Three conjectures on the early churches

Summary. Scant early documentary evidence for the first and second cathedrals has inevitably led to speculation and wild conjecture. Two hypotheses are given which have warped our understanding of the first cathedral and a third which arises out of recent archaeological investigation.

Raising conjectures has been an interest of early historians, particularly in the late-19th century. Conjectures always have some logic, but remain ideas under empirical evidence is found.

1.     The earliest churches were built on St Michael’s hill.

Diuma, the first Bishop of Mercia died in c. 658 and the next priest (he might not have been made bishop), Coellach, lasted a few months before being removed by King Wulfhere. The next two bishops were more favourable to the Mercian people and it is presumed they now had a church within the Lichfield (Licetfelda) area, but where?

Sculptures of the first four bishops around the northwest entrance door. From the left, Diuma who was Irish, Coellach who was Irish or Scottish and is without a mitre and staff suggesting he was never formally installed, Trumhere who was English and from Ingethling (Gilling)[1] monastery, near Richmond, Yorkshire, and Jaruman, possibly Irish, who, according to the Victorian sculptors, holds the first church with a date around 666. All four bishops were acquainted with the monasteries at Lindisfarne and Iona.

 

Savage posed the question, ‘Why did Jaruman (this should be Trumhere the third Bishop of Mercia) build his church in Lichfield’ and then speculated the location as being on St Michael’s hill.[2] He cited a copy of an anonymous manuscript held in the cathedral archive (its provenance is unclear) called, ‘History of the church of Lichfield’ and dated 1575.[3] This told the legend of Romans (Savage stated it could have been the heathen Angles) slaying a thousand Christians and burying them in what is now St Michael’s churchyard. The cemetery was said to have been consecrated by Augustine, ‘The Apostle of the English’. Savage added it was ‘the tribal burying ground of the Mercians’. Evidence of an Early Medieval[4] crouched burial was revealed when excavations were made for a new vestry for the church in 1978, suggesting an earlier history to the site. Gould and Gould[5] wrote cautiously, perhaps it had early medieval origins. This tentatively points to a Roman/Early Medieval cemetery and presumably a church on the wooded hill and fits with the idea of the first churches being constructed of timber and on high, prominent ground.[6]

          If true, why did the church for Chad move across the marshy, wooded area, now Lichfield town centre, to the hillock on which now stands the cathedral? Two reasons are presented; firstly, it was nearer the stream or river for baptism and sanitation and secondly, it was on a flat Mercian sandstone outcrop lined east to west in which stone was readily available. Also, nearby clay from the stream bank could be used to mix with the clay, dry in the sun, and construct walls. It might also be that King Wulfhere and Bishop Wilfrid knew this site was spiritually untainted, unlike the Anglo-Saxon pagan burial ground.[7] It was superior topographically, practically and spiritually.

2.     The first church was said to have been built in the year 700. Was this a misunderstanding with a shrine tower around Chad’s grave.

It has been a long-standing myth that the first church was built by Bishop Headda around the year 700. This ignores Stephen of Ripon’s statement and Bede’s assertion of a church for St Chad when he arrived in 669.[8] Yet, there is an authoritative statement, “The first church definitely known to have stood on the site of the present cathedral was that built by Bishop Headda and consecrated in December 700.”[9] This unambiguous statement given in the Victoria County History, 1970, without any reference somehow has prevailed? It appears to be premised on Bede stating he was buried near the church of St Mary and then further confused by the belief from the 13th century that his burial was near the ‘monastery’ or ‘House of St Chad’ 700 m north-east of the cathedral by the east end of Stowe pool at a place called Stowe.[10] The website of St Chad’s church states there was a Christian community on this site in the 7th century. All this comes from a narrative of Lastingham monastery, Yorkshire, where Chad was the abbot before being Bishop of Mercia. From this it was taken the first cathedral came later than Chad and was built in the time of Bishop Headda’s episcopate.  

Headda holding the first cathedral; it looks like Escomb Church, Durham. The statue is on the sedilia on the side facing the north sanctuary aisle.

