CHAPTER IV.--History of the See 117

DIMENSIONS 136

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Cathedral from the West _Frontispiece_

Arms of the See _Title page_

South Prospect of the Cathedral (Old Print) 2

Cathedral from Stowe Church (Old Print) 13

Ancient Gateway in the Close 17

South Transept in 1813--Exterior 23

Cathedral from the South 31

Cathedral from the Minster Pool 37

Great West Doorway in 1813 42

Great West Doorway 43

Southern Doorway in West Front 46

Bay of the Nave--Exterior 48

North Entrance in 1813 49

Bay of the Choir--Exterior 50

Doorway of South Transept 51

Bay of the Nave--Interior 55

Bay of the Choir--Interior 56

Nave in 1813--Interior 57

Nave, looking East 59

Nave, looking West 61

North Aisle of Nave, looking East 64

Arcade with Semi-Effigy 68

Detail of Semi-Effigy 69

Choir in 1820--Interior 77

Choir, looking East 79

South Choir Aisle 80

Choir, looking West 81

Under the Central Tower 85

Reredos 89

The Sleeping Children 95

Fresco in South Choir Aisle 97

Brackets in Lady Chapel 99

Lady Chapel 101

Brackets in Lady Chapel 104

Capital in Chapter-House 108

Chapter-House 109

Arcade in Chapter-House 111

The Gospels of St. Chad 115

Monument to Dr Johnson 136

PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL 137

[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL AT THE END OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.]

CHAPTER I

THE HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL

The cathedral of Lichfield, as we now know it, was built at various times

in the thirteenth century and the early part of the fourteenth; and but

for some comparatively slight and obvious alterations, it is therefore

entirely in the styles known as Early English and Decorated. Unhappily

nearly all the early archives and documents belonging to the cathedral

are lost, having been destroyed in the time of the Civil Wars by the

soldiery who sacked the place after the siege of the close by the forces

of the Parliament. The absence of all documentary evidence as to the

dates of the various parts of the cathedral has been much regretted by

antiquarians, since it would be hard to find a better example of the

gradual change which English church architecture was undergoing during

the very busy period when this cathedral must have been built. Here we

have the rigid simplicity of the Early English style in the transepts,

giving place in the nave to the luxury of the Early Decorated, with its

geometrical tracery; while in the Lady Chapel and presbytery we find an

example, in some respects unique, of the gorgeousness of the completely

evolved Decorated style. To know exactly when each part was built would

be to add to our knowledge of architectural chronology; but instead,

we must employ what knowledge we already possess, and by a process the

very converse of what we could wish to have been able to use, we can

arrive at an approximate history of the structure of the cathedral.

Not so long ago Oswy had the credit of having built the cathedral, and

later it was set down to Roger de Clinton. Modern criticism as easily

disposes of the claims of the latter as of the former, and there can be

no doubt that no part of the present cathedral is of earlier date than

1200 A.D.

Much valuable information as to the cathedral, which Clinton may have had

a part in building, was obtained in 1860, when, for the alterations which

were then in progress, excavations were made in the choir. The result

of his investigations Professor Willis published in an article in the

_Archaeological Journal_ for 1861, entitled "Memoir on the Foundations

of Early Buildings recently discovered at Lichfield Cathedral," and the

theory which he there set out as to the history of the cathedral has been

generally accepted by antiquarians. Nothing can be more interesting than

this article, but it is too full of detail for anything beyond the bare

results of Professor Willis's reasoning to be given here: these are set

out in their place.

Of the early Saxon church which was erected on this site practically

nothing is known, but it is supposed to have been built by Bishop Hedda

at the close of the seventh century, and of stone taken from Roman ruins

in the neighbourhood, though there is really no evidence to support this

theory. The desire to find another instance of the waste material and

sites once dedicated to a pagan religion being used by the victorious

Christian church may have something to do with such a legend. Nothing

except tradition is left of this church, to which it is said the bones

of St. Chad were removed from Stowe. Probably in the four or five

hundred years which elapsed before the Norman cathedral was built,

several churches succeeded one another on or about the present site:

whatever happened, we know nothing.

Our real knowledge commences with the Norman cathedral. The excavations

already spoken of laid bare small portions of its foundations, and from

these Professor Willis decided that the Norman choir had a semi-circular

apse, and extended from the central tower to about the middle of the

fifth bay of the present choir; while the exterior line of its side walls

nearly corresponded with the interior line of the present aisle. The

Norman building probably possessed transepts, but these certainly had

no aisles; the rest is conjecture, but from other Norman cathedrals and

churches which are in existence we can fairly well imagine what it was

like. The altar probably stood over the centre of the semi-circle of

the apse, while the bishop's throne was behind it, facing west, with

the canons' stalls spreading out down the choir, and the choir stalls

continuing them right down under the tower into the nave: or perhaps

there were no seats for the choir in those days--we do not know; but

there must have been a processional path round the altar. We can imagine,

too, the massive masonry of the pillars with their heavy capitals and

circular arches. To think of a Norman church is to think possibly of

Peterborough; and Lichfield Cathedral, no doubt, was like that minster,

but on a very much smaller scale.

There is no record as to when the Norman church was built, but Robert

de Lymesey, the bishop, is said in 1088 to have used a large quantity of

silver, which he took from the church at Coventry, in extensive buildings

in Lichfield; and Roger de Clinton is declared to have exalted the church

as well in building as in honour, so he may have erected, or helped to

erect, the Norman cathedral. Nothing whatever remains above ground of this

building, which was probably taken down gradually while the cathedral

which now stands in its place was being erected. Before this was done,

however, there was added a rectangular chapel to the east of the Norman

apsidal choir, which, with it, must have extended nearly to the end of the

seventh bay of the present choir. Nothing is known of it beyond the fact

that the foundations were discovered and examined by Professor Willis,

who decided that it was probably built late in the twelfth century,

and that its existence, if it was ever finished, must have been short.

Very early in the thirteenth century the first part of the present

building was begun by erecting a rectangular choir just outside the

walls of the Norman choir, which must have been then removed. This

new Early English choir (including the presbytery) extended from the

central tower to the end of the seventh bay of the present choir. It

will be found that the eastern portion of this was subsequently removed,

but the western half still remains, and can readily be distinguished

from the Decorated part. The high altar of this period must have stood

just to the west of the space between the fifth piers, thus leaving the

space between the fifth and sixth piers as a processional path between

the two side aisles; while against the eastern wall were four altars,

one at the end of each aisle and two between them. At the same time that

this choir was built, was also built on the south side the sacristy,

with the room adjoining it: these both remain.

The next alteration took place about 1220, and was the erection of a new

south transept in place of the Norman one, which, as has been said, almost

certainly had no aisle; then followed in about twenty years the north

transept and the chapter-house, with its vestibule, all these buildings

being in the Early English style, though the difference in their times

of erection is clearly marked in their details. Two royal licences to

dig Hopwas stone for "the new fabric of the church at Lichfield" in 1235

and 1238 are evidence that work was going on about this time; and the

desire of Henry III. (which is more fully set out in the description

of the interior of the transept) to have a roof at Windsor like that

of Lichfield gives an almost documental certainty to the architectural

theory that the transepts were built at the time above stated.

No historical document exists that can apply to the building of the nave;

but that must have come next, and have been in progress almost before the

north transept could have been finished. The west front was commenced

somewhere about the beginning of the last quarter of the thirteenth

century, and, including the two towers which form such an important part

of it, must have taken a very long time to complete. From the thorough

examination made when the recent restorations were in progress, it was

decided that these towers were built in three distinct stages--the lowest,

which just included the row of kings, being assigned to about 1280; the

next stage to 1300; and the upper part, including the belfry windows,

to about 1330, while the spires were not finished till some time after.

Walter de Langton became bishop in 1296, and of him it is distinctly

recorded that he commenced the Lady Chapel. From an old register in the

Salt Library at Stafford, it appears that Langton left L80, 13s. 3d. for

the building of the chapel. He died in 1321. And, in 1323, there is

another entry showing that the chapter came to some agreement with his

executor by which each party should pay half the cost of finding a quarry

for the stone; so that it does not appear that building operations had

proceeded very far at his death. It is interesting to note, as the same

source shows us, that the money left by the bishop was partly on loan

to King Edward II. for the expenses of his wars with Scotland, which

wars had ended so disastrously at Bannockburn. In the following reign,

Edward III. was asked by the chapter to repay what was still owing of

this money.

The Lady Chapel was probably erected beyond the eastern end of the

church as it then stood; and while this was being done, the Early English

presbytery was taken down and rebuilt in the Decorated style to match the

new Lady Chapel, and the old clerestory of the choir was also rebuilt

in the same style. The main idea was to obtain uniformity; but as it

apparently was not proposed to take down the sacristy on the south,

nor the chapter-house on the north, it was not considered necessary to

pull down the choir--_i.e._ the last three western bays--any lower than

the triforium; for the lower parts would be hidden by these buildings

from the outside, and inside various shifts were resorted to to obtain

uniformity. The work almost certainly grew from east to west gradually,

as the clerestory of the choir end is lighter than that of the eastern

or presbytery end; so that no doubt the pulling down of the old choir

clerestory was only done after the building of the eastern end made it

seem better to alter the rest into uniformity. With regard to the inside

effect, Professor Willis says: "The front half of their pier arches

(those belonging to the three western bays), however was removed and

mouldings given them corresponding to those of the new presbytery. Their

piers also were slightly altered, although partially concealed by the

choir stalls. By these arrangements the aspect of the whole interior

of the choir and presbytery was made uniform." How far this theory is

sound will be seen when the alterations early in the present century

are considered in their place.

