Part 18

The history of the Cathedral is full of interest, and carries us back to the early days of Christianity in England. The heathen King of Mercia, Penda, long withstood the teachers of the Gospel, but when his son, Peada, was about to marry the daughter of the Christian King Oswi of Northumbria, the latter made it a condition that Peada should be baptised. Forthwith four priests were introduced into Mercia, Diuma became the first bishop (656), and on the death of Bishop Jaruman, the fourth bishop, the famous St. Chad was appointed to the vacant see, who fixed his seat at Lichfield. He was a very holy and humble man, and became the patron saint of the church. Beautiful tales are told of him. Near the Church of St. Mary he built a dwelling for himself and seven brethren. He was deeply affected by the convulsions of nature, and when the wind blew strongly and the thunder rolled he would always retire into the church and pray to God to spare His people; and when a pestilence broke out and his end was near, angel voices were heard which called him to his heavenly reward. The little Church of St. Chad was near the well that bears his name. Another Saxon church was built by Bishop Hedda (691-721) near the present Cathedral, but this has passed away. The diocese was sub-divided at the close of the seventh century, and Hereford, Worcester, Lincoln and Leicester were all separated from the Lichfield See. In the time of Offa, King of Mercia, Lichfield became an archbishopric, when Higbert was bishop, but this distinction did not last long. At the Conquest William made his chaplain, Peter, Bishop of Lichfield, who removed his seat to Chester. Then Coventry was made the city of the diocese by Bishop Robert de Lymesey (1087-1117). History is silent concerning the church at Lichfield, nor does it tell us with any degree of certainty who built the Norman church which certainly existed here, as its remains were discovered by Professor Willis. It had an apse, of which the foundations lie below the present choir, and also a long, square-ended chapel of twelfth century, destroyed when the Early English choir was built in the thirteenth. Professor Willis compares the building of York and Lichfield, and points out the close parallelism.

Unfortunately the soldiers in the Civil War destroyed all the records; hence we have little to guide us except the history written in the stones of the Cathedral. A Norman prelate, Roger de Clinton, did much for the church, but all his work has perished. The diocese was then called that of Lichfield and Coventry. He died in one of the Crusades.

The Early English builders began to build a new choir about 1200 A.D., of which only the lower part of the three westernmost bays and the sacristy on the south side remain. About 1220 they began to replace the Norman transepts with Early English work, beginning with the south transept and ending with the north. The nave was constructed about the middle of this century and central tower added, and the chapter-house belongs to the same period of architectural activity. In the last quarter of the century the west front was begun. At the end of the century a notable bishop was appointed, one Walter de Langton, Keeper of the Great Seal and Treasurer of England in the reign of Edward I., who incurred the hatred of Prince Edward, afterwards Edward II., and was several times imprisoned by him. He led a very stormy life, but found time to begin the building of the beautiful Lady Chapel at Lichfield, surrounded the close with a wall and a fosse, thus making it a fortress, erected a grand shrine for the relics of St. Chad and built the Palace. This chapel was finished by Bishop Northburgh, who had fought at Bannockburn and been taken prisoner by the Scots, and at the same time the presbytery and clerestory of the choir were rebuilt in the Decorated style.

The church was now complete, and very perfect must it have been, glorious with the best achievements of true English Gothic art when that art was at its best. Quaint Thomas Fuller describes it as "the neatest pile in England," and tells us that Bishop Heyworth "deserved not ill of his Cathedral Church of Lichfield, which was in the vertical heights thereof, being, though not augmented in the essentials, beautified in the ornamentals thereof. Indeed the west front thereof is a stately fabric, adorned with exquisite imagery, of which I suspect our age is so far from being able to imitate the workmanship, that it understandeth not the history thereof." Quoting a saying of Charles V. of Florence, "that it was fit that so fair a city should have a case and cover for it to keep it from wind and weather," he adds, "so in some sort this fabric may seem to deserve a shelter to secure it." It was also a church rich in relics and costly ornaments, and kings and nobles loved to adorn it with bounteous offerings, while the shrine of St. Chad brought many a pilgrim to fill its treasury when they paid their vows. The fifteenth century made few alterations to the fabric. Dean Heywood built a library, which has now disappeared. Some Perpendicular windows were inserted.

