98 



A TOPOGRAPHICAL 



who proved a similar claim to antiquity in Wednesbury church to 

 be a most egregious error. Indeed this desire to enhance the an- 

 tiquity not only of places but of families, is among the common 

 expedients of pride to impose upon ignorance. 



Leland, in his Itinerary, says, " St. Marie's is a right beautiful 

 piece of worke in the very market-place/' It was certainly a 

 beautiful gothic structure, with a lofty spire. The master and 

 brethren of the gild of the Blessed Mary had a chantry here, which 

 was dissolved in 1545 by Henry VIII. Afterwards the mem- 

 bers of the Cathedral officiated at this church, but at length founded 

 a distinct vicarage here, reserving to the Dean and Chapter the 

 right of appointing the vicar. 



During the persecution of the Protestant clergy in the short and 

 sanguinary reign of the bigotted Queen Mary, William Langeley, 

 M. A. then minister of this church, was sequestered for preaching 

 on Christmas-day, and administering the sacrament by the common 

 prayer-book. John Butler, M. A. of Edmund-hall, Oxford, was 

 ejected here after the Restoration. 



In 1717 the old church being decayed, was taken down, and the 

 present elegant edifice erected on its site. It was opened on the 

 30th of December, 1721, by the Rev. William Baker. The body 

 of this church is neat, fitted-up with oak pews, and a spacious 

 gallery. The altar-piece is handsome, and on the north side of it 

 is the burying-place of the Dyott family, where stands a monument 

 to the memory of Sir Richard Dyott, Knight, renowned for his 

 fidelity to Charles I. during the Civil war. 



St. Michael's Church is situated on the summit of Green-hill, at 

 the south-east extremity of Lichfield. It is an ancient edifice of 

 stone, with a high spire, erected in the reign of Henry VII. who 

 rebuilt several churches, which had been demolished during a long 

 and destructive civil war. The elevated and solitary spot on which 

 this church stands, with the great extent of its cemetery, which is 

 the principal burial-place belonging to the city, and includes a 

 space of nearly seven acres in extent, have a tendency to tranquil- 

 lize the mind of the observer, and prepare it for serious meditation. 

 A walk, paved with white pebbles, and shaded by a grove, leads to 

 the principal entrance. In 1593, part of the spire was blown down 

 by a tempest. The interior of this edifice is adorned with many 

 monuments and inscriptions. St. Michael's is a perpetual curacy, 

 in the presentation of the vicar of St. Mary's. The church-yard 

 commands an extensive prospect, and the public walks from it 