Bishop Langton also erected the shrine of St. Chad at an expense of

L2000. This shrine stood behind the high altar in the most eastern

bay of the retro-choir, and, as was usual, had on its western side an

altar dedicated to the saint. A similar arrangement can still be seen

in Westminster Abbey, where the shrine of Edward the Confessor stands

behind the reredos. The space behind the reredos, with the corresponding

bays of the aisles, were in the past called the lady choir. This portion

was separated from the rest of the choir by the reredos in the centre,

and by screens in a line with the reredos in the aisles; there was a

chapel in the lady choir at the end of each aisle, but to whom they were

dedicated is doubtful. Stukeley, writing in 1715, says: "In St. Peter's

Chapel, which is now a place to lay scaffolding and ladders, etc.,

was painted upon the wall St. Peter crucified with his head downwards,

and two other apostles, etc. And in this place is the noted St. Chad's

tomb, though defaced, removed from the lady choir to be put here since

the Restoration." The same writer also tells us that: "Over across the

middle of the said choir was a rood loft, finely carved and gilded,

and St. Chad's shrine, but destroyed in time of war."

Professor Willis has pointed out the singular parallelism between the

development of this cathedral and that of York. "The Norman Cathedral

of York was built in 1080, and that of Lichfield at an uncertain

date. Between 1154-1181, Archbishop Roger substituted for the original

chancel at York a long, square-ended choir, with the aisle carried

behind the end. At Lichfield, during the same period, the large chapel

was built at the end of the Norman apse; and about the beginning of the

thirteenth century the whole Norman eastern termination was, as at York,

replaced by a long, square-ended choir with the low aisles behind. Next,

at York the Norman transepts were rebuilt in Early English: the south

transept, 1230-1241; followed by the north transept, 1241-1260. Also at

Lichfield the Norman transepts were rebuilt in Early English, beginning

with the south and ending with the north. The Early English work of this

cathedral is shown by the licences to dig stone to have been in progress

in 1235 and 1238. York nave and Lichfield were next rebuilt in Early

Decorated--the first in 1291-1324. Lastly, at Lichfield, the elongation of

the eastern part was begun at the extreme east, beyond the existing choir

by the Lady Chapel, in late Decorated under Bishop Langton, 1296-1321,

and followed by taking down the choir, and continuing the same work on

its site westward. The works at York followed in the same order, but

forty or fifty years later, by first erecting the presbytery outside the

existing choir, and then taking down the latter and continuing the work

of the presbytery to form the new choir. The plans of the two cathedrals

rival each other in the simplicity of their proportions."

One other important thing which Bishop Langton did was to fortify, or

at any rate to add greatly to the fortifications of the cathedral.

He surrounded the close with a high stone wall and constructed "two

beautiful gates" on the west and south sides of the close. Truly, had

he been able to see the result of his fortification, he might have said

with the Preacher: "All is vanity and vexation of spirit"; for if there

was one thing which brought down on the cathedral the extremities of

hatred and violence in the Civil Wars, it was that it proved able to be

held as a fortress against those who came up against it.

Bishop Langton built also the palace, which for so long, with its towers

and turrets, stood in the north-east corner of the close. It must have

been a magnificent building, and we know that its hall was decorated

with frescoes of scenes in the recent wars. It was destroyed after the

siege of the close in 1643, and Fuller, writing about that time, speaks

of it as the "invisible castle now vanished out of sight."

Roger de Norburg completed the Lady Chapel and the new presbytery, and

was succeeded by Robert de Stretton, who (as we discover from a document

dated 1390, four years after his death) completed St. Chad's shrine;

for that is the only meaning which can be given to the wording of the

bond, that the vicar's choral should offer prayers for, amongst others,

"Robert Stretton, bishop, for making St. Chadd's shrine, and for giving

them L24 to continue amongst them."

There has recently been discovered among the muniments of the chapter,

an indenture dated in 1345 or 1346, and made between the sacrist on the

one hand, and the dean and chapter on the other, for the safe custody

of the goods in the sacristy. The "goods" are too numerous for a list

of them to be given, but they include "the head of Blessed Chad, in a

certain painted wooden case; also an arm of Blessed Chad; also bones

of the said saint in a certain portable shrine." Then follows a list of

the bones and relics of a large number of saints, including part of the

sepulchre of Our Lord, and part of St. Peter's cross. There were also

crosses, gold, and silver, and jewelled--a large number of many kinds,

all set out separately--mitres, jewels, chalices, copes, and every kind of

vestment of the most gorgeous description. Bishops and kings and queens

had apparently showered their wealth and valuables upon the cathedral;

and with the subscriptions of the diocese, known as Chad's Pennies,

and the offerings of pilgrims, the riches of the cathedral seem to have

been enormous. These "goods," in many cases with their donors' names,

are all set out in the roll, which, it is interesting to notice, is dated

in the year of the Black Death; possibly the enormous mortality of the

time may have made it seem necessary that the mere memory of man should

not be depended upon when so few seemed likely to survive. To read the

list is to get some notion of the magnificence of the services; and it

is no wonder that pilgrims came from all parts of the diocese, and of

England, to worship where so many relics were collected. The mid-Sunday

in Lent was originally the time, afterwards Whitsuntide, for the crowds

to attend the cathedral. They were shown the head of St. Chad, probably

from the little gallery in the south aisle of the choir, and then they

laid their offerings at the great shrine, on which were lying the other

relics of the saint.

No doubt the early part of the fifteenth century was the period when the

cathedral was most glorious within and without. Fuller, in his "Church

History," published in 1655, from which quotation has already been made,

after giving an account of the building of the cathedral, says: "But now

in the time of the aforesaid William Heyworth, the Cathedral of Litchfield

was in the verticall height thereof, being (though not augmented in the

essentials) beautified in the ornamentals thereof. Indeed, the West front

thereof is a stately Fabrick, adorned with exquisite imagerie, which I

suspect our age is so far from being able to imitate the workmanship

that it understandeth not the Historie thereof. Surely what Charles

the Fifth is said to have said of the citie of Florence, that it is a

pittie it should be seen save only on Holy-dayes; as also that it was

fit that so fair a Citie should have a Case and Cover for it to keep it

from wind and weather, so in some sort, this Fabrick may seem to deserve

a shelter to secure it. But alas! it is now in a pittiful case--indeed,

almost beaten down to the ground in our civil dissensions. Now, lest the

Church should follow the Castle--I mean quite vanish out of view--I have,

at the cost of my worthy friend here exemplified the Portraiture thereof;

and am glad to hear it to be the design of ingenious persons to preserve

ancient churches in the like nature (whereof many are done in this,

and more expected in the next part of Monasticon), seeing when their

substance is gone, their verie shadows will be acceptable to posteritie."

In the fifteenth century a library was built outside the door of the

north transept, but a little to the west; it was quite separate from the

cathedral. This was one of the gifts of Dean Heywood (1457-1493). It is

recorded that he gave L40 towards the building of it, but died before

it was completed, and this was done by his successor, Dean Yotton,

who also contributed to its erection. According to the statement in

"_Anglia Sacra_" it was finished in the year 1500. It is marked in the

plan of Browne Willis, 1727, and was taken down about 1750.

Some time in this century saw a change in the tracery of many of the

windows. It may be that the introduction of printing was responsible

for this change, and that the greater amount of light admitted by the

windows of the Perpendicular style made their insertion advisable; or

it may be that the tracery of windows being naturally fragile, in many

cases a renewal became necessary, and the new Gothic style was naturally

considered the best. Whatever the reason, the new Perpendicular tracery

was inserted in many of the windows just as it was in a large number

of cathedrals and churches all over England.

In reading the history of the building of this fabric, we cannot

help noticing that even the great Gothic builders could not leave well

alone. Then, as now, Fashion was the ruling power. Having a Norman church,

they altered it into an Early English one; then they pulled down a good

deal of this to get a more Decorated building; and finally they changed

the windows in order to give the whole a Perpendicular appearance: side

by side with other reasons that actuated them, they did their best to

keep their cathedral in the fashion.

In the sixteenth century, Henry VIII., the great destroyer of religious

houses, made but little difference to the fabric of this cathedral, but

he laid his hands on the valuables. The shrine of St. Chad was denuded

of its jewels, and everything which could be turned into money was taken

away, much of it was fortunately returned for the "necessary uses" of the

cathedral, but the services and ritual must have been much impaired and

their beauty diminished. During that century, however, the cathedral

gradually recovered, and we know that early in the next the services

were again very much on the same scale of magnificence as they had been

when the good bishops Patteshull and Weseham directed the diocese.

The next event in the history of the building is one which is necessarily

referred to many times in this book. The siege of Lichfield Cathedral

is probably the most famous incident in its long career; not only

on account of the immense injury done to the fabric itself, to its

monuments and its decorations, but also on account of the "miraculous

intervention" on behalf of the holy building, an intervention which,

viewed with nineteenth-century scepticism, does not appear to have done

the cathedral any obvious good, but which at the time appears to have

been treated with all the deference due to a genuine miracle.