At the Reformation Henry's commissioners carried off a vast store of plate and jewels for "the king's use," and during the Civil War the Cathedral actually endured a siege, the results of which were most disastrous. We have recorded how Bishop Langton surrounded the close with fortifications. The sacred precincts were garrisoned by the Royalists, who awaited the attack of the Parliamentarians, led by Lord Brooke, a fierce fanatic, who longed to pull down all cathedrals as relics of Popery, and extirpate Episcopacy. On St. Chad's day they began the siege, and Brooke prayed in the presence of his men that "God would by some special token manifest unto them His approbation of their design." The "special token" was manifested, but not in favour of the Roundheads; on the second day of the siege a bullet fired by "Dumb Dyott," the son of Sir Richard, one of the leaders of the Royalists, struck Brooke in the eye, and caused his death. This signal act did not save the Cathedral. The spire was struck by cannon balls, and fell, and after three days the garrison made terms of surrender. Desecration and spoliation raged in the once beautiful church. Carved stalls, organ, stained glass windows--all shared the same fate. Images were torn from their niches and broken; tombs were rifled, and the ashes of holy men scattered about with barbarous indecency. Bishop Scrope's tomb yielded a silver chalice and crozier of much value, and a pandemonium of ruthless rage filled the church. Prince Rupert came to Lichfield, and laid siege to the Cathedral, and after ten days turned out the Roundheads. Here the luckless King Charles came, after the disastrous fight of Naseby, and again, when the Royal cause was well-nigh lost, the Parliamentarians besieged the place, and the king's troops were forced to yield.

The Restoration of the monarchy brought about the restoration of the Cathedral, which, according to Fuller, "was now in a pitiful case, indeed almost beaten down to the ground in our civil dissensions." Bishop Hacket, a worthy and zealous man, was appointed to the see, who immediately began the stupendous work, and in eight years completed it, when the church was reconsecrated with much solemnity. King Charles II. gave "100 fair timber trees" for the restoration, and a poor statue of the monarch was placed at the west end, and the Duke of York gave the large window beneath it. Both have now been removed.

Too soon the ruthless hand of the arch-destroyer, Wyatt, was laid on the luckless Cathedral, who wrought mischief second only to that of the Puritan fanatics. As the canons felt cold, he walled up the pier arches of the choir and closed the eastern tower arch with a glass screen, removed the altar to east end of the Lady Chapel, patched the piers with Roman cement, hacked away the old stone-work, in order to make this cement stick, and fixed up a large organ screen between the nave and the choir. Roman cement became the passion of the hour. Statues were made of it, old stone-work repaired with it; arches, mouldings, niches and pinnacles were coated with it. Happily its reign is over. Sir Gilbert Scott began his restoration in 1856. The difficulty of the work was enormous. He endeavoured to imitate the ancient sculpture and stone-work, and restore the Cathedral to the condition of its Early Gothic purity. Though some of the work has been severely criticised, we must take into consideration the difficulties caused by Wyatt and Roman cement which he had to encounter; we must remember that Gothic revival had not reached its highest development in 1856, and be thankful that so much has been spared to us of this once magnificent Cathedral.

EXTERIOR

When we enter the _Close_ we notice that little is left of the fortifications that once made Lichfield into a fortress. Here and there a few traces of the walls remain. Lichfield was never a monastery, so there are no cloisters. The view of the Cathedral upon entering the close is very striking and beautiful. The colour of the stone is remarkable, as it is built of red sandstone. The three spires are extremely graceful. A fine view of them is obtained from the south side across the lake. The two west spires were built by Bishop Northbury (1322-1359), and are Decorated. The upper part of the north-western one was rebuilt, and there has been some renovation of the other. The old central tower fell during the siege, and was rebuilt by Bishop Hacket at the Restoration. The style is Perpendicular, having been built in the fashion of the west tower.

