History of Lichfield and Cathedral: Timeline of posts

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7th marked by the Northumbrian king sending a bishop (Diuma) to start a church in Mercia. King Wulfhere and Bishop Wilfrid fix the site of a new church for the Mercian diocese at Lichfield. Chad arrives, 669, the first bishop of Lichfield and miracles happen especially at Chad’s grave.

An early settlement in Lichfield

· King Penda ruled, c. 626–655, a greater Mercian kingdom.

· 7th century Lichfield and the residents.

· Bishop Diuma became the first bishop of Mercia,656–8.·

King Wulfhere’s place, Tomtun

· Wulfhere and Wilfrid, and later Bede, name Lichfield. Lichfield recasts its name. Reasons why Lichfield (Licitfelda) had approval

Lichfield’s founding myth

Three conjectures on the early church

· Chad arrived 669 and accepted as the first bishop of Lichfield. Chad's grave-the evidence. Understanding Chad's grave site.

Chad’s appearance and priest's dress.

Folklore involving Chad Chad, fact and fiction.

· Wilfrid, creator of the first cathedral

· Miracle stories recorded by Bede initiate pilgrimage. Pilgrimage became important.

· Chad’s bones were translated at his grave and kept in a ‘wooden house’, Bede’s description. The grave and shrine was surrounded by a shrine tower, probably late-7th century or early 8th-century. Chad's relics

8th marked by a scriptorium that produced Chad’s gospels and Book of Cerne. It is thought the churches and shrine of Chad were set out in a sacred landscape for pilgrimage. Offa built a church and converted the bishop into the Archbishop of Mercia (Humber south to London). He gave a coronation to his son and made him co-king. He built a stone chest over Chad’s grave of which part is the Lichfield Angel.

· St Chad’s gospels were written, 720–740 and placed on the altar table of St Peters.

· Early Medieval churches at Lichfield were part of the prevailing culture. A sacred landscape for the first cathedral.

· Offa enlarged Mercia, gained an archbishop and had a coronation of his son. This could be connected to the second cathedral, basilical in shape and remaining as a foundation under the choir and presbytery. The foundation has Early Medieval dimensions; it was not Norman. Archbishop Hygeberht, 787-803.

· Offa replaced the ‘wooden house’ with a shrine-chest highly sculptured with an angel.

9th marked by the archbishopric reverting to Canterbury. Mercian kings favour churches away from Lichfield. Vikings arrive and the cathedral is probably abandoned.

· 874 Viking marauders probably attacked Licetfelda; little is known.

· The St Chad Gospels were taken to Carmarthen, Wales, for safe-keeping.

· At the same time an archive of valuables is secretly buried 4 miles away and became known as the Staffordshire Hoard.

10th marked by a time of relic veneration (King Edgar the Peaceful) and probably raising Chad to be a national saint. Chad’s gospels are retuned from mid-Wales.

· c. 960 the Gospels were returned.

· Before the millennium, or 1033, the expected ‘End Times’, a collection of relics is archived. They were kept in a chapel, probably on the south side of the choir of the second cathedral. The remains of 3 Early Medieval arches in the wall are still visible.

11th and 12th marked by the Normans marginalising the church including removing the bishops. The church of St Chad was left to be administered by a small group of canons (5 in the Domesday Survey). Chad was a local saint. The church was poor according to William of Malmesbury. It became an outlier of Coventry Abbey and cathedral.

N Lichfield, Wells and Salisbury cathedrals are post-Norman. The incomparable apse of the second cathedral.

12th-century Lichfield

Building the cathedral

· Late-11th or early 12th-century another chapel was added to the east end of the second cathedral. This could have held for a short time the relics of Chad.

· The west end of the choir was Early English in architectural style for late-12th or early 13th-century. The base of piers dates west end of the choir.

13th marked by a rebuild and an entirely new Gothic cathedral constructed (early 13th to 1340). Much patronage from King Henry III and his bishop placements. It was still secondary to Coventry, but canons increasingly demanded a say in who was to be a new bishop. Prebends raised funds and pilgrimage was increased. Chantry chapels were located around the cathedral. Chad was now a saint to a wider population.

· Late 12th-century, or more likely around 1215, the apsidal second cathedral was extended eastwards and made rectangular. The small chapel was reduced to a foundation.

· Dating the cathedral

Crossing tower

The cathedral was built in a Gothic architectural style. King Henry III architect

East-west alignment

Illumination

· c. 1220 the lower part of the central tower and south transept of the third cathedral were built.

· At the same time the chapel on the side of the choir was altered to give a small sacristy and treasury between the chapel and the transept.

· Chantry chapels appeared in the cathedral.

Prebendal Stalls

Anchorites at Lichfield

· c. 1237 Franciscan Friary possibly started in the town.

· c. 1240 the north transept was built together with the vestibule off the north choir aisle.

Pedilavium and washing feet, 1240s.

· 1249 the chapterhouse was added.

· c. 1240–c.1285 the nave was built. Much was overseen by Bishop Meuland.

· A two storied building on the north side of the nave was built to house the records of the cathedral.

· Choristers were singing around 1265. 1325 Lay-Vicars added to the choir.

· 1299 Bishop Langton completed a new palace in the Close.