The great Civil War began on August 22, 1642, when Charles I. set up his

standard at Nottingham. At Lichfield, as everywhere else in England,

there were partisans of both sides. The cathedral group was naturally

for the king, while others, for one reason or another, joined either the

Royal Party or the Parliamentarian. After Edgehill, which was fought

in the autumn, matters became more and more serious in the Midlands;

and finally, in February 1643, the Royalists at Lichfield, hearing that

at any moment an outbreak might take place, garrisoned the close, which

ever since the days of Walter de Langton had been strongly fortified. They

hoisted the king's flag on the great steeple, and waited the result. They

had not long to wait. With March Lord Brooke, one of the fiercest of

anti-churchmen, arrived in command of a strong body of Roundheads,

and on the 2nd the siege commenced.

[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL FROM STOWE CHURCH.]

Lord Brooke was a fanatic, and ever fierce against cathedrals: he had,

according to the diary of Archbishop Laud, two years before, as he was

passing in a boat upon the Thames, said he hoped to see St. Paul's

with not one stone left upon another. It was in this spirit that he

set about the siege of the cathedral, and of his fate there are many

accounts. Perhaps the following, taken from Dugdale's "View of the Late

Troubles in England," is as good as any:--"This lord (Lord Brooke)

being strangely tainted with fanatic principles, by the influence of

one of his near relations, and some schismatical preachers (though

in his own nature a very civil and well-humoured man), became thereby

so great a zealot against the established discipline of the Church,

that no less than the utter extirpation of Episcopacy, and abolishing

all decent order in the service of God, would satisfy him; to which end

he became leader of all the power he could raise for the destruction

of the cathedral of that diocese of Coventry and Litchfield. In order

whereunto, when he had marched within half a mile of Litchfield, he

drew up his army, and then devoutly prayed a blessing upon his intended

works; withal earnestly desiring that God would, by some special token,

manifest upon them His approbation of that their design: which being done,

he went on and planted his great guns against the south-east gate of the

close, himself standing in a window of a little house near thereto, to

direct the gunners in their supposed battery; but it so happened that,

there being two persons placed in the battlement of the chiefest steeple

to make shot with long fouling guns at the cannoniers, upon a sudden

accident, which caused the soldiers to give a shout, this lord, coming

to the door (completely harnessed with plate armour _cap-a-pie_) was

suddenly shot into one of his eyes; but the strength of the bullet, so

much abated by the glance thereof on a piece of timber which supported

a pentiss over the door, that it only lodged in his brains, whereupon he

suddenly fell down dead; nor is it less notable that this accident fell

out on the second day of March, which is the festival of that sometime

famous Bishop S. Chad, to whose memory Offa, King of the Mercians, first

erected this stately church and devoutly dedicated it."

Tradition has always asserted that the shot which killed Lord Brooke

was fired by one of the sons of Sir Richard Dyott, who, with the Earl of

Chesterfield, was commanding the cathedral garrison. This son was deaf and

dumb, and was known as "Dumb Dyott." The gun is preserved in the family,

and they are supported by other historians, disagreeing with Dugdale,

in their account that the shot was no accidental one, but that Dyott,

who was an accomplished marksman, recognising Lord Brooke, aimed at him

and killed him.

In those days--and indeed even to the present day--it was believed that

one who was afflicted with dumbness, idiocy, or any natural disease

which showed God's hand, was especially His agent. Dumb Dyott was looked

upon as being the agent of divine vengeance, and the fact of its being

St. Chad's Day strengthened the belief. Here is an extract from a very

courtly letter written a few days afterwards by a young cavalier to Lady

Dyer; in it the feeling that a miracle had been performed is clearly

shown. The writer says: "We have had the honour in these parts to bring

my Lord Brooke to a quiet condition. That enemy of our Church (March 2)

was slain in his quarrel against our Church, by the God of our Church,

with a shot out of the Cathedral, by a bullet made of Church lead, through

the mouth which reviled our Church; and (if this be worth your reading)

this Cathedral was dedicated to the memory of an old Saxon holy man

(called Ceadda, commonly Chad); the blow of death came from St. Chad's

Church upon St. Chad's Day. This, being a verity, is fit for a lady

of rare worth." The incident is constantly referred to in contemporary

literature, where the miracles claimed on behalf of the Royalist party are

worthy of a better result. One more quotation will suffice. The celebrated

preacher, Dr South, in his sermon on the text, "God hath loved the gates

of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob," says: "Nor is that instance

to be passed over of a commander in the Parliamentary army, who, coming

to rifle and deface the cathedral at Lichfield, solemnly, at the head of

his troops, begged God to show some remarkable token of His approbation

or dislike of the work they were going about. Immediately after which,

he was shot in the forehead by a deaf and dumb man; and this was on St.

Chad's Day, the name of which saint that church bare, being dedicated to

God in memory of the same: where we see that as he asked of God a sign,

so God gave him one in the forehead, and that with such a mark as he is

like to be known by all posterity."

The house in which Lord Brooke was killed is in Dam Street, at a distance,

it is said, of about 185 yards from the central spire of the cathedral;

the late Mr Green caused the following inscription to be put up over

the doorway:--

"_March 2, 1643._--Lord Brooke, a general of the Parliament forces

preparing to besiege the Close of Lichfield, then garrisoned for King

Charles the First, received his death wound on the spot beneath this

inscription by a shot in the forehead from Mr Dyott, a gentleman who

had placed himself on the battlements of the great steeple to annoy

the besiegers."

The death of Lord Brooke was kept a secret as much as possible, for

fear the soldiers should indeed take it for a sign; Sir John Gell was

appointed in his place, and the siege continued. Under his direction

"all such townsmen that had any sons, apprentises, or other servants

within the close, and likewise all citizens' wives that had their husbands

there, whether magistrates or other persons whatsoever," were collected

together and put in the front of the soldiers against the close, but

after a while, it not appearing to make much difference, they were all

sent home again. The close meanwhile had been bombarded with cannon, and

finally there arrived from Coventry a new engine, called a mortar, which

cast burning shells. Most of these fell into the mill pool or went over

the close altogether; but it is said to have caused so much fright, no one

there having seen such an engine before, that the Earl of Chesterfield,

knowing also that his provisions could not last another day, and that

there was little likelihood of their being reinforced, decided to yield

the close on the best terms he could. These included free quarter to all,

and on the 5th March, after a siege of three days, the close was yielded.

The damage that had been done was terrible; not only was the whole

fabric much injured, and all the stained glass destroyed, but the great

steeple had been blown down and had in its fall broken in the roof of

the church in several places. But even now the work of desecration was

not complete. The close having been taken, the Parliamentary forces and

their prisoners were all housed in and round the cathedral, and the most

sacrilegious conduct is attributed to the former. The wanton soldiers

pulled down the curious carved work, and battered in pieces what was

left of the beautiful old stained glass; they stripped the gravestones

of their brasses, and destroyed the ancient records which were stored

in the cathedral. These acts of destruction were no doubt due to the

religious mania of the Roundheads against any form of ceremony or beauty

in the House or Service of God; but their passion became keener when they

found what rich spoils were ready to their hands. It happened during

their riotous proceedings that one of the soldiers raised the covering

of the tomb containing the remains of Bishop Scrope, and found in it

a silver chalice and a crozier of considerable value. This discovery

naturally excited the soldiers, and every tomb was at once taken to

pieces and its contents scattered; it is not wonderful therefore that

the tombs that remain to the present day are few in number and these

terribly mutilated. The crozier was afterwards sold to Elias Ashmole,

the antiquarian, who took so great an interest in Lichfield. Nor was

the sacrilege confined to destruction and spoliation. Dugdale tells

us that "every day they hunted a cat with hounds through the church,

delighting themselves with the echo from the goodly vaulted roof; and

to add to their wickedness, brought a calf into it, wrapt in linen;

carried it to the font, sprinkled it with water; and gave it a name in

scorn and derision of that holy sacrament of baptism."

[Illustration: ANCIENT GATEWAY FORMERLY IN THE CLOSE.]

Not for long, however, did the Roundheads remain in possession. Prince

Rupert was sent from Oxford, the headquarters of the Royalist party at the

time, to retake Lichfield. Having taken Bromicham on the way, he arrived

at Lichfield with a strong force, and history repeated itself. The town

offered no opposition, and Rupert had to lay siege to the close, which now

was better garrisoned. The Royalists erected batteries on the north side,

and kept up a heavy fire; they also attempted to undermine the walls,

and finally succeeded in blowing up one of the towers of the close, and

a fierce encounter took place, in which many men were slaughtered on both

sides. At length, after ten days' siege, the close was surrendered to the

king by the governor, who probably got better terms than he expected,

as Rupert was required at Reading. The articles of capitulation are

referred to by Clarendon as being most honourable, and are as follow:--

"It is consented by Colonel Hastings, by the authority given him by

his highness Prince Rupert, that, in consideration of the delivery

and yielding up of the Close of Lichfield, Lieutenant-Colonel Russel,

and all the Captains and Officers with him, shall march out of the said

Close, to-morrow being the one and twentieth day of this instant April,

by ten o'clock in the morning, with fourscore men and musquetts, with

flying colours, and fourscore horsemen, with arms belonging to them, and

all other persons within the said Close to be at liberty to goe whither

they please; and for their better and safe conveyance, a free pass or

convoy from his highnesse, and eleven carts to convey away such goods as

belong to any of the officers or soldiers, with themselves, to the City

of Coventry; and that all prisoners shall be released on both sides,

which have been taken in the City of Stafford since the coming down of

the Right Honourable Lord Brooke. In witness whereof, we have hereunto put

our hand and seal, this twentieth day of April A.D. 1643. H. HASTINGS."