The _West Front_ must have been one of the most beautiful in England, and has passed through many vicissitudes. It was commenced in 1275, and completed by degrees, the work being protracted for more than a century. The ball-flower ornament in the upper stages points to the later date of the highest part. There are three principal stages. In the lowest are three doorways, the wall being covered with a rich arcade of brackets and canopies and statues. The next stage has three rows of arcading, the lowest extending completely across the front. The west window divides the two upper arcades. There are windows in the tower fronts in the third stage, and the wall is covered with rich canopied arcade. The Puritan soldiers did much injury to the statues which filled these niches. In 1820 the broken figures were restored with Roman cement in a barbarous fashion. Sir Gilbert Scott in 1877 began to reconstruct the west front, and placed new statues in the niches, and endeavoured to reproduce an exact copy of its appearance in the days of its early beauty. A study of the figures will not be without interest.

Small figures in central west doorway--on north side--genealogy of Christ according to St. Matthew from Abraham to the Virgin; on the south, according to St. Luke from Adam to Joseph. Notice fourteenth-century carving of Our Lord in Glory inside the porch.

NORTH-WEST DOORWAY

_On North_--

1. Ethelbert, angel, with emblem of the Passion. 2. Edwin, orb. 3. Oswald, dove, with letter, and cross in his left hand. 4. Oswy, casket, with key and cross.

5. Peada, embracing a cross. 6. Wulphere, model of a Saxon church, and a shield.

_On South_--

1. Bertha, cross in her hand, and her daughter kneeling at an altar. 2. Ethelburga, glass and comb. 3. Hilda, angel hovering over her, and pastoral staff in her hand. 4. Eanfled, priest with letter. 5. Ermenilda, laying down crown. 6. Werburga, pastoral staff, and crown at her feet.

SOUTH-WEST DOORWAY

The figures represent the two sources of English Christianity, the Celtic and Roman missionaries.

_North Side_--

1. St. Aidan, pastoral staff, and St. Chad as a boy in St. Aidan's School at Lindisfarne. 2. Finan, pastoral staff. 3. Diuma, pastoral staff and banner. 4. Ceollach, pastoral staff, and mitre at his feet, indicating that he resigned his bishopric. 5. Trumhere, pastoral staff. 6. Jaruman, pastoral staff, and model of a Saxon church.

_South Side_--

1. Gregory, young Saxon slaves at his feet, in the Market Place at Rome. 2. Augustine, crozier and model of Canterbury Monastery. 3. Paulinus, crozier. 4. Theodore, crozier and scroll. 5. Cuthbert, pastoral staff, and head of St. Oswald in his hand. 6. Wilfrid, pastoral staff, and treading on an idol.

CENTRAL GABLE

1. Our Lord in Glory, in the act of benediction. 2. Moses, the two tables of stone. 3. Elijah, a book. 4. St. Gabriel, holding a lily, the emblem of purity. 5. St. Uriel, open book. 6. St. Michael, in armour, with spear and shield. 7. St. Raphael, pilgrim's staff.

_Highest Stage--South Side_--

8. Adam, clothed with skins, and with a lion at his feet. 9. Abel, shepherd's crook and a lamb. 10. Abraham, fire and knife. 11. Isaac. 12. Jacob. 13. Melchisedec, royal and priestly robes and censer. 14. Enoch, prophesying, with uplifted hand. 15. Methuselah, old man's staff. 16. Noah, ark and olive branch. 17. Daniel. 18. Job, staff, and prophesying the Resurrection. 19. Shem.

_Middle Stage--Upper Tier_--

20. Isaiah, a saw. 21. Hosea, skull at his feet, and scroll, "O death, I will be thy plagues." 22. Jonah, a fish at his feet, and scroll in his hand, "Salvation is of the Lord." 23. Zephaniah, holding a torch and scroll, "The great day of the Lord is near." 24. St. Michael, in armour, with spear and shield. 25. Bishop Hacket, holding the open Bible. 26. Bishop Lonsdale, model of Eton College Chapel at his feet. 27. Bishop Selwyn, his hand resting on the head of a Melanesian boy. Bishop of New Zealand, 1841 to 1867. Bishop of Lichfield, 1868 to 1878. 28. Vacant.

_Middle Stage--Lower Tier_--

29. Ezekiel, wheel, with Evangelistic emblems. 30. Joel, locust at his feet, and scroll in his hand, "Jehovah is God." 31. Micah, with foot upon an idol; and the words, "Who is God like unto Thee," in a scroll. 32. Haggai, unfinished temple at his feet, and pointing upwards, and scroll, "Go up to the mountain." 33. St. Raphael, a pilgrim's staff, as a messenger of God. 34. Bishop Clinton, A.D. 1129, model of a Norman church. 35. Bishop Patteshull, A.D. 1240, wearing a chasuble, as shown on his effigy in the Cathedral. 36. Bishop Langton, A.D. 1296, model of the Lady Chapel at his feet. 37. Vacant.

