Coventry or abroad in ancestral lands), so it may be inferred the church during this time was in a condition for service and burial. The first bishop said to be buried at Lichfield was Geoffrey de Muschamp, d.1208, though where is uncertain and could be a misunderstanding. Perhaps, the rebuild of the choir was done in his time and he was later buried near the high altar now squared off with small chapels at the east end. Some have been convinced this rebuilding took place during Geoffrey de Muschamp's bishopric,1198-1208.[11] Knowing where Bishop Muschamp was buried would be informative. Bishop Cornhill was buried,1223, in the south choir aisle so clearly the east end was now finished in its squared shape.

 

East end squared off. The dating of 1200 for this work is a generalised figure. It is this work which has caused most disagreement.

 In 1224, William of Mancetter became the first elected dean and was in post for thirty years. He must have been responsible for much of the new building, but precisely what he and his successor Ralph of Sempringham did is unknown. Roger Meyland or Meuland became a canon in 1257 and then bishop in 1258. He was possibly related to Henry III. In his 37 years he oversaw most of the cathedral construction, especially the nave, but again it is unknown what he precisely did. It is the dean’s and bishop’s fabric accounts which are greatly missed.

Raised money went into a separate fabric fund which had its own keepers and they are first mentioned in 1272. There must have been many unrecorded gifts and legacies as well as rents from land especially from ground with a standing church.

Much building resulted from the patronage of Bishop Langton, Edward 1’s treasurer, who had the wealth to finish the construction of the cathedral.[12] Langton was in Lichfield in March 1314, when his palace on the east wall of the Close was completed after finishing the high wall around the Close. Langton paid for a Lady Chapel to be added to the east end and work probably began in the mid-1310s.[13] Lepine thought it was completed in 1336 when two keepers of the fabric were appointed. Then work began extending the choir to the chapel. This work could have been completed by 1338. There are some who think Langton with his great wealth paid for much more work in the cathedral, such as adding new stone vaults, but this is unrecorded and means there were timber roofs before stone roofs.

Indication of the construction of the cathedral in the 13th-century might be visible in the prebendal endowments. Almost all the prebends of the 12th-century went to Coventry. By 1255, there were 26 prebends with endowments of churches or land, and an additional three 'bursarial' prebends and they mark the virtual end of the construction of the prebendal system at Lichfield. These endowments were mostly made from 1220s and show this was the time the cathedral grew in wealth, independence, and influence.[14] Almost certainly these tithes paid for the early construction.

 Conclusion: This scanty history suggests building could have started at the end of the 12th-century, but more likely in the 13th-century and it continued to 1338.

 Dating derived from the history of kings

Gothic architecture in England can be split into two periods, that before the troubled reign of King John, and that afterwards. A gap of 13 troubled years was explained by Dean Savage,[15] namely, all churches were closed and any building stopped because of the papal interdict restrictions of King John[16] suspending all church activities of every kind, March 1208–July 1214, followed by the occupation of England by a French Army and exacerbation by disagreements between the canons of Lichfield and the monks at Coventry.

Three cathedrals were built before John, these were the choir at Canterbury, most of Well’s cathedral and much of Lincoln. The critical question that has challenged those working out the timescale of Lichfield has been, was full building undertaken before John or did it not start until after his death in 1216. Oddly, Rodwell thought it continued during John’s reign. Was the squaring off undertaken on the choir and chancel done before King John’s argument with the pope and then the rest of the cathedral started after he died?