Russel did not leave empty-handed, as he is said to have taken away

the communion plate and linen, and whatever else was of value. He was

succeeded in command of the close by Colonel Bagot, who held it until

1646, when in the general ruin of the king's affairs the close was

again taken.

In "_Mercurius Aulicus_" there is an interesting anecdote which shows the

state of feeling between the two parties. A certain Captain Hunt, who

had a command in the neighbouring town of Tamworth, sent Colonel Bagot

the following challenge:--"Bagot, thou sonne of an Egyptian ... meete

mee half the way to-morrow morning, the half-way betwixt Tamworth and

Litchfeald, if thou darest; if not, I will whippe whensoever I meete

thee. Tamworth, this December 1644.--THOMAS HUNT." Colonel Bagot did

not neglect the challenge, and though he did not succeed in taking him

prisoner, he "whipped" him home to Tamworth.

During the time Colonel Bagot was governor the post can have been no

sinecure, for although there was no regular siege to be compared to the

two just described, yet, lying as it did with so many Parliamentary

strongholds in the immediate neighbourhood, this period cannot have

been one of peace; and Dr Harwood, in his "History of Lichfield," goes

so far as to say that the close was frequently in a state of seige at

this period. The battle of Naseby was fought on the 14th June 1645, with

disastrous effect to the king. Colonel Bagot was present with 200 men,

and no doubt escorted the king back to Lichfield, for he lay there for

at least one night, and received an address from his faithful citizens,

which, from its wording, shows that there was little hope left in his

side. The king came again later in the year, and about March in the

following year, 1646, the last siege commenced. It was a desultory affair

compared to the first two, and only ended when the Royalists, in July,

finding that the king had practically no real army in the field anywhere,

surrendered again on terms which were most honourable to both sides.

The damage done to the cathedral in these times was estimated at L14,000,

which was for those days a very large amount. Some of the losses are

thus particularised:

For a pair of organs broke in pieces L200

The destruction of the vicars' seats 600

The defacing of Lord Paget's tomb, which was executed in Italy 700

But enough has been said to show that the cathedral was in a most ruinous

state, and so it remained until a twelvemonth after the Restoration. From

a manuscript in the Ashmolean Collection at Oxford, it appears that Elias

Ashmole had an interview with the king in June 1660 as to the condition

of the cathedral. The memorandum reads: "16 June 1660. This morning Mr

Rawlins of Lichfield tould me that the Clearke Viccars of the Cathedrall

Church had entered the Chapter-house and there said service; and this

when the Vestry was the only place in the Church yt had a roof to shelter

them. This very afternoon, I, having an opportunity to waite on the Kg,

and being in his Closet, tould him that the aforesaid remaining number

of poore Clearks Vicarrs had assembled in the aforesaid place, and there

kept their Canonicall houres and prayd for his Maty, which he was pleased

to heare. Upon further discourse, I acquainted him with the desolacion

of the place, which he much lamented, and said he had been informed that

Winchestre Cathedrall had exceedingly suffred in these late tymes, and

that they had turnd it into Brewhouses, Malt-houses, etc." And again, on

"July 18, 1660, Mr Dugdale moved Dr Sheldon to become an instrument for

the repair of Lichfield Cathedral; and proposed that the prebends, etc.,

that were admitted should part with one-half of their profits towards the

repair of the fabrick, which would be no great burden to them; and by this

example the gentry would be invited to join with them in some considerable

contribution. _N.B._--I find this method succeeded accordingly."

The see was vacant for nearly a year after the Restoration, as Bishop

Frewen, who had been appointed to the see by Charles I., was almost at

once made Archbishop of York. At last, in December 1661, John Hacket,

Doctor of Divinity of Trinity College, Cambridge, was appointed, and

he at once set himself to the repair of the dilapidated cathedral; on

the very morning of his arrival at Lichfield he is said to have set his

carriage-horses and servants to the work of clearing out the rubbish,

and with his own hands to have set them an example at the start. The work

to be done must have appeared to be almost impossible of completion, for

the central spire was still lying in ruins over the chapter-house and

choir, the roof was broken in, and the pavements completely destroyed:

everything was ruinous, for the Parliamentary folk had during the

Common-wealth seized all materials which seemed to be of use for the

repair of the dwelling-houses in the close and neighbourhood. However,

the work progressed; the bishop was so energetic that he was able to

collect in the surrounding country about L8000, and so generous that he

subscribed himself a sum of L1683, 12s.: and in eight years he succeeded

in restoring the beauty of the cathedral.

The service at which it was re-consecrated was of great solemnity and

ceremony: "His lordship, being arrayed in his episcopal vestments,

attended by the dean, dignitaries, prebendaries, and other members of

the Church, accompanied by many of the nobility and gentry, the bailiffs,

citizens, and other public officers of the city and county of Lichfield,

with an immense concourse of people, entered at the great west doors of

the Cathedral. The vicars, choristers, etc., first walked up the south

aisle of the Church, where the bishop with a loud voice repeated the

first verse of the 144th psalm. Afterwards the whole choir alternately

sang the psalm to the organ. In the same order they proceeded to the

north aisle. The bishop sang the 100th psalm, which was repeated by the

whole company. Then the train passed to the body of the Church, where the

bishop began the 102nd psalm, which when the vicars choral had concluded,

he commanded the doors of the choir to be opened, and in the same form,

first encompassed the south side. The bishop began the first verse of the

122nd psalm; the company finished it, and with the like ceremony proceeded

to the north side, and sang the 131st psalm." The procession over,

the bishop knelt down in the centre of the choir and prayed silently;

and then with a loud voice called on all the people to join with him in

the Lord's Prayer, which was followed by other prayers suitable to the

occasion. He then pronounced a solemn benediction on the act in which

they were engaged, and upon all that were present. The usual service of

morning prayer followed, with two special anthems, and a collection--not

for the cathedral--but for the poor of the parish. The bishop also gave

three magnificent banquets--to the cathedral clergy, to the nobility of

the neighbourhood, and to the principal citizens of the city.

Thus concluded the ceremony of re-consecration, a work which left the

cathedral, not, unhappily, as it was when the first siege took place,

but still a very beautiful edifice, with more of the Perpendicular

style about the windows than previously, and with grievous signs here

and there of the terrible misfortunes it had weathered. Sir Christopher

Wren is said to have designed the new central spire, and to have acted

as architect to the re-builders; but this is almost certainly not the

case: his advice may have been asked, but probably at the most he gave

it with regard to rich altar-piece in the Corinthian style which was

erected in front of the old screen behind the high altar. At any rate,

his signature appears on one of the sixteen papers on this matter still

preserved among the muniments of the cathedral.

The king gave 200 fair timber trees out of Needwood forest, and his

brother, the Duke of York, afterwards King James II., gave the money

for the tracery of the great west window. This window remained until the

recent alterations, when it was replaced by one more in accordance with

the original thirteenth century style. The Duke of York's window, with

its ill-proportioned geometrical tracery, need not be regretted any more

than the removal of the heroic statue of his Majesty King Charles II.,

which occupied the central niche above it. The statue was principally

remarkable for its ugliness, and for the history of the stonemason who

hewed it; he afterwards married a rich wife, and finally arrived at the

dignity of knighthood. Bishop Hacket adorned the church with new stalls

and with an organ which cost L600; and he also made arrangements for

new bells worthy of the cathedral. He ordered six, and three of them were

delivered in his life-time. Only one--the tenor bell--however, was hung

in time for the good bishop to hear it. His biographer, Dr Plume, says:

"The first time it was rung, the bishop was very weak; yet he went out

of his bed-chamber into the next room to hear it: he seemed well pleased

with the sound, and blessed God, who had favoured him with life to hear

it; but at the same time observed that it would be his passing-bell,

and retiring into his chamber, he never left it till he was carried

to his grave." He died in October 1670.

[Illustration: THE SOUTH TRANSEPT IN 1813.]

For some time the cathedral has no history to be recounted. In 1750

we know that the ancient library outside the north aisle, built by

Deans Heywood and Yotton, was removed, and the churchyard levelled;

we also know that the roof became very defective, and the rain came in,

so that a new roofing was required. Pennant tells us that the dean and

chapter were obliged to substitute slates instead of metal, on account

of the narrow revenues left to maintain this venerable pile; and after

the strictest economy, they were under the necessity of contributing

from their own income in order to complete their plan.

A few years later it was found that the fabric itself was in so

dilapidated a condition that much more extensive repairs were necessary,

and so Mr Wyatt, the celebrated architect, as Britton calls him, came to

Lichfield and began that scheme of alteration which has been the object

of so much ridicule and contempt. To lovers of church architecture at the

end of the nineteenth century it seems astounding that the splendid and

inimitable cathedrals and churches of this country should have been handed

over every one to be destroyed and debased in the way Wyatt destroyed and

debased them. But there is no doubt that Wyatt represented the spirit

of the time, just as Sir Gilbert Scott represented the spirit of the

middle of this century. Then it was a love of "vistas" which actuated

the alterations, and caused the destruction of anything which came in

the way of what was considered a fine view. In those days "vistas" were

the all-absorbing consideration and the subject of discussion amongst

those who considered themselves cultured, as may be seen in the novels

of Jane Austen, and in "Mansfield Park" in particular. Later, the passion

for replacing what was old or worn by time with something new, something

which was supposed to be a reproduction of the old, has caused endless

destruction. The later passion has not yet disappeared, unhappily; but

thankfully we may note the signs of the times, and feel sure that in a

few years neither a Wyatt with his vistas and Roman cement, nor others,

who, having more knowledge, are therefore the less excusable, will be

permitted under any circumstances to lay a finger on what it has here

and there graciously pleased their forerunners to leave unspoiled. How

little this is, can be judged by a visit to any cathedral church from

Worcester downwards.