_Lower Stage of Kings_--

38. St. Chad, A.D. 669, pastoral staff, first Bishop of Lichfield. 39. Peada, A.D. 665, embracing the cross. 40. Wulphere, A.D. 657, shield, and model of Peterborough Monastery. 41. Ethelred, A.D. 657, four scrolls, indicating the four sub-divisions of the great Mercian Diocese, Lichfield, Worcester, Hereford and Chester. 42. Offa, A.D. 755, archiepiscopal mitre. 43. Egbert, A.D. 827, orb and sceptre. First sole monarch of Saxon Britain. 44. Ethelwolf, A.D. 836. 45. Ethelbert, A.D. 860, crown and sword. 46. Ethelred, A.D. 866, holding a book to his breast. 47. Alfred, A.D. 871, a harp. 48. Edgar, A.D. 958, wolf's head; alluding to tribute of wolves' heads in lieu of money. 49. Canute, A.D. 1017, orb, and looking to the sea; in reference to his rebuke of his courtiers. 50. Edward the Confessor, A.D. 1042, a dove, and a ring in his left hand. 51. William the Conqueror, A.D. 1066, _Doomsday Book_ and sword. 52. William Rufus, A.D. 1087, bow and arrow, and hunting horn; alluding to his death. 53. Henry I., A.D. 1100, holding a book. 54. Stephen, A.D. 1135, orb, dove and sword. 55. Henry II., A.D. 1154, sceptre and sword. 56. Richard I., A.D. 1189, with banneret and battle axe. 57. John, A.D. 1199, signing Magna Charta. 58. Henry III., A.D. 1216, model of Westminster Abbey. 59. Edward I., A.D. 1272, the poisoned arrow. 60. Edward II., A.D. 1307, reversed sceptre; alluding to his deposition and murder. 61. Edward III., A.D. 1327, the Garter and sceptre. 62. Richard II., A.D. 1377, orb, cross and sceptre.

_Lowest Stage--North to South_--

63. St. Cyprian, sword and book. Archbishop of Carthage. 64. St. Bartholomew, knife. 65. St. Simon, saw. 66. St. James the Less, club and book. 67. St. Thomas, the carpenter's square. 68. St. Philip, cross. 69. St. Andrew, a transverse cross. 70. St. John, pen and book. 71. Vacant. 72. Mary Magdalene, the alabaster box of ointment. 73. The Virgin and Child. 74. Mary, wife of Cleophas. 75. Vacant. 76. St. Peter, keys. 77. St. Paul, sword and book. 78. St. Matthew, wallet. 79. St. James the Greater, staff, book and scallop shell. 80. St. Jude, scroll. 81. St. Stephen, stones and the martyr's palm. 82. St. Clement, anchor and open book. 83. St. Werburga, pastoral staff, clasped book and crown at her feet.

NORTH-WEST TOWER

_Middle Stage--Lower Tier_--

84. Daniel, scroll and flames of fire at his feet. 85. Obadiah, hands lifted up and scroll, "The kingdom shall be the Lord's." 86. Habakkuk, writing the vision. 87. Malachi, fiery oven at his feet and scroll. 88. St. Uriel, a spear. 89. St. Luke, staff with serpent entwined. 90. Queen Victoria. 91. St. Mark, lion at his feet. 92. Dean Bickersteth. 93. Jeremiah, lamenting destruction of Jerusalem. 94. Amos. 95. Nahum, scroll and an Assyrian idol. 96. Zechariah, candlestick and scroll. 97. St. Gabriel, shield and sceptre. 98. Solomon, sceptre and model of the Temple. 99. St. Helena, the cross, and a model of a Basilica. 100. David, harp. 101. St. Editha, foot upon a crown.