 

This narrative was recorded in the 14th century from a text that is wholly unreliable. The text was in the Chronicon Lichfeldense, since lost, but copied in Warton’s, Anglia Sacra – see note 3.[11]  The writer, thought to be Alan de Assheborn, wrote a very fanciful early history of Britain and added bits of Lichfield’s history to exemplify his ideas. The discovery of Chad’s grave at the east end of the nave in 2003[12] completely contradicts this medieval story. Chad was not buried at Stowe.

Nave excavation 2003 showing the position of Chad’s grave. The grave is marked in red, a foundation to a shrine tower in blue and the midline of the cathedral in yellow.

So why did medieval writers believe there was a first church on the cathedral site, but 30 years later than Chad? Maybe they saw the foundation of the shrine tower when retrieving Chad’s relics around the time of building the current cathedral, early 13th century. They noted the foundation, but did not notice the grave. They presumed the foundation was the first cathedral. Its wall size, around 1 m thick, indicated a date of around the beginning of the 8th century. Perhaps, they saw this foundation earlier since a King Edgar silver penny was found in a pit during the 2003 excavation and was dated to the 10th century.

^{King Edgar silver penny. Obverse has +EADGAR RE around a small cross pattée within an inner circle. Reverse has INGEL-RI for the moneyer Ingelrics based at Derby. He minted coins showing a rosette and with MO in the field which means money, coin or die and is a feature of Mercian mints. Little is known on this moneyer which makes it unusual. Thanks to Dane Kurth of wildwinds.com.}

The two records of Stephen of Ripon’s biography of Bishop Wilfrid and Bede’s history book are relatively clear the first church was built around 667‑9 when Bishop Wilfrid joined King Wulfhere to provide a site for the new ecclesiastical centre of the kingdom of Mercia. It would be odd that Chad, who had been the Bishop of Northumbria for three years based at Lindisfarne, arrives at Licetfelda and does not have a church-cathedral. Medieval and Victorian writers chose to ignore this and later writers never questioned the notion.

3.     The second cathedral would have had a tower for keeping treasure and had sections to separate worshippers, king and clergy. Its nave extended into the current cathedral nave, and was slightly narrower.

A massive foundation for the second cathedral was revealed in 1854 under the choir and presbytery floor.[13] It has been argued with some evidence it is Early Medieval and is best seen as being built by King Offa for his archbishopric, but until it is carbon-dated this remains speculative.[14]

 

Plan of the second cathedral and abutting rectangular chamber superimposed on the plan for the current cathedral.

If it was the east end of Offa’s basilical cathedral, what would the rest of this cathedral, particularly the west front, look like? There are few cathedral foundations existing for the late 8th century to give guidance. However, in 2003 at the east end of the nave a very early wall on the inside of the nave columns indicated an earlier nave. Rodwell (2004) described it as a late Saxon or Norman nave wall foundation.¹¹ It could also have been the nave of Offa’s second cathedral. If so, it was slightly narrower than the current nave.

Stone wall (red) on inside of columns. It had very little masonry. It was a mortared construction using mixed rubble which has a similarity to the basilical foundation in the choir and presbytery.

 

It has been argued the church was similar in time and structure to Brixworth, Northamptonshire.[15] The west end of this church has undergone much change, but some detail is known, so if it is used as a model, remembering Offa attended both churches, then it is possible to guess what the second cathedral looked like.

 

Imagined Offa’s second cathedral using Brixworth as a guide.

Externally, might the second cathedral have looked like this? 

Or this? Chad’s shrine tower would stand alone away from the west end,

 

One reason for having a tower was to securely hold the treasures and artefacts of the cathedral. With Lichfield that could have included everything found in the Staffordshire Hoard.[16] It could also have had a secure meeting room. This was also the time churches were sectioned internally to serve various functions. The nave could have had procession, the king and family might have sat separated from others, perhaps in the presbytery/choir area, and the clergy would be in the apse. The altar could have been in the presbytery. The church is now a line from the public entrance at the west end to the high altar and clergy at the east end. The three arches separated the secular from the sacred areas.

