742 



L I C H F I E L D. 



> f Lichfield from Stowe church. Roger de Clinton erect- 

 ed a great part of the present building. Walter de 

 Langton built the portion of it which is called St. Ma- 

 ry's Chapel, as well as the cloisters ; and at an expence 

 of 2000, he raised a shrine to the memory of St. 

 Chad. The cathedral received great injury from the 

 sieges of the town during the civil wars. Bishop Hac- 

 ket had the honour of repairing the damage which it 

 then sustained ; and, in the year 1788, it underwent a 

 complete repair by private subscription, and under the 

 superintendence of Mr. James Wyatt of London. 



The extent of the whole cathedral from east to west 

 is 41 1 feet in length, and 6'7 feet in breadth from north 

 to south. It is adorned with three elegant steeples, one 

 258 feet high, in the centre of the building, and the 

 other two 183 feet high, at its west end. The western 

 front was formerly enriched with the finest sculpture, 

 from subjects of scripture history ; but several of these 

 were removed, in 1 74.9, by order of the dean and chap- 

 ter, and the rest have been much injurpd by thf> gra- 

 dual influence of time. On the summit of the roof be- 

 tween the two spires, is a statue of Charles II. who had 

 contributed timber towards the repair of the church. 

 It was the work of Sir William Wilson, and is supposed 

 to occupy the place of a more ancient one of Adam, or 

 our Saviour. The portico of the cathedral is not ex- 

 celled by any in Great Britain, and contains the rich- 

 est and the lightest sculpture. Within the porch, are 

 K 1 iced the four evangelists holding the gospels in their 

 nds. On the two sides are Moses and Aaron ; and 

 in the centre between the great doors, is the Virgin 

 Mary with the infant Jesus. These were formerly 

 richly painted and gilt. The south and north entrances 

 to the cathedral are very fine, particularly the north 

 door, which is rich in the most beautiful sculptu- 

 red moulding. The roof of the cathedral was once co- 

 vered with lead, but slates were afterwards substitu- 

 ted. 



The body of the cathedral is lofty and spacious, sup- 

 ported by pillars, formed by a variety of slender co- 

 lumns with neat foliated capitals The length of the 

 body from the great west door to the choir is 213 feet, 

 its breadth 1 53 feet, the breadth of the side aisles 66 

 feet, and the height of the nave 60 feet. The upper 

 rows of windows are triangular, including three circles 

 in each. Over the great west door is a magnificent 

 circular window, formed at the expence of James Duke 

 of York, in the reign of Charles II. The painted glass 

 was the gift of Dean Addenbrooke, in 1776. There 

 are many interesting monuments in this church. The 

 principal are, one to Launcelot Addison, the father of 

 the great Addison ; one to Lady Mary Wortley Monta- 

 gue, representing the goddess of beauty weeping over 

 an urn ; one against the wall to Dr. Samuel Johnson, 

 with a bust of him upon the pedestal ; one to the cele- 

 brated Garrick, erected by his widow ; and one to Mrs. 

 Grove, wife of Dr. William Grove of Lichfield. 



The choir, and St. Mary's chapel, were formerly se- 

 parated by an elegant architectural screen, but during 

 the late alterations the two were thrown into one. St. 

 Mary's chapel is uncommonly beautiful and magnificent. 

 It contains nine windows, three on each side, and three 

 at the end. The slender east windows are filled with 

 painted glass, which Sir Brooke Boothby purchased 

 from the dissolved abbey of Herckenrode, in the bishop- 

 ric of Liege. Sir Brooke transferred his purchase to the 

 dean and chapter. It consisted of 340 pieces, each 

 about 22 inches square, and amounted to 1100, in- 



cluding expences of carriage, and of fitting up the win- 

 dow to receive it. The centra, window oh the same 

 side exhibits the resurrection, executed by Mf. x Eggin- 

 ton, from a design of Sir Joshua Reynolds. The or- 

 gan, wnieh has the stone screen' formerly mentioned for 

 its western enclosure, has twenty-five different stops, 

 and is esteemed a very fine instrument. Both sides of 

 the choir are adorned with twenty-five stalls. 



The library, founded by dean Hey wood, contains se- 

 veral valuable books and MSS. One of these MSS. is an 

 ancient copy of the Valor of Pope Nicholas in the time 

 of Edward I. ; another is the Texlus St. Ceddr, or the 

 Gospels of St. Chad, written in Saxon characters, and 

 supposed to be about 1000 years old. There is here 

 also a Koran, which was taken from the Turks at the 

 siege of Buda. To the north of St. Mary's chapel there 

 is a smaller chapel, 1n which the remains of two f the 

 Mercian kings were interred. 



The chapter, besides the bishop, consists of a dean, 

 precentor, chancellor, treasurer, 4 archdeacons, 27 pre- 

 bendaries, 5 priest vicars, 7 lay clerks, 8 choristers, and 

 other subordinate officers. 



The bishop's palace stands at the north-east corner of 

 the Close. It is a spacious stone edifice, bearing the 

 date 1687, and the arms of the bishopric. As the bi- 

 shops now reside at Eccleshall castle, this palace is ge- 

 nerally occupied by tenants, and was long the residence 

 of the family of the Sewards. The deanery house 

 stands to the west of the palace. The houses of the 

 prebends are situated in different parts of the Close. 

 The vicarage consists of two small quadrangles of low 

 built houses. A new house, belonging to the registrar 

 of the diocese, was built in 1 796, on the site of the ancient 

 prebendal house in which Bishop Hacket lived and died. 

 There is attached to this house a large hall, contain- 

 ing an extensive and valuable museum, established by 

 Mr. Wright, a surgeon in Lichfield. The elegant build- 

 ing, faced with stone, which stands at the entrance of 

 the Close, was built at the expence of Andrew New- 

 ton, Esq. for the reception of twenty aged and neces- 

 sitous widows, or unmarried daughters of clergymen, 

 and has been since liberally endowed for their support. 



The city of Lichfield is djvided into three parishes, 

 St. Mary's, St. Chad's, and St. Michael's. St Mary's 

 is in the centre of the town ; and the church, suppos- 

 ed to have been originally founded in 855, stands on 

 the south side of the market-place. The old building 

 was taken down in 17 '7, and the present one substi- 

 tuted in its place. In its external appearance, it is to- 

 lerably neat, and is fitted up with oaken pews. The 

 altar-place is handsome, and on the north side of it is 

 the burial place of the Dyott family. 



The market-house is a light brick building near the 

 church. It consists of eight arches, surmounted by 

 carved rails or bannisters, on the top of which were 

 statues of eight of the apostles. 



The guildhall in Bore Street is a neat stone edifice, 

 adorned with the city arms, &c. The front hall is spa- 

 cious, and underneath is a gaol. The theatre, situat- 

 ed in the same street, is a small building, with a stucco 

 front, erected in 1790. At the south-west corner of 

 the street is an English school, founded and endowed 

 by Thomas Minors, Esq. in 1670, for the purpose of 

 "teaching 30 boys of the city to read the Psalter and 

 Bible in English." 



In St. John's Street stands the free grammar school, 

 founded by King Edward VI. At this schwl were 

 educated, Addison, Wollaston, Ashmole, Garrick, and 



Lichfielil. 