King Henry III, reigned 1216–1272,[17] was devout and known for his public show of piety; being widely regarded as ‘Rex Christianissimus’ (a most Christian King). He encouraged elaborate church services, often being moved to tears by sermons. He was extremely interested in architecture, sculpture, painting and providing silverware, vestments and candles for churches. In the first 18 years of his majority, he built 18 new chapels, 10 for himself and 8 for the queen. By the 1250s he was sustaining over 50 chapels and supporting many Dominican and Franciscan houses. Notably, he rebuilt Westminster Abbey, added to Lincoln Cathedral, St Georges Chapel at Windsor, and accomplished much at Lichfield. His churches show an Early English Gothic style of architecture. Henry might have passed through Lichfield in 1226 having been in Nottingham and then travelling to the Welsh marches. If so, he would have seen the beginning of a new cathedral. Henry was at Lichfield in 1235, 1237, and 1241 (probably to increase his funds to pay off a large dowry given away on his sister’s marriage) and these must have been the years of intense construction. In 1243, Henry issued a commission to Walter Grey, Archbishop of York. to expedite the works at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, in which he ordered a lofty wooden roof, like the roof of the new work at Lichfield (probably the choir roof, though some think the south transept and some think the north transept), to appear like stone work with good ceiling and painting.[18] The same has been said of the wheel window on the south transept. The nave ornamentation and arcades are like those at Lincoln and the spheric triangular windows high up in the clerestory are like those at Westminster Abbey. The nave wall ornamentation can be linked to the king and queen’s liking for 5-petalled roses from Provence. Henry’s hand is behind much of the building of the west end of the cathedral and a start date of 1216, at the beginning of his reign, would therefore be plausible.[19] The cathedral with its boundary battlements, secure towers and entrances supports the idea it was a King’s cathedral. His son, Edward I who reigned 1272–1307 continued this support, especially through his executor and bishop Walter Langton. Edward II, 1307–1327, had a troubled relationship with Langton and any kingly patronage must have been minimal. Edward III jousted at Lichfield in 1331 and again in early May 1348 to celebrate the battles of Crecy and Calais.

 Conclusion: History suggests building started early in Henry III’s reign and continued to Edward III’s visit in 1331. These are the Plantagenet kings and they appear to be the main patrons and sponsors of the cathedral. Henry III was born in 1207 and did not come of age until 1227, aged 19 and three months, when he could issue charters. Though young he was looked after by various ecclesiastics and these could have authorised timber for construction in 1221. His first building project was in 1220, aged 13, when he laid the foundation stone of the old Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey.

 

Henry III holding Westminster Abbey. Perhaps, this should have been Lichfield.

 

Dating derived by architectural historians

Five comprehensive accounts have provided dates derived from the style of architecture. They were by Robert Willis (1861), Arthur R. Dufty (1963), Warwick Rodwell (1983–2008), Malcolm Thurlby (1986) and John Maddison (1993).

The Revd Robert Willis, 1800–1875, Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy at Cambridge and an authority on architectural history, visited the Cathedral for two days in August 1859.[20]  Helped by others he took measurements, made observations, and published his findings in 1861.[21] His dating of the cathedral, Willis much preferred giving architectural periods rather than actual dates in years, has been queried, but still gives a reliable sequence of construction.

 

Dating of the third cathedral by Robert Willis. Dates are thought to be the finish of construction, but this is not stated explicitly. Work resembled the order at York Minster and so York provided the timing for dating.

 

Plan of the crossing, Willis (1861), with varied shading changed to colour. The four crossing columns are a mixture of four phases of construction, 1200, 1220, 1240 and 1250, and are shown consisting of work from the four phases. The greater part of the eastern side of the columns is Early English, the piers on their north and south sides are shown as late Early English and the nave side is labelled early Decorated. Clearly, this is a timeframe, not an exact timeline.

 Stylistic evidence can be difficult to assess and not helped by the medieval cathedral being built of a soft sandstone which has weathered badly. The extensive rebuilding and restoration which was necessary in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries has hampered investigation. Despite this Willis was certain the bases of the piers in the first three bays of the choir showed an ‘Early English’ style of architecture and the early choir must have been rebuilt around the year 1200. Willis assumed the central tower and choir alterations were built together. The south transept and room(s) off the south choir aisle were ‘Early English’ and the north transept was ‘Late Early English’ transitioning into the ‘Decorated’ style. The nave and Lady Chapel have a ‘Decorated’ style.

 

Style	Date	Kings
Early English	1189–1272	Richard I, John, Henry III
Decorated	1272–1377	Edward I, II and III
Perpendicular	1377–1547	Richard II to Henry VIII

Architectural periods from J. H. Parker, ABC of Gothic Architecture, (Oxford and London: 1881)

 

Dufty[22] thought the date of the central crossing was called into question by the existence of a roof crease for a nave he assigned to the 12th century. This crease appears on the outside of the west wall of the central crossing, in the north-west angle between tower and nave clearstory. (The author has yet to find this crease.) He concluded there was a pre-13th century nave and together with the cathedral archive having mid-12th-century carved stones, meant building was very early. Indeed, could this crease be from the roof line of the second cathedral?

 Stonework in an archive considered to be Romanesque. If true, they would have come from the second cathedral. 

 

Stonework in an archive considered to be Early English

 An earlier date for the start of cathedral construction was also given by Rodwell.[23] He dated the reconstruction of the choir as being, c. 1170–1200, and undertaken in three stages. He then thought the crossing lower tower was built c. 1200–1220 followed by what he called the sacristy chapels on the south side. There was no interval in the building programme. This contradicted the notion of the choir being contiguous with the building of the central tower.