The achievements of Wyatt are recounted by Britton, who does not appear

to have entirely decided whether he approved or not. Some of them, no

doubt, were necessary; and it would be unfair to indiscriminately blame

any architect who had to deal, however violently, with a building which

had deteriorated, not merely in the pass of time, but also by the shock

of war. Also a great deal of what Wyatt did was done for the sake of

warmth, though the object in view, it is said, was not attained. Britton

says that not only was there a general restoration of doors, windows, and

flooring throughout, but also "two of the spires were partly rebuilt, the

ends of the transepts were strengthened by new buttresses, the external

roofs of the aisles were raised, and five divisions of the stone roof in

the nave were taken down and replaced with plaster. The Lady Chapel was

united with the choir by removing the screen which had been erected by

Bishop Hacket. On taking this away, the workmen discovered the beautiful

old screen which formed in all probability the original partition when

the Lady Chapel was completed by the executors of Walter de Langton. This

elaborate piece of architecture was in a very mutilated state; but Mr

Wyatt, having restored it by the assistance of Roman cement to a very

perfect condition, appropriated part of it to the new altar-piece, and

the remainder to the organ screen or partition which divides the nave from

the Choir," and which took up the whole of the western bay of the choir.

Since Britton's time it has been thought necessary to take another tone

and to try to justify these alterations. Mr James Potter, the son of Mr

Wyatt's chief assistant, who was afterwards architect to the cathedral,

has endeavoured to prove that some of the alterations were unavoidable,

and that the others were not made under Wyatt's advice, but in spite

of it. Incidentally, in the course of a letter to the _Staffordshire

Advertiser_, he speaks of the "unsightly and incongruous work of Wren's,"

in referring to the wooden reredos, and states that Wren had previously

closed the arches of the four most western bays of the choir in order to

receive the stalls. He also says: "But so completely did Wren perform

his work of blocking-up that he took care to conceal every vestige of

moulding, both of the piers and the archivolts, leaving only in view

the clustered shafts from which the vaulting of the roof sprang. I have

before noticed that Mr James Wyatt's death occurred in A.D. 1813, and

that this western portion of the choir remained in the state in which Sir

Christopher Wren left it up to the following year. In the early part of

that year the architect to the fabric, the late Mr Potter, was instructed

by the dean and chapter to cause the entire removal of the old stall work

and unmask the three arches (then concealed), this being the space on

either side of the choir occupied by the stalls in question. The arches

being much dilapidated and past restoration, Dean Woodhouse decided

to have them made to correspond with the decorated bays in an easterly

direction. This work was executed, as also the canopy of the new stalls,

in Roman cement. I cannot myself think that Dean Woodhouse exhibited

any degree of bad taste in adopting the existing decorated arches as his

model for the new ones; and, as regards the canopies of the new stalls,

they were exact resemblances of the old reredos, and surely no modern

architect will presume to find fault with them. I must here observe

that the choice of material was not confined to the architect employed

to carry out the work, but was chosen by the dean and chapter, the state

of the fabric fund, out of which the whole of the expenses were defrayed,

being insufficient to meet the outlay of a more costly material."

The above account is most interesting, and, assuming that the writer was

correct in the facts as to what was done by Wyatt and by his father,

we are confronted with a difficulty. From Professor Willis's account,

already quoted, it is obvious that he was of opinion that the alteration

in the style of the front of these pier arches was made in Gothic

times. Mr Potter says it was done in the nineteenth century. It is,

of course, possible for some alteration to have been made at both these

times; but it looks as if the harmony was not complete until recently,

probably because the height of the old stalls prevented the variations

from being easily seen. As to Wren, Mr Potter probably was only repeating

the recognised tradition that Wren was responsible for the rebuilding by

Bishop Hacket, and no argument can be deduced on this point, the latest

and best opinion being that there is, as already stated, no evidence

to prove that the great Sir Christopher had much to do with the cathedral.

Soon after Wyatt's death the policy of Roman cement, which he had

inaugurated, was continued, and the whole of the west front become

one mass of stucco and paste. The row of kings was replaced in this

way, as also the statues in the great porch, and all the mouldings and

decorations were covered with cement, and practically the whole cathedral

from end to end had its deficiencies added to in this way. This work was

completed about 1822. From then to 1856 the cathedral did not receive

much alteration; but in the latter year Sir Gilbert, then Mr. Scott

was called in, and the extensive alterations were commenced, which

may be said scarcely to have finished in this year of 1897. It is not

necessary to discuss here this restoration. It is sufficient to say that

it has been the aim of those in authority to restore the cathedral to

the appearance and arrangement it presented at the beginning of the

seventeenth century. Wyatt's alterations received scant courtesy,

and the cathedral as we now see it may be declared to be a triumph

for the restorer--so great a triumph, indeed, that in many parts the

unsuspicious admirer might be led to conclude that he was looking at a

brand new edifice. Still, the cathedral has some of its old work left,

and perhaps in the nave we are confronted with more of the work of the

original Gothic builders than in any other part. What has been done in

the last forty years is specifically discussed in the description of

the exterior and interior in the two next chapters; but here it will

be well to show what the condition of the cathedral was in the middle

of the century, just before the recent restoration. Canon Lonsdale has

given us a splendid description in his "Recollections," and if anything

can reconcile us to the wholesale renewal which then took place, it

will be found in the account which he gives in this little pamphlet,

from which are now quoted the following sentences. He says: "The Nave

and Transepts were absolutely empty of furniture of any kind, except

that the South Transept contained the fittings of the Dean's Consistory

Court (since abolished), and in the North Transept, on the spot where

the organ now is, stood the statue of Bishop Ryder, raised on a high

pedestal, and looking as if it were about to tumble forward. The walls,

arches, and pillars were one uniform, dead, yellowish whitewash, many

coats thick; as also the Choir from end to end, and from top to bottom,

and indeed the whole of the interior.... The Nave was quite unused;

indeed, except during service hours, the Verger's Silver Key alone gave

admission to any part of the church.... The two parts of the building

were altogether separate from each other. The Choir was entered by a

door under a high partition, composed of remains of the original High

Altar, fourteenth century screen, and of other materials. This partition

filled the whole of the first bay of the present Choir. On each side of

the entrance were Vestries for the Lay Vicars and the Choristers, and

above these was placed the organ; the rest of the space up to the Roof

being filled in with glass, so that the separation of Nave and Choir

was complete.... In the Choir itself the remains of the Reredos, which

stood at the spot where the present one is now fixed, had been removed

by Wyatt at the end of the last century, and the Holy Table was carried

to the extreme East of the Lady Chapel. On either side, from the screen

up to the very entrance of the Lady Chapel, were pews made of oak lined

with green baize and studded with brass nails. The Choir Aisles on either

side were entirely shut out from the Choir, the arches being filled in

by plaster, in order, as was imagined, to help towards warmth. In the

three bays eastward from the screen--the second, third, and fourth, as

they are now--stalls were fixed, composed of plaster, wood, rope, nails,

and much else, with canopies of the same material over them, which the

old Verger of that day used to call 'beautiful Tabernacle work.' The

Dean and Canons' Residentiary had stalls facing eastward in the screen

under the organ.... The Choir Aisles, shut out from the Choir, were long,

narrow passages, never used, ending on the North side in a blank wall,

and on the South with the monument of the 'Sleeping Children.'"

This was the inside of the Cathedral: the outside was stucco. Such facts

as these will have to be borne in mind when the next century passes

judgment on Sir Gilbert Scott. For us, it should be sufficient that we

have judged Wyatt.

CHAPTER II

THE EXTERIOR

Of all the cathedral churches of England, Lichfield may be said to be the

most lovely. Other cathedrals are larger--indeed, this is the smallest of

them all--grander, or more magnificent; but for simple beauty, for charm,

for delicacy of construction and appearance, Lichfield may rightly claim

to take the foremost place. Peterborough, when we stand inside the west

door and look down its line of enormous columns, fills us with awe at

its immensity and strength: a feeling which is perhaps a little impaired

by the present position of its stalls. Salisbury appeals to us with its

perfect simplicity and symmetry, and York with its unequalled grandeur

and splendour; but after viewing all the cathedrals of England, it is

Lichfield which is most likely to be remembered among them for something

which may be most aptly called charm. What can be more delightful than the

view which confronts the traveller who, approaching from the town, pauses

to look across the sparkling water of the pool at the three graceful

spires standing out amid a wealth of green trees and shrubs. Truly a

picture to be long remembered. Here is, indeed, the precious jewel set

in a silver sea.

[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE SOUTH.]