_North-West Tower--Upper Tier_--

102. Eve, a distaff in her hand. 103. Old Figure. This and four others are the only remaining fourteenth-century figures which have survived the wear of time and the violence of the Civil War. 104. Sarah, three cakes in her hand. 105. Old Figure. Fourteenth century. 106. Rachel, crook. 107. Deborah, scroll. 108. Old Figure. Fourteenth century. 109. Hannah, with the boy Samuel at her side. 110. Samuel, anointing horn and scroll. 111. Aaron, scroll. 112. Old Figure. Fourteenth century. 113. Old Figure. Fourteenth century.

St. Anthony over the belfry window on south side of south-west tower.

The west window presented by James II. when Duke of York has been removed and a Decorated window inserted.

Passing round to the north side we see the interesting north doorway, which is a double one, with five orders, and of Early English style (1240 A.D.). The dog-tooth ornament is evident. Carved figures appear in the mouldings. The genealogy of our Lord, beginning with Jesse, is on the east side; on the west St. Chad and the Apostles. Kings and prophets appear on the middle moulding, and angels on the inner. These are good specimens of Early English carving, and are original, though somewhat restored. A modern figure of St. Anne is in the central niche, and above a figure of our Lord. The figures of SS. James and Jude are examples of the hideous Roman cement work which once was so plentiful here.

Continuing our pilgrimage round the church we see the chapter-house and the Lady Chapel, which has been too much restored with new niches and statues of holy women mentioned in the Bible. The lower row (New Testament) has figures of Priscilla, Anna, Dorcas, Mary of Bethany with box of ointment, Martha with a dish and cloth, Lydia, Phebe and Elizabeth; above Esther, Ruth with corn, Naomi, Rizpah, Deborah, Miriam, Rachel and Rebecca. Passing the so-called mortuary chapels, probably vestries, we notice a noble figure of the Madonna on south side, and though the head has been defaced, and the child knocked away, it remains a beautiful study of fourteenth-century pose and drapery. On the corners of the sacristy are figures of Godefroi de Bouillon and St. Chad. The south portal has been much restored. It is similar to the north doorway, but not so rich in architectural details. On the tympanum are shields with arms of the diocese, and on the west the arms of Lady Catherine Leveson, a benefactress of the time of Bishop Hacket, and an inscription recording her munificence on the east. A row of niches is over the door, formerly filled with figures of Roman cement. Happily they have disappeared. The rose window is very fine.

INTERIOR

We enter the church by the west door, and are struck with the richness and beauty of the view of the nave and choir, the clustered columns with richly-carved capitals, the elaborate reredos of marble and alabaster, and the stained glass of the Lady Chapel. It will be noticed that the choir inclines considerably to the north. This difference in orientation is observable in many churches, and has been interpreted as a figurative representation of the bending of our Lord's head upon the Cross. We believe that this beautiful fancy has no authority, and most probably the inclination was accidental. No records tell us when this nave was built. It is earlier than the west front, and was begun about 1250, at the time when the Early English style was being merged in that of the Decorated. There are eight bays. The piers are octagonal, with many shafts, the capitals enriched with foliage of Early English type. The triforium has two arches in each bay, each arch has two sub-arches, with cusped heads, and a quatrefoil in the tympanum. Dog-tooth ornament is used copiously. The clerestory windows are triangular, with three circles in each, and a trefoil in each circle. Mr. Petit stated, "Nothing can exceed this nave in beauty and gracefulness." The roof was originally of stone. This the besiegers damaged, and after its restoration the stone vaulting was found too heavy for the walls and piers; hence it was removed, except the portions at the immediate east and west end. Wyatt covered the rest with plaster to imitate the original work. The roof has now been coloured, so that it is impossible to discover any difference between the stone and plaster ceiling.

The _Aisles_ are similar in style to the nave, and are very narrow. The wall arcading is very fine Early Decorated work. The windows have three lights, with three foliated circles in their heads. In the north aisle are tablets to the memory of Gilbert Walmesley, the friend of Dr. Johnson and David Garrick; to Lady Mary Montagu, the introducer of the inoculation for small-pox; to Ann Seward, the "Swan of Lichfield" (1809), a window; brass to the memory of officers of the Staffordshire regiment, and its colours. In the _South Aisle_ are two curious semi-effigies of ancient date--the heads and the feet are carved, the rest of the body is left a blank in the stone; a good brass of the Earl of Lichfield (d. 1854); and the monument of Dean Addison (1703), the father of a more famous son--the essayist.