 Madison thought, like Willis, the building of the crossing tower was concurrent with the remodelling of the choir and east end because style details showed it was designed by the same master.[24] He saw a correspondence with the building of the tower and spire at Ashbourne church. An old cathedral guide[25] placed this rebuild between 1195 and 1208. Maddison assumed adding the central spire was part of the main tower build and connected this work to Bishop Walter de Langton’s episcopate. He envisaged much building around 1315 including the north-west front tower, completion of the crossing tower, final remodelling of the choir and the beginning of the Lady Chapel. It needs stating this is a large amount of building towards the end of Langton’s life when he was having great difficulties securing his wealth.

 Dating of other parts is understood to be, the vestibule was added with a door cut through the north quire wall by raising the sill of a window above, in 1230–1240. It opened through to the Chapter House that was finished in 1249.[26] The south side chapel and adjacent rooms were built soon after the choir, 1225, and probably used to house Chad’s relics. In 1254 it was dedicated to St Peter. The nave was finished by the 1290s and the west front started c. 1280 and completed by 1320s.[27] There is good evidence the west front was built in stages since it shows different styles of architecture.[28] There are perplexing differences between the two front towers and the south-west tower might have been built first.[29] Wells cathedral has similar complexities with the building of their west front. The Lady Chapel was possibly completed 1336 with later changes being made to the remarkable roof. The squared chancel was now rebuilt in a grander style, with a stone roof and completed by 1338.

    A comparison of figures on the north transept doorway led to the conclusion the work was executed between 1230 and 1241 by artists trained in the west of England.[30] Alternating figures and foliation on the archway was linked with Glastonbury and Malmesbury Abbeys. This could be a good substantiated early date for the cathedral. 

 Conclusion: Architectural historians have disagreed with each other on dating, especially the start of building, though there is a consensus on the order of building. Despite much comment on when building begin, the 1970 statement in the Victorian County History still appears good, namely, ‘The task of rebuilding the choir and the tower crossing was probably finished by 1208 and there is no further evidence of work on the cathedral until 1221.’[31]

 

 A synthesis of evidence.

The cathedral was built between the early 13th-century (even possibly as late a start as into Henry III’s reign) and finished in the late 1330s. Some think the start of construction was the reordering of the choir at the end of the 12th-century; was this instead a preliminary transient event to maintain a service of worship? The final building was the addition of a new roof on the Lady Chapel and making it continuous with the presbytery around 1338. Building the cathedral lasted around 110–140 years. Therefore at least 3 kings, 12 bishops, several master-masons, many stonemasons, and numerous labourers spent time and energy supervising and building a cathedral they knew they would never live to see the finished splendour. In this time there was a 10year famine and several appearances of plague-like endemics. There is a consensus with historians of the order of building, but any precise dating can only be inspired conjecture and stated with caution. Knowing the date of the second cathedral and radio-carbon dating some of the stonework would help; there is still much that could be revealed.

Like every cathedral, part of the building was innovative and possibly experimental, such as the nave and Lady Chapel. It also had remarkably little buttressing. Perhaps, its most unique feature was its now lost crenellated curtain wall with large corner towers and two formidable gates. It was the only moated cathedral in the country. Early writers described it as a castle.

 

Imagined south wall and southeast gate. A licence to crenellate the wall was given in 1299.

 

Northeast tower remains.

 

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[1] W. Dugdale, A short view of the late troubles in England. (Oxford: 1681), 559. The Chapter Act books do not begin until the early 14th century and contain little information concerning the fabric. The first surviving entry in the earliest act book was dated 22 April 1321.

[2] Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichfield_Cathedral

[3] A. B. Clifton, The Cathedral church of Lichfield. (London: 1900), 5.

[4] See note 226 given in M. W. Greenslade and R. B. Pugh (eds.) 'House of secular canons - Lichfield cathedral: To the Reformation', in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 3, (London, 1970), 140–166.

[5] Ibid, note 228.

[6] W. Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum. (London: 1849), Vol. 6, part 3, 1255, section XLVI. "Mandatum est Vicecomiti Staffordiæ, quod non impediat vel impedire permittat decanum et capitulum Lich feldiæ, quo minus fodere possint petram in forestâ regis de Hopwas, ad fabricam ecclesiæ suæ de Lichfeld, sicut eam fodi fecerunt ante tempus suum " Rot. Lit. Claus., 19 Hen. III.