The cathedral does not stand on high enough ground for any very fine view

of the entire building to be obtained. But from whatever point in the

neighbourhood of Lichfield we look we can see its three slender spires,

grouping themselves, sometimes so that only two can be distinguished,

sometimes so that they all appear in one cluster as though rising from

one tower, and sometimes spreading out so that two seem to have very

little connection with the third. For years they have been known as the

"Ladies of the Vale"; they have looked down on many changes, and indeed

have suffered changes themselves. They now rise from an almost new

building--new at any rate in appearance. As we approach the cathedral

either from Bird Street and face the west front, or from Dam Street and

confront the south side of the Lady Chapel, the same sad feeling comes

over us that all here is new. Even as these words are written the south

side of the choir is being renovated, and no doubt what little of the

old is still left will soon disappear. The west front, with its niches

and images, is all new; the south side of the nave is new, and indeed

everywhere it is its newness that first strikes one. One cannot help

wondering if this extreme severity of restoration is absolutely essential;

for if not essential, the vague disappointment might well turn to anger

that in days when the art of architecture has become almost non-existent,

it should be thought necessary to carry through such wholesale renewal

of work, never to be replaced, belonging to the grand days of Gothic

building. For this old work can never be replaced: it is a sad thought

that in every art, the early groping days, when the new medium or the new

method is hardly settled, and its limitations but imperfectly understood,

produce the great work. It is so in literature, in music, in painting,

in sculpture, and in architecture; but it is only to the last that we

dare to offer the assistance of our own less artistic age. The cathedral

as we see it to-day has met with many vicissitudes. Of its misfortunes

in the Civil Wars much has already been said; and something of its

sufferings at the hands of restorers. At present, after studying the

west front and contemplating the extreme newness of its every detail,

we can only hope that when age has somewhat staled the infinite variety

of its modern ornament, future pilgrims to the shrine of St. Chad will

not think too unkindly of an age given over to the rigours of restoration.

=The Close.=--The cathedral stands in a close which was once surrounded

by strong walls with bastions and a moat. Nature had supplied the moat

on the south side, and the Cathedral Pool, as it is now called, is still

there. The artificial moat has been drained, but its course can be easily

traced running round the bishop's palace, and its water has been replaced

by lovely gardens and gravel walks. Some bits of the old walls remain,

the north-east bastion in the palace gardens and a turret on a house at

the south corner: the "beautiful gates" of Bishop Langton are gone; but

in the Vicars' Close at the west of the cathedral are two small irregular

courtyards with houses so old that we feel sure that their wooden beams

and plaster were there when the Royalists of the neighbourhood housed

themselves within the fortified close.

The close is not large, and of course, as Lichfield is a cathedral of

the old establishment, there are no monastical buildings, no ruined

cloisters. On the north side the ground rises rapidly in a grassy slope

to a terrace, behind which are some of the canons' houses. Opposite

the north transept is the deanery, a substantial red brick house in the

style of the middle of the last century; next to it, and farther east,

is the bishop's palace.

=The Bishop's Palace= is of stone, and was built by Thomas Wood, the

bishop who succeeded Hacket, and who is said to have been compelled

to erect it as a fine for his neglect of the diocese. It bears on the

front the date 1687. The old palace of Bishop Langton, which occupied

the same position in the close, was swept away in the Civil Wars. The

bishops of Lichfield had another palace at Eccleshall until the time

of Bishop Selwyn, who sold it, and with a portion of the money erected

here the two unsightly wings and the still more unsightly chapel. In the

palace gardens, in the south-west corner, stood the old bell-tower of

the cathedral, of whose destruction in 1315 we have a record. From the

bishop's garden there is a charming view through the trees of Stowe pool

and St. Chad's Church apparently standing at its farther edge: its old

towers stand out finely, and the gravestones in the churchyard remind us

that in far-off Mercian days St. Chad was laid to rest in this very spot.

On the east side of the close is an unsightly white house which rises

a blot on the otherwise beautiful view of the cathedral from Stowe;

next to it is a charming old building with the turret already mentioned.

On the south side is the entrance from Dam Street, with an old house

at the corner. On this side also is the Theological College, a low

ordinary-looking building, said to have been originally training-stables

for race horses; and farther west are more houses of the cathedral

clergy. And behind all these is the pool. One cannot help agreeing with

Britton in thinking what a delightful thing it would be for the close if

all the houses on this side could be pulled down so that the cathedral

might have nothing but grass and trees between it and the pool.

Britton gives an imaginary view of the south side with all the houses

cleared away.

On the west side of the cathedral is another entrance to the close,

which runs between the Vicars' Close already mentioned and the hideous

college built by Andrew Newton for the widows and orphans of clergymen.

=The Cathedral= is built of new red sandstone from quarries in the

immediate neighbourhood of Lichfield itself. On Borrowcop, to the north

(where tradition says two Mercian kings were killed, to be afterwards

buried in the close), is the hole left by the cathedral; and on the

other side, at Wheel Lane, is a quarry from which much stone, both red

and white, has been taken for the recent repairs to the fabric. Its

ruddy colour adds much to the picturesqueness of the building.

Mrs Van Rensselaer, in her interesting account of the English cathedrals,

says: "In any and every aspect, but more especially when foliage comes

close about it, Lichfield's colour assists its other beauties. Grey

is the rule in English churches--dark cold grey at Ely, for example;

light yellow grey at Canterbury, and pale pearly grey at Salisbury;

and although dark greyness means great solemnity and grandeur, and light

greyness great delicacy and charm, they both need the hand of time--the

stain of the weather and the web of the lichen--to give them warmth and

tone; and the work of the hand of time has almost everywhere in England

been effaced by the hand of the restorer. Red stone is warm and mellow

in itself, and Lichfield is red with a beautiful soft ruddiness that

could hardly be over-matched by the sandstone of any land."

The plan of the cathedral shows a simple cross, with a chapter-house

(joined by a vestibule to the choir) on the north side, and a sacristy

on the south side. It may also be noticed that the nave and the choir

(including the presbytery) have each eight bays or severies, and that

if we regard the bay under the central tower as a double one, the two

transepts together have eight bays. Thus the transverse arm of the cross

is nearly of the same length as the eastern and the western arms. There

is a Lady Chapel at the eastern end of the choir, and there are aisles on

each side of the nave and choir and on the eastern side of the transepts.

We have already seen that the cathedral has three =Spires=, and this

is perhaps its most notable characteristic, for Lichfield is the only

church now existing in England with this distinction. The cathedral at

Coventry, so long the sister church of the diocese, and so ruthlessly

destroyed by Henry VIII., had also three spires; as had Ripon Minster,

but these were of lead, and have since been pulled down.

Of the spires, one rises from the central tower and one surmounts each

of the towers which flank the west front. The central spire dates only

from the Restoration, the older spire having been entirely destroyed in

the Civil Wars. There is no doubt that the original spire was different

in appearance to the present one, which is an imitation of the western

spires, carried out in the spirit of the Perpendicular style. What the

earlier spire was really like is doubtful, neither is it quite certain

when it was built, though the central tower was probably rebuilt about

1250, when it is supposed that the intention was to retain the Norman

nave. What the height and pitch of the roof of the old Norman nave must

have been can be seen from the old housing course which remains to this

day above the nave groining. "It was the custom," as Mr J. O. Scott

explained in a lecture on the cathedral, "of old builders, as of modern

builders, to insert in any wall against which a roof abuts a projecting

course of stone, called a 'housing,' following the slope of the roof,

the object being to keep the wet from getting in between the roof and the

wall. And so when the central tower was rebuilt, there was the Norman

nave to which the new work had to be fitted. Hence, at this time the

builders inserted a 'housing course' of masonry into the west wall of

the new tower, to protect the junction of the old Norman nave roof from

the weather." These disused housing courses can constantly be seen in old

churches, sometimes several, one above the other, showing the changes in

the roofing of the church. The present spire is said vaguely to have been

erected from the designs or under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren;

but the tradition which connects this great modern architect with the

cathedral is very uncertain.

[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE MINSTER POOL.]

The two western spires were probably built in Bishop Norburgh's time, and

possibly were finished in the time of his successor; but the north-west

spire has been rebuilt from the belfry windows upwards in imitation of the

old work, but, like the central tower, in the Perpendicular manner. The

south-west or Jesus Tower, which is a little higher than the other,

has also had its two upper storeys rebuilt. The spires are octagonal,

and are divided into six compartments. In the western spires the four

lower compartments have windows of two lights each with acute crocketted

pediments. There are only four windows in the lowest compartment;

but in the second, third, and fourth compartments there is a window in

each face; the fifth is panelled between crocketted ribs, and the top

compartment is plain with small windows. All the spires are open all

the way up without any inside supports.

The central spire has the same number of compartments, with windows

in all of them except the top; but there are only four windows in

each compartment, facing north, east, west, and south. The top of the

central spire is about 252 feet from the floor, and of the western spire

about 193.

But if Lichfield's three spires are unique, so also is Lichfield's =West

Front=. It is not, of course, very large, and it is not indeed as large as

it might have been had the same means been employed here as were employed

at Wells, where an exaggerated idea of size is attained by placing

the towers outside the lines of the nave aisles. Here the two towers,

which form so important a part of the front, are in their lowest stage

merely part of the aisles, so that the whole width of the west front is

very little greater than the width of the nave itself. The west front of

Lichfield is noted for the richness of its decorations, covered as it

is with niches holding images and, it might almost be said, with every

available inch covered with decorative work. The whole has a most superb

effect, and at a distance, where the poverty of the modern workmanship

is not easily discerned, its appearance cannot be very different now to

that which it presented at the end of the fourteenth century. Once again

the niches are filled with statuary; but this work is nearly all new,

and it is by some considered doubtful if any of the original remained in

this century. It is, however, generally supposed, and not without good

reason, that the five old statues which form part of the highest row in

the north-west tower may have been original, and have escaped the general

destruction which followed the Puritan capture of the cathedral. Three

of the old statues are represented in the picture of the west front in

Britton's "Cathedral Antiquities"; and in the interesting picture in

Fuller's "Church History," published in 1655, the west front is shewn

with every niche filled; but there can be no doubt that this picture

must have been made before the siege, or else it must have been drawn

with the aid of memory from what remained afterwards.