 See also the posts, 'Chad, fantasy folklore and maybe'.

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[1] Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum. J. McClure and R. Collins, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, (Oxford: 2008) 132.

[2] H. E. Savage, The church heritage at Lichfield, St Chad’s Day address 1914. Unpub. Article held in the cathedral library, 3. J. Britton, The history and antiquities of the See and Cathedral Church of Lichfield. (London: 1820), 24, referred to William Dugdale knowing of a document that claimed Jaruman had a church in the Close in 666.

[3] It is difficult to know the origin of this reference. It is said to be a copy made by Canon Whitlock made in 1569 of a previous lost ‘Chronicle’ manuscript. It is likely the story was taken from the ‘Book of Alan of Ashbourne, Vicar of Lichfield’ written in the 1320s, which has been lost, but a copy was made by Canon Thomas Chesterfield, mid-15th century and then repeated by H. Wharton, Anglia Sacra, (London: 1691). The manuscripts are in the British Museum and Bodleian Library, Oxford.

[4] Early Medieval has replaced the term Anglo-Saxon

[5] J. Gould and D. Gould, ‘St Michael’s churchyard, Lichfield’, Trans, South Staffs. Archaeological and Historical Society, (1975), 16, 58‑61.

[6] William of Malmesbury wrote, ‘Lichfield was a tiny village in the midst of a woody district on the banks of a brook’, William of Malmesbury’s ‘De Gesta Pontificum Anglorum’, written early in the 12th century (Hamilton 1870, 307).

[7] See the post, ‘Reasons why Lichfield (Licitfelda) had approval.’

[8] See the posts, ‘Wulfhere and Wilfrid, and later Bede, name Lichfield’ and ‘Wilfrid founder of church of Mercia.’

[9] M. W. Greenslade and R. B. Pugh, House of secular canons - Lichfield cathedral: To the Reformation, A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 3. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1970, 140‑166.

[10] It has been suggested the location of Stowe was more likely to be at the west end of Stowe pool. It cannot be assumed it is where his well and 13century church are now located.

[11] Originally it was titled ‘The book of Alan de Assheborn, Vicar of Lichfield’ and dated in 1320s. Alan of Ashbourne wrote a tangled history full of fabled beliefs from c.1323 until his death in 1334.

[12] W. Rodwell, ‘Archaeological excavation in the nave of Lichfield Cathedral’, (unpublished report held in Lichfield Cathedral Library 2003) 1–17.

[13] See the post, ‘The incomparable apse of the second cathedral.’

[14] See the post, ‘Why the second cathedral must be Early Medieval.

[15] See the post, ‘Second cathedral has a short perch layout. It is Early Medieval.’

[16] See the post, ‘It has to be the Lichfield Hoard.’

A bishop's handbell?

A bishop’s handbell?

Summary.  Three pieces found in the Staffordshire (Lichfield) Hoard connected together and labelled mysterious. They form a handle to a handbell. Such a liturgical object was essential for the early church to call for prayers or signal a death. It supports the conjecture the hoard was an archive from the second cathedral.

     Three items in the Staffordshire (Lichfield) Hoard^[1] connected together and gave a single object initially described as a mystery that elicited fanciful suggestions as to its purpose.^[2] A top button, 27 mm wide, has a black and white squared millefiori glass pattern in the shape of a Greek cross.^[3] A Greek cross is one of the most common Christian symbols in common use by the fourth century. It should have invalidated all secular and Jewish suggestions for the object’s function. The button had holes which matched the top of a cylinder, 18 mm long. The bottom of the cylinder connected to a base plate 60 mm long, that was circular, domed and compressed. When all were combined it was less than 200 mm long. The base plate has holes all around the edge suggesting rivets connected the entire handle to the cup of a bronze or iron bell.^[4]

 

Reconstructed handbell with a large incised plate identical to a panel on the gold cross. Several plates show a cloisonné arrangement resembling an early Celtic handbell. A copy of St Patrick’s bell, c. seventh century, known as the Cloc ind Édachta, is shown below for comparison. It was said the bell was part of the relics removed from Patrick’s tomb sixty years after his death.