14th marked by Bishop Langton who built a new bishop’s palace and added bulwarks around the Close. The Lady Chapel was added and a munificent shrine with Chad’s relics placed before it. Pilgrimage was now very busy and it brought funding. The Close was for the exclusive use of the clergy and many abused their privilege. Administration was haphazard. There were tensions with the town and with Coventry cathedral. There was disagreement between the bishops, dean and clergy. There was similar turbulence between the cathedral and churches in the diocese. Arguments involved the pope, the king and even barons. The pope appointed numerous canons who never arrived in Lichfield. The cathedral had funding from pilgrimage, but much was wasted by clergy who had interests outside of Lichfield. It is thought worship continued despite this chaotic management.

· c. 1307 Bishop Langton commissioned a new shrine for Chad. Langton gave much to the cathedral.

· c. 1310 west front and singing windows.

· By 1323 the three spires are known to have been in place according to a pilgrim’s diary.

· 1320s third cathedral was completed. It is small.

· 1315–1336 the Lady Chapel was added to the east end. Beasts in the Lady Chapel

· 1349 outbreak of plague – Black Death. Further outbreaks followed.

· Late 14th-century changes were made to the west door with an atrium built.

15th marked early on with the patronage from John Burghill, King Richard II’s bishop. Deans Haywood and Yotton now looked after the cathedral and its clergy. Administration was now regularised and funding for the clergy secured. Bishops became entwined with kings and the turmoil from the Wars of the Roses. It was a time of progress and regression.

· King Richard II liked Lichfield

· 1410 John Wycliffe translated the Latin bible. A copy is in the cathedral library.

· 1482 Organ

· 14th or 15th century Two frescoes in the south aisle

16th marked by changes with Reformation (1534-60s). The wealth of the cathedral was sequestered by Henry VIII. It is said worship continued despite the turmoil, but the changes must have been profound. Pilgrimage stopped in 1538 with the desecration of Chad’s shrine. Bishops became judges of heresy and involved with martyrdom of heretics. Worship gradually became Protestant in form and the cathedral furnished to accommodate the new liturgy. Some bishops were generous, but many were powerful and unpleasant.

· 16th-century the lower room of the side chapel to the choir was used as a Consistory Court. Its undercroft was sometimes used for custody.

· 1538 King’s Commissioners removed most of Chad’s shrine and other valuables. Reformation.

· 1534–1550 the new Anglican cathedral changed forms of worship. Chantry chapels and icons were removed. Much belonging to the Catholic church was removed.

· 1550s dissidents were burned in the market square. Robert Glover, 1555.

17th marked by Civil War, 1643-6. The Close was fortified and became a garrison which led to three devastating sieges. The cathedral, bishop’s palace and houses in the Close were wrecked. Worship was not possible during the battles and slowly returned with the restoration of the Close, 1660-70. The frame of the cathedral was rebuilt, but the interior was poor. It left a working dark, inner church (choir, presbytery and high altar) within a neglected outer church (nave, aisles and Lady Chapel). Precentor Higgins and Bishop Hacket led the restoration, though incomplete. Several bishops and deans were useless.

Fortress cathedral,1640

· 1643 the first siege of the cathedral by Parliamentarians in the Civil War.

· 1443 April second siege by the Royalists.

· 1646 last of three sieges by the Parliamentarians wrecked the cathedral.

· 1661–1670 the frame of the cathedral was repaired with many parts rebuilt. Statues on the west front were added. Higgins and Hacket, rebuilders of the cathedral

· 1670–1854 only the isolated inner church was in use.

18th marked by many bishops being aristocratic, rich and theologically astute. Elevation was connected to status. However, the cathedral was dark and inaccessible for worshippers. Funding much depended on donation. Alterations to the nave, choir, and Lady Chapel were made between 1788 and 1795. The choir was lengthened so the whole congregation could be seated comfortably. The nave roof was lightened in weight. Many of the old Gothic features were removed. Protestant simplicity was invoked.

Mary Wortley pioneer, c. 1718.

· 1787–92 James Wyatt altered the cathedral including the choir and pews extended into the Lady Chapel.

· 1788 most of the nave roof was replaced with a light-weight alternative. 1

9th marked by a complete transformation of the cathedral. Between 1854 and 1898, the Scott family of architects brought in a Victorian Gothic Revival of the architecture. From 1840s worship followed the new Evangelicalism set out by Cardinal John Henry Newman. Pilgrimage restarted in 1860. The transformation was instigated and overseen by Bishop John Lonsdale, 1843–1867 and recorded by his son John Gylby Lonsdale, 1856-94. The cathedral began to be concerned and active in helping people in difficulty. It was now part of Lichfield and not working in isolation. It also gave remembrance to South Staffordshire soldiers killed in battle,

South Staffordshire Regiments

· 1803 Herkenrode glass, 1532–9, was added to the mullions of the Lady Chapel.

Medieval glass.

19th century Windows

· 1818 Chantrey’s ‘Sleeping Children’ monument was placed in the cathedral.

· 1854–1907 much of the cathedral was reordered in a Victorian Gothic style. Pilgrimage restarted. The nave was restored in 1854. Presbytery and altar

· 1861 a metal screen between the nave and choir was installed.

· 1895 a carved reredos was placed in the Lady Chapel.

20th marked by the carnage of the First World War and remembrance of the fallen. Dean Savage cleared away mythical history and explained much in the medieval period. Repair and restitution of many parts of the cathedral continued. Funding was helped by rental within the Close. Girls joined the boy choristers.

· 2016–2018 three icons were painted and displayed in the nave.

· 2022 a new shrine in the retroquire was added together with a Chad relic.

Pilgrimage defines the cathedral History of the diocese

EXTRAS

Pre-Reformation, 13th-16th century, worship

Bishops