This west front is flat, with octagonal turrets at each side, and consists

of two towers and a central part. The central part has a doorway, a large

window, and an acute pediment, the top point of the pediment being almost

on a level with the parapet of the towers where the spires commence. These

rise from between square pinnacles, enriched with feathered panels and

crockets at the angles of the towers. The front is in three stages; the

lowest stage contains the three doorways, and is surmounted by a very

elaborate arcading filled with statues of kings. The second is covered

with two storeys of arcading, and is divided into two parts by the large

west window, above which is the pediment. The third stage consists of

the upper part of the two towers; these are surmounted with parapets with

lozenge-shaped mouldings inclosing quatrefoil and trefoil panels. There

are windows to the belfry floors in this stage. Altogether, including

these two belfry windows, there are only three windows in this front;

this is unusual, as there are commonly windows at the west end of the

nave aisles.

It is not easy to give a clear description of this front, or any which

will convey its superb effect. As we see by the frontispiece, it is not

only thickly covered with arcading and statues, but also it is very much

enriched with trefoils, quatrefoils, and cinquefoils, especially in the

spaces over the doors in the lowest stage, and in the pediment above

the great window. The prevalence of the ball-flower decoration should

not escape notice; upon the third stage and the spires it constantly

occurs, although it is not encountered in the first and second stages,

except in the modern tracery of the west window. The ball-flower is

a fourteenth-century ornament: its constant use in the upper parts,

contrasted with its total absence in the lower parts, supplies a

very strong argument that a considerable time elapsed between the

construction of the two lower stages and the upper. The very careful

examination which took place when the whole front was lately restored

revealed the fact that work was not proceeded with continuously; and by

expert opinion the lowest stage is assigned to 1280, the next to 1300,

while the upper stages are still later; and perhaps the whole was not

completed until well on into the last half of the fourteenth century.

As has been stated before, the present appearance of the west front is

that of an entirely new building. In 1820 the front, which is said to

have been then in a very dilapidated condition, was covered with Roman

cement. So thoroughly was this done that the original stone facing only

showed on the eastern side of the north-west tower. Careful drawings of

the tracery there were made by Sir Gilbert Scott, and in 1877 the work

of reconstructing was commenced. It took seven years, and the new west

front was dedicated in 1884. Only five of the old statues remained, and

it was decided to restore the others. There are in all one hundred and

thirteen niches in the west front, including those on the north and south

faces of the side turrets; all but four are now filled, and about one

hundred are in view of any one standing facing the middle of the front.

The large =West Window= has undergone several changes in its tracery;

fortunately we have pictures showing all of them. In Fuller's "Church

History" the tracery, as shown in Hollar's engraving, appears to be

very simple. This tracery was all destroyed in the Civil Wars; and that

which replaced it at the Restoration was provided by James II., when

Duke of York, but it was so ugly and unsuitable to the whole spirit of

the cathedral that it was removed in 1869, and is now replaced by work

which, though greatly differing from the original, yet preserves the

spirit of fourteenth-century work. The Restoration window may be seen

in the beautiful engraving in Britton's "Cathedral Antiquities."

There also is an engraving of the great west door as it was in the

early part of the century, and before the Roman cement era of which

mention has just been made. This doorway, one of the most beautiful

in the country, has much in common with the "Prior's doorway" on the

south side of Lincoln Cathedral. As Britton says: "Both are peculiarly

rich and fanciful and calculated to excite the warmest admiration,"

but in his time the sculptured foliage and the figures running round the

architrave mouldings and between the columns were so much battered and

injured that it was almost impossible to tell the characters of some of

them. This doorway is a recessed porch, the outer arch, in line with the

main walls, being cusped and foliated with elaborate carving; the inner

portion is divided into two arches; the whole being most elaborately

decorated with carvings. The central clustered supports has a figure of

the Virgin and Child, and on either side of the doorway, standing on

clustered pillars beneath canopies, are figures of St. Mary Magdalene

(on the north) with the box of ointment, and on the south, Mary the wife

of Cleophas; farther forward on each side are vacant pedestals, and in

the front are St. John the Evangelist (on the north) and St. Paul (on the

south). Whether these were the characters originally represented is open

to doubt; Stukeley suggested that what was left in his time represented

the Virgin in the centre, and the four Evangelists with Moses and Aaron.

[Illustration: GREAT WEST DOORWAY IN 1813.]

The =bas-relief figures= in the architrave already mentioned have

been restored to represent the two genealogies of Christ as given by

St. Matthew and St. Luke, on the north and south sides respectively,

as follows:--

North side: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Boaz, Jesse, David, Virgin and Child.

South side: Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Judah, and St. Joseph; the

Virgin and St. Joseph being the two figures at the top of the arch.

There is a very beautiful fourteenth-century bas-relief above the central

pillar of the doorway, representing Our Lord in Glory, with an angel on

each side, having a serpent under his feet.

The doors are covered with fine iron work, which, with the exception of

that on the lowest panel, is supposed to be original.

[Illustration: THE GREAT WEST DOORWAY.]

The two side doorways in the west front are deeply recessed in three

orders with very finely-carved mouldings. These also have bas-relief

figures in the architraves. Those in the northern doorway represent the

principal princes and princesses who promoted Christianity in England,

while those in the southern doorway represent the leading early

missionaries to England.

In the northern doorway, on the north side, are Ethelbert, Edwin, Oswald,

Oswy, Peada, Wulphere; and on the south side, Bertha, Ethelburga, Hilda,

Eanfled, Ermenilda, Werburga.

In the southern doorway, on the north side, are St. Aidan, Finan, Diuma,

Ceollach, Trumhere, Jaruman; and on the south side, Gregory, Augustine,

Paulinus, Theodore, Cuthbert, Wilfrid.

The corbels of the arches of these two doorways are interesting. Those

of the north-west doorway represent Night on one side and the Morning

Star on the other. The former is a female face with a reversed torch,

and the Greek word NYX for night; the latter is a beautiful boy's face

with a burning torch.

Those on the south-west doorway are a blindfolded face and an open face,

representing the Law and the Gospel respectively.

Up to the time of the recent restoration a large statue of Charles

II., who, by gifts of money and also of timber from Needham Forest,

helped Bishop Hacket in the general repair after the Civil Wars,

occupied the principal canopy in the middle of the central gable of

the west front. This statue was the work of a certain stone-mason named

William Wilson, who, by marrying a rich widow, "arrived at knighthood" in

1681. The statue, which certainly was not a work of art from all account

of it, was taken down, and the pedestal is now occupied by a figure

of Our Lord. The two other large canopied niches in the gable being

filled with statues of Moses and Elijah, on the north and south sides

respectively; while the four smaller statues represent, on the north,

St. Gabriel, with St. Uriel underneath; and on the south, St. Michael,

with St. Raphael below.

In giving the list of the statuary on the west front, which now follows,

it is only necessary to say that there is no pretence that the characters

now chosen were those originally represented. All that could be done in

filling the niches was to study the plan of other similar facades, such

as that at Wells, and to imitate the general idea. Tradition, however,

had it that the long row of figures in the top of the lowest stage

represented the Saxon and English kings, with St. Chad in the centre,

and the tradition has been respected.

[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN DOORWAY OF THE WEST FRONT.]

The following is a list of all the statues not already mentioned on

the west front, including these on the north and south faces of the

flanking turrets. The statues are enumerated in rows from the north side

to the south.

On the northern tower the highest tier commences round the corner with

two of the old figures already mentioned, then Aaron, Samuel, Hannah,

another old figure, Deborah, Rachel, another old figure, Sarah, another

old figure, and Eve.

On the southern tower the highest tier commences with Adam, Abel, Abraham,

Isaac, Jacob, Melchisedec, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Daniel, Job, and Shem

(these two last being, of course, round the corner on the south side).

Taking next the two rows on the northern tower to the north of the great

west window, there are in the higher row, St. Editha, David, St. Helena,

Solomon, St. Gabriel, Zechariah, Nahum, Amos, Jeremiah; and in the lower

row, Dean Bickersteth, St. Mark, Queen Victoria, St. Luke, St. Uriel,

Malachi, Habakkuk, Obadiah, Daniel (Jeremiah being just above Daniel,

by the window).

Taking next the two rows on the southern tower to the south of the

great west window, there are in the higher row, Isaiah, Hosea, Jonah,

Zephaniah, St. Michael, Bishop Hacket, Bishop Lonsdale, Bishop Selwyn

(the niche round the corner is vacant), and in the lower row, Ezekiel,

Joel, Micah, Haggai, St. Raphael, Bishop Clinton, Bishop Patteshall,

Bishop Langton (the niche round the corner is vacant).

Next again below is the long row of kings with St. Chad in the centre

stretching right across the cathedral, the pre-Conquest kings on the south

side of St. Chad, the post-Conquest on the north, as follows:--William the

Conqueror, William Rufus, Henry I., Stephen, Henry II., Richard I., John,

Henry III., Edward I., Edward II., Edward III., Richard II., St. Chad,

Peada, Wulphere, Ethelred, Offa, Egbert, Ethelwolf, Ethelbert, Ethelred,

Alfred, Edgar, Canute, Edward the Confessor.

Lastly, there is the lowest row, which is broken three times by the doors;

these are St. Cyprian, St. Bartholomew, St. Simon, St. James the Less,

St. Thomas (then the northern door), St. Philip, St. Andrew (then the

central door with its seven niches and five statues already described),

St. Paul, St. Matthew (then the southern door), St. James the Greater,

St. Jude, St. Stephen, St. Clement, St. Werburga.