 

 

 

There are few references to early handbells[5], but a bell was used to call to prayer, during a baptism, and for assembly at a shrine or at the time of dying. Foot thought a bell summoned the devout to prayer^[6] and quoted a poem in which men hastened from outside to the summons of ringing.^[7] Columba ran to the church when called by a bell, but died soon afterwards.^[8] Chapter 43 of the Rule of Benedict, c. AD 530, starts with, ‘On hearing the signal for an hour of the divine office’ with the signal possibly being a bell. Chapter 47 mentioned a signal announcing the hours and this would also apply to the time of someone dying. Bede described Nuns called to prayer with a bell at Whitby, AD 680, and again at the death of Abbess Hild.^[9] Wilfrid of Ripon introduced Benedictine rule to many minsters^[10] and Stephen’s biography of Wilfred has an occasion when a bell was rung at Ripon to call all the community together to hear Bishop Wilfrid.^[11] Wilfrid could have repeated this at Lichfield when helping Wulfhere to set up the first cathedral. This evidence for the existence and use of small bells is sparse, but enough references show they were being used at different locations for diverse purposes.

 Cardonagh stone, Northern Ireland, c, 700 showing a figure holding a bell.

The squashed dome has two incised plates with zoomorphisms. One plate is larger and a little more elaborate. It is identical to the small panel above the central garnet on the gold cross, apart from the rings being reversed. This indicates the bell was sacred. The zoomorph consists of sinuous arms with two rings, whereas the small panel has only one ring; both end with three-digit hands. A separate panel (included in Catalogue number 541) only 17 mm long, has two zoomorphs ending in three-digit hands and biting each other. Having three similar panels in which two are almost identical to the gold cross panel is signicant. The panels could mean the same as on the cross, namely, an Anglo-Saxon enigmata for the name of Christ entombed and therefore suggests a passing bell. Tatwine’s riddle 7, early eighth century, concerns a bell with the line, ‘I am forced as the stricken widely to release mournful things’.^[12]

Most of the known early bells (95) belonged to Celtic Insular churches.^[13]  Handbells are frequently mentioned in Irish written sources from the 7th to the 9th centuries. There are several garnet arrangements on the squashed plate in the shape of a Celtic bell and this must be significant. The early bishops with connection to Ireland must have favoured having a handbell. If ‘Patrick’s bell’^[14] was his own, then it would be plausible for Northumbrian bishops with Irish influence like Aiden, Cedd, Chad and Wilfrid to possess one. It would be their emblem of office; the priest being figuratively a bell calling to prayer ^[15] especially for a passing life. A small bell with a straight handle would be fitting for ringing on a life passing; a gentle tinkling sound and not a loud gong. After the death of the owner the handbell would become a relic.

 

It is plausible the handbell pieces in the hoard belonged to a Mercian bishop with deep Irish, Celtic affiliations and this must include Chad. Its rich, elaborate structure suggests Wilfrid.

 

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[1] Catalogue No. 541 (K130, K545 and K1055). Other isolated pieces were also added to this collection.

[2] Suggestions included saddle fitting, shield boss, drinking horn stopper, parchment roll stopper, lid to a ciborium, helmet decoration, mirror handle, part of a sceptre and a tefillin. Part of a Jewish priest’s headdress is a frequently given purpose.

[3] The north side of the Bewcastle cross has a panel with a millefiori pattern. Is this an interchange of design from the metalworker to the stoneworker? Similarly, it is in the cross page of the Book of Durrow, fol.1v, so has it been adopted by a scribe of manuscripts?

[4] R. Sharp, The hoard and its history, (Studley: 2016),73.

[5] The earliest mention of a handbell used for worship was in a letter written from Carthage in 535.