[7]  J. Britton, The history and antiquities of the See and cathedral church of Lichfield.(London: 1820), 27, see note 7.

[8], Ibid, 27, It was not certain whether it was repair or new build.

[9] M. Esposito, ‘The Pilgrimage of Symon Semeonis: A Contribution to the History of Mediæval Travel’ The Geographical Journal (1917), 51, 77–96.

[10] H. E. Savage, St Chad’s Day address 1919 on The Chapter House. Unpub. Paper in Cathedral Library, 11.

[11] A. R. Dufty, ' Lichfield Cathedral.' The Archaeological Journal, 120 (Report of the Summer Meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute at Keele in 1963), (1963),  293--295.

[12] J. Maddison, ‘Building at Lichfield Cathedral during the episcopate of Walter Langton (1296–1321). In: J. Maddison, ed. XIII Medieval archaeology and architecture at Lichfield. Leeds: The British Archaeological Association, (1993), 65–84. Also N. Tringham, ‘The Palace of Bishop Walter Langton in Lichfield Cathedral Close’, In: J. Maddison, ed. XIII Medieval archaeology and architecture at Lichfield. Leeds: The British Archaeological Association, (1993), 85–100. Tringham expressed Langton’s work as ‘he was a considerable benefactor of his Cathedral at Lichfield’

[13] D. Lepine, ‘Glorius Confessor: The cult of St Chad at Lichfield Cathedral during the Middle Ages’. SAHS transactions, (2021), 35.

[14] See 4, note 86.

[15] See 10, 14.

[16] In a standoff between the pope and King John known as the interdict John was excommunicated and the bishops gradually left the country. John then confiscated their estates. In 1210, he demanded money from all priests and monks. By 1215, John reversed his confrontation and appeased his irate clergy with judicious grants, return of land, and increased rights and benefices. John visited Lichfield in 1200, 1204, 1206 and 1215, W. Beresford, Diocesan Histories. Lichfield. (London: 1883), 91.

[17] 56 years, the longest reign in medieval English history.

[18] In 1243 Henry III instructed Thomas de Gray “to cause work to go on both in winter and in summer until the king’s chapel of Windsor is finished, and to have a high wooden roof made after the manner of the new work at Lichfield, so that it may appear to be stonework, with good panelling and painting”. Calendar of the Close Rolls, Vol. 5: 1242–47, 39; H. M. Colvin, ed., The History of the King’s Works: The Middle Ages, 2 vols (London: HMSO, 1963), 2: 868.

[19] Is there a sculpted head of Henry III in the Chapter House? There ought to have been.

[20] J. G. Lonsdale, J. G. Recollections of work done in and upon Lichfield Cathedral from 1856—1894 (Lichfield, Alfred Charles Lomax: 1895) 11.

[21] 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.

[22] See Note 11.

[23] W. Rodwell, 'The development of the choir of Lichfield Cathedral: Romanesque and Early English'. In: J. Maddison, ed. XIII Medieval archaeology and architecture at Lichfield. Leeds: The British Archaeological Association, (1993), 22–29.

[24] See 12, Maddison (1993), 76.

[25] ‘The story of Lichfield Cathedral’ (1928), Lomax publishers.

[26] Between 12 and 14 polygonal Chapter Houses were built from 1220 to 1300 and Lichfield was the fourth. The roof vaulting indicates it is a decagonal shape. See note 10, Savage (1919), 20. Lichfield’s Chapter House is one of three that are double storey, but Lichfield is the only one with the Chapter room on the ground floor, 21.

[27] W. Rodwell, Lichfield Cathedral’s West Front, Unpub. article in Cathedral Library (2008), 34–44, found evidence for an early build to a substantial part of the West Front making it contemporary with Wells and Salisbury Cathedrals. He thought a new west front might have begun in the early 13th century, 40. There might have been an atrium around the large west doors and this could explain the underfloor foundations.

[28] See 12, Maddison (1993), 78.

[29] See 12, Maddison (1993), 79. The north-west tower is several feet shorter than its partner. If the tallest middle spire is God’s and the south-west is Christ’s then the north-west is the Holy Spirit. If this is a true explanation, then ranking by height is a medieval heresy.

[30] M. Thurlby, ‘The North Transept Doorway of Lichfield Cathedral: Problems of Style,’ (1986). RACAR : Revue d'art Canadienne / Canadian Art Review, 13(2), 121–130.

[31] See note 4. Greenslade and Pugh (1970), 140–166.