There is also a small figure of St. Antony over the belfry window on

the south side.

[Illustration: A BAY OF THE NAVE--EXTERIOR.]

A tour of the cathedral, starting by the north side, leads past the nave

with its buttresses and flying-buttresses looking picturesque in their

unrestored state, and there can be seen outside the seventh bay of the

nave the remains of the entrance to Dean Yotton's chantry. Coming to the

front of the north transept, it will be noticed that the doorway has steps

inside leading down into the cathedral, while on the opposite side it will

be found that the steps lead from the south door down outside; the level

of the ground on the two sides of the cathedral being very different.

=The North Doorway= is extremely fine, and is deeply recessed. Like the

other two main doorways of the cathedral,--that at the west end and that

in the south transept--this doorway is double, the main arch being divided

into two. The archivolts of these are lancet-shaped and covered with

foliage, but not foliated as in the west door. Outside the double-arched

doorway proper, the architrave is divided into five principal and

several smaller mouldings; the larger ones being very finely carved,

as to two, the second and fourth, with inter-twisted foliage and scroll

work; and as to the other three, the inner, middle, and outer, with small

lozenge-shaped plaques containing bas-relief figures. These figures in the

inner moulding are angels, in the middle one probably they are patriarchs

and prophets. In the outer one, on the left or eastern side, the figures

show the genealogy of Christ, beginning with Jesse at the springing

stone, and ending with the Virgin and Child near the crown; while on the

right-hand side, opposite Jesse, is the figure of St. Chad baptising

the sons of King Wulphere, and above, the Apostles from St. Matthias to

St. Peter at the crown. The whole architrave is surmounted by a weather

moulding in the form of a gable, with a recently executed cross in the

style of the thirteenth century at the top. The pillars on each side

of the doorway have finely carved capitals, and the outer pillars are

separated by lines of dog-toothing. The central pillar is very graceful,

and consists of four slender shafts with carved capitals. The whole forms

a magnificent example of a doorway in the Early English style, but showing

signs of its derivation from the Norman. There is a niche in the tympanum

which was apparently in Britton's time empty; but it must soon after have

been filled with an image of St. Anne in Roman cement; this has recently

been replaced by a statue of the same saint by Mr W. R. Ingram, while

above some Roman cement work in the top of the gable has been removed,

and a vesica containing a bas-relief of Our Lord in Glory by Mr Bridgeman

reproduces no doubt the original architect's idea. The doorway, though

it has been considerably restored, was not so much injured as a great

deal of the rest of the cathedral, and so contains some very charming

carving of the thirteenth century. There are two figures in Roman cement,

one on each side of the doorway, representing St. Jude with a scroll,

and St. James the Less with a club. No doubt these will both disappear

before long, and their place be filled with modern statues.

[Illustration: THE NORTH ENTRANCE IN 1813.]

Passing by the somewhat plain octagonal chapter-house, where we may

perhaps wonder whether the small niches in the top of the buttresses

which stick up like little turrets ever contained images, we come to

the side of the choir and presbytery, which has not yet been restored,

and then to the Lady Chapel.

[Illustration: A BAY OF THE CHOIR--EXTERIOR.]

The outside of the =Lady Chapel= has recently been very much altered;

and the old buttresses, which but the other day were as left by Bishop

Langton, with only the hand of decay showing on them, are now gone,

and in their place are brand new buttresses, with brand new niches and

saints. Those in the top row are the holy women of the Old Testament,

while below them are the holy women of the New Testament. The lower

row represent Priscilla, Anna, Dorcas, Mary, Martha, Lydia, Phoebe and

Elizabeth; and above are Esther, Ruth, Naomi, Rizpah, Deborah, Miriam,

Rachel, and Rebecca.

On the south side of the Lady Chapel are the curious chapels--known as

the mortuary chapels--with their gabled fronts lying in the three spaces

between the buttresses. These are more fully described in their place

in the next chapter.

From this end of the cathedral can be well seen the arcaded parapet

with its battlements, which runs round the top of the eastern half of

the building and of the transepts, also the turrets of the sacristry

with their high crocketted pinnacles; from here, too, can be seen, what

Professor Willis draws attention to, "that the rebuilt clerestory of the

western part of the choir betrays by the lighter colour of its stone that

it was a work subsequent to the eastern part." On one of the buttresses

of the choir on this side is an ancient image of a female figure, but

it is too much decayed to afford any clue to the character represented,

though it remains a very charming instance of Gothic sculpture. On the

east corner of the sacristry there is a modern figure of Godefroi de

Bouillon, and at the other corner is a figure of St. Chad.

[Illustration: DOORWAY OF SOUTH TRANSEPT BEFORE THE LAST RESTORATION.]

In the gable of the =South Transept= is a very beautiful rose window,

which is hidden by the stone groining from the inside. Mr J. O. Scott,

in a lecture already referred to, declared that "this rose window is so

high up in the gable that it never could have been combined with any

stone groining. But, by referring to York Minster, between which and

Lichfield many curious parallels may be traced, it is seen at once how

a rose window in this position may be brought into the general design.

This is effected by using a particular kind of wooden groining, the

part of which nearest to the gable wall is lifted up so as to exhibit

the window from within the building."

The large doorway in the south transept, which as seen from the outside

is at the top of a flight of steps, very much resembles the doorway on

the north side, but the carving is not so fine; it has been very much

restored, and three shields have been in comparatively recent times carved

in the tympanum. The shields show the arms of the see, of Bishop Lloyd,

and Dean Addison, thus declaring this to have been done about 1700.

To the right of this doorway, outside the southern end of the transept

aisle, is an ancient monument, probably of an archdeacon. A carved figure

lies in a recess surmounted by a stone canopy.

The large heavy buttresses which disfigure the outside of this transept

were the work of Wyatt at the end of the last century. The outside of

the nave on this side presents a very different appearance to the other

side. Here everything is new and uninteresting. The entrance to the bell

tower is on this side, and a winding stair leads to the belfry stage.

There are ten =Bells=, seven of which date from about 1687, and are

therefore of the same age as the bishop's palace. In that year Hacket's

six bells, which can only have been hanging some sixteen or seventeen

years, were found to be useless, and a subscription was raised to replace

them with a peal of ten. There is a letter from the dean and chapter

to Elias Ashmole, in which it is stated that Henry Bagley of Ecton,

the bell-founder, had "so over-sized the eight bells he had cast, that

they had swallowed up all the metal for the ten," and that eighty pounds

more would be required, but that they did not regret the mistake as it

"would make extremely for the advantage and glory of the cathedral (the

bigness of such a ring far more befitting the place)." Only seven of

these bells are now in use; the other three are by Rudhall of Gloucester

and Mears of London. In 1748 the belfry caught fire and the ninth bell

cracked with the heat, but it was recast in the same year, and since

then there has been no change.

The story of the earliest cathedral bells is lost. It was usual in

early days to hang the bells in a separate tower somewhere in the

cathedral precincts. Here, we know that in 1315 the bell tower was burnt

down,--"Combustum fuit campanile cum campanis in clauso Lichfeldensi." The

site of this tower was lately discovered in the bishop's garden. Dean

Heywood, in 1477, gave a large bell to the cathedral--it was known as

the Jesus Bell; the gift is mentioned in the _Cantaria Sancti Blasii_,

where the cost is stated to be one hundred pounds. The bell bore this

inscription:--

_"I am the bell of Jesus, and Edward is our king,_

_Sir Thomas Heywood first caused me to ring."_

This bell was hung in the south-west tower, which thus came to be called

the Jesus-Bell Tower. The bell was destroyed during the Civil Wars. An

ancient writer quoted by Shaw, after detailing the terrible fates

of those who took part against religious houses and churches, says:

"Nor shall I relate what happened to one, Pickins, a pewterer, who on

July 26, 1653, knoct in pieces the fair bell called Jesus, at Lichfield,

he being the chief officer appointed for demolishing that cathedral."

There was also a bell called the "Clocke Bell," which was hung in the

lowest storey of the Jesus spire. It is shown in the south view given

in Fuller's "Church History," and particular attention is there directed

to it. The clock bell and all the others are now hung in the top storey

of the tower.

There is also a small bell in the great central tower called "the

Tantony": it formerly belonged to the Dyott family.

In the south-west tower is also the new =Clock,= which was put up in

1890. The face is underneath, in the west end of the south aisle of the

nave; there is no outside face. The well-known Cambridge quarter chimes

can, it is said, be heard at a distance of three miles.

In the green grass of the close are many tombstones, and round about

the cathedral stone coffins have been dug up; on the north side of the

choir is the traditional burying-place of two Mercian kings.

CHAPTER III

THE INTERIOR

Lichfield is one of the smallest cathedrals in England. In length it only

measures 370 feet from the inside of the west door to the extreme end of

the inside of the Lady Chapel, while the interior of the nave, with its

aisles, is only a little more than 68 feet wide; and yet its smallness

is not the first fact that will strike the visitor on entering the west

door: rather, on the other hand, its immense length in proportion to its

height and width will be noticed, but probably all other feelings will

be forgotten in the beauty of the vista that lies before him. The long

line of arches and the long low roof, with its almost countless bosses,

lead the eye down to the Lady Chapel, where a mass of blue and red shows

that the cathedral has some of the most beautiful glass in the kingdom.

The orientation of the nave and choir are not the same--the choir and

Lady Chapel being considerably inclined to the north. Many have been