[6] S. Foot, Monastic life in Anglo-Saxon England c.600–900 (Cambridge, 2006), 192.

[7] ibid. 200 From De Abbatibus by Æthelwulf, c. AD 800–825, 20, 613–614.

[8] I. Bradley, Columb. Pilgrim and Penitent (Glasgow, 1996), 62.

[9] J. McClure and R. Collins, Bede. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, (Oxford: 2008), 213.

[10] J. Blair, The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society, (Oxford: 2005), 97.

[11] B. Colgrave, The Life of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus, (Cambridge: 1927), 138.

[12] M. J. B. Allen and D. G. Calder, Sources and Analogues of Old English Poetry. The Major Latin texts in translation (Cambridge, 1976), 56.

[13] 127 bells are known from c. 500 to 1100. Ireland has 95, Scotland 19, Wales 6 and England 2. Only a few bells still exist in western Europe. Most have four sides, see C. Bourke, ‘Early ecclesiastical handbells in Ireland and Britain’. J. of the Antique Metalwork Soc. 16 (2008), 22. Most handbells have clappers, but some were intended to be struck with a hammer.

[14] In the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin.

[15] J. H. Arnold and C. Goodson, ‘Resounding Community: The history and meaning of medieval church bells Viator, (2012), 20.

Victorian revival

Summary. The frame of the cathedral was rebuilt after the Civil War destruction, but much remained in a poor state for nearly two centuries. Clergy and architects directed a comprehensive repair undertaken in the second half of the 19^th-century. The dark, screened choir-presbytery became an open interior. Larger windows, underfloor heating, new statues, a new library, a high altar with reredos were added. A ‘Victorian Revival’ building accommodated high Anglican worship.

 

          In the late-18th and early-19th centuries cathedrals and churches were in an uncertain, frequently precarious state[1]. They were poorly lit, cold and often closed during the day. Yet many were wealthy having landed estates around the church usually owned by clergy. Priests appeared to be privileged, remote and have little relevance to the Church. It needed The Duties and Revenues Act of 1840[2] to change matters and carry out an extensive overhaul of cathedral organisation and finances. One revision was now a dean and four residential canons constituted a reduced Cathedral Chapter. Funds were diverted, dioceses altered and extensive restoration undertaken.

          Like many cathedrals, by the late-18th to early 19th-century Lichfield Cathedral was in a moribund state. Reformation had stripped its wealth and the Civil War had wrecked it. Almost the whole interior, floor to ceiling, was covered in ‘uniform, dead, yellowish whitewash many coats thick’.[3] For two centuries the appearance of the inside of the cathedral had remained little changed[4] from the Parliamentary army despoliation and the subsequent minimal internal restoration.[5] There was very little in the transepts and, apart from the font up a corner, nothing in the nave. Services were held in an isolated choir; a dark, cold church within the outer cathedral. The choir aisles were unlit and never used. A heating flue passed down the middle of the choir, but it rarely worked. Any casual visitor could hear worship, but not see it. Considerable stonework needed urgent repair and much was in a shoddy state. In the 1851 religious census the cathedral had 395 seats for worshippers and an average of 200 attended the morning service and 210 in the afternoon. This was less than half the attendance of St Marys in the Market Square.

Plan of the cathedral, 1820.[6]

 

View of Lady Chapel, being used as the chancel, 1820. Note the absence of statues in the niches.

 

View of Choir, 1820, Note the lack of statues and wall decoration. When the plaster was removed cinque-foil decoration was revealed.

 

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Lichfield in 1843 and passed by the front of the cathedral.

Drawing of the front of the cathedral on December 9 1843

 

Between 1856 and 1894, extensive restoration of the cathedral was undertaken, initiated by Canon John Hutchinson, agreed by Deans Henry Howard and Edward Bickersteth and overseen by the architects George Gilbert Scott,[7] his son John Oldrid Scott and grandson Giles Scott. The restoration was after much deliberation, argument, and consultation from many architects and clergy. Worship was made open to all, music improved and preaching enhanced with the opening of the Theological College in 1857. Visitors were welcomed. Canon G. H. Curteis preached a sermon in February 1860 on ‘Cathedral Restoration’ and claimed the cathedral was again a place where pilgrimage occurred. He said every modern appliance and the highest modern skill was being used to restore the cathedral’s ancient beauty. The extensive changes were recorded by Canon John Lonsdale.[8] He wrote in 1895 the cathedral had gone through a complete revolution so that the building would hardly be recognised from that which stood forty years previously.

 

The restoration

            From 1856, workmen, around 20-30, laboriously chiselled off the whitewash (at Wells cathedral it was called the Great Scrape), removed considerable underlying plaster and began to repair much of the stonework. Brick flues carrying hot air were built under the whole floor. During this work historic foundations of the first two cathedrals were found and then surveyed and analysed; see the post ‘Why the second cathedral must be Early Medieval.’ Old tilework was discovered. New floors were laid. Woodwork was replaced. Almost all the windows were altered and new glass installed. Some windows had brick infill removed. New statues[9] were added both internally and on the west front and east end. After scraping the choir vaulted roof, bands of red, blue and green paint were uncovered. A minimal amount of new paintwork was added. A larger, modern organ was installed. A metal screen, designed by Scott, between the choir and crossing was much discussed and finally manufactured by Francis Skidmore of Coventry. Skidmore was asked, 1860, to make two large brass standards holding gas lights for the end of the choir and six more brass standards for the choir. This was the first introduction, completed 1862, of gas lighting into the cathedral.

 

The choir in 1858. All furnishings have been removed. The scaffolding was for placing new statues on the walls.

The possibility of making the entire nave roof out of stone was considered, but difficulties of weight and wall support prevented this happening. A new reredos was added to the end of the choir and before Chad’s shrine with most of the work done by John Birnie Philip. It has statues made from alabaster obtained near Tutbury. They are not shown in the proposed drawing.

 

Drawing by G. G. Scott of proposed reredos for the high altar.

 

The section behind the altar table was given red marble[10] from Newhaven, Derbyshire. Inlay included red jasper, blue john and malachite green stone.[11] The tiles, designed by Scott, were given by Minton of Stoke and the inserted roundels were innovative.[12] Woodwork, including the bishop’s cathedra, was executed by William Evans[13] of Ellastone.[14]  A new pulpit in the nave was made by Skidmore. Iron grilles at the end of the choir aisles were made by Atterton of Lichfield. The eagle lectern was by John Hardman. All this was a celebration of Midland’s craftsmanship. A new font designed by William Slater and executed by James Forsyth was placed in the north transept. The sedilia canopies by the current reredos were formed from stonework obtained from the early screen and reredos of the cathedral with considerable repair necessary.

The choir in 1860. Wyatt’s marble paved floor is being replaced by Minton tiles. The mobile scaffold was used to remove the limewash from the ceiling and walls.

Substantial repair to the Chapter House roof was needed. Many of the stone heads inside were refurbished. The altar platform, or dais, at the east end was removed. Restoration of the consistory court revealed early stonework which baffled Scott and has since been the object for fanciful speculation, see the post ‘Rooms south of the choir.’ The current library was constructed in the treasury room above the Chapter House and an adjacent chapel and its contents sorted, see the post ‘Old Library.’ The south transept monuments in remembrance to fallen soldiers were reordered and a metal grille separating the chapel was installed. Bishop Selwyn’s monument on the south side of the Lady Chapel was completed in 1892.

Early photograph of Selwyn’s monument

 

A new reredos in the Lady Chapel was made at Oberammergau and accepted to show Tyrolean figures, see the post ‘Lady Chapel and Sainte-Chapelle’. The stonework of the Lady Chapel windows was comprehensively repaired together with rebuilding buttresses and southside chambers. This was repeated with the Chapter House windows. Finally, the central tower and spire had to have considerable restoration. During this work it was found that stonework in the transepts needed rebuilding. Indeed, a buttress against the north transept collapsed.

This is an abridged list of changes made to mostly the interior and shows the Victorian clergy and builders improved and conserved almost the whole building. The cathedral had a fundamental reconstruction. The notion the cathedral was returned to how it more-or-less looked in the Middle Ages has been a common abstraction, but is more wishful-thinking than reality. However, the wonder is that from the ashes of the Civil War a beautiful (Victorian) church has been recovered. According to Cobb[15] the recovery from 1856–1908 cost £98,000 (today equal to £10.5 million, but this must have been a minimum cost not accounting for donated materials and consultation).

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[1] J. Morris, A People’s church. A History of the Church of England. (London: 2022), 140.

[2] Known as Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1840, In fact, there were many further Acts until 1885. There were many in the church who opposed the measures, see J.L.K. Bruce, ‘Speech Delivered in the House of Lords on Behalf of the Deans and Chapters Petitioning Against the Bill, 23 July 1840.’ (Harvard: 1840). It was promoted by Robert Peel who wrote, ‘that such was the state of spiritual destitution in some of the largest societies in this country, in some of the great manufacturing towns, that it could not be for the interest of the Church of England to permit that destitution to exist without some vigorous effort to apply a remedy.’

[3] Ibid, 7. In 1666 and 1691, contracts were given to re-whitewash the whole of the interior walls; this being easier than removing the original layer.

[4]  The architects James Wyatt, 1788-95, and Sydney Smirke, 1842-46, made small changes and some restoration, but arguably kept the cathedral as it was post-Civil war. Pews were removed and the nave brick floor was replaced with Hopton stone slabs.

[5] Restoration had concentrated on the frame of the cathedral, especially repairing almost every roof.

[6] J. Britton,The history and antiquities of the See and cathedral church of Lichfield. (London: 1820), 75.

[7] Largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott.  Simon Jenkins called him the 'unsung hero of British architecture'.

[8] J. G. Lonsdale, ‘Recollections of the work done and in upon Lichfield Cathedral, 1856–1894’. (Lichfield: 1895), 1–38.

[9] There were no statues in the choir before 1856, but they had been mentioned in the 18th century and used to model the current figures.

[10] Also known as ‘Duke’s red’ from the Chatsworth estate. It was a rare form of marble.

[11] From the Derbyshire mines. Derbyshire was part of the diocese until 1906.

[12] Herbert Minton donated tiles to over 150 churches in the Lichfield diocese by 1858. Upon his death in 1858 he was succeeded by Colin Minton Campbell who donated the Minton tiles to the cathedral in this year.

[13] George Eliot’s uncle. Some state it was her cousin (H. Snowden Ward, Lichfield and its cathedral, (Bradford and London: 1892). It was reputed William Evans was the inspiration for Seth in her book ‘Adam Bede’.

[14] Woodwork carvings include figures of the Apostles with their emblems. On the right-hand side of the choir are: a figure of a king and a bishop with angels at the sides, then follow St Andrew with a transverse cross, St Jude with a club raised, St Philip with a cross, St Thomas with an arrow, St Bartholomew with a knife and St Simon with a saw. The carved panels at the ends represent Saul's jealousy of David, Miriam with a timbrel in her hand, Saul's daughter despising David and alternate groups of angels playing musical instruments. On the left-hand side of the choir is a figure of a bishop and a king with angels at the sides, then follow St James the Great with a pastoral staff, St Matthew with a box, St James the Less with a club, St John the Evangelist with a cup, St Peter with the keys and St Paul with a sword. The carved panels at the ends represent Jephtha's rash vow, David playing before Saul and alternate groups of angels playing musical instruments. Taken from J. B. Stone, A history of Lichfield Cathedral: from its foundation to the present time. (London: 1870), 68–9.

[15] G. Cobb, English Cathedrals the forgotten centuries. Restoration and change from 1530 to the present day. (London, 1980), 238. Cobb quoted J. E. W. Wallis and O. Hedley (Pitkin: 1974)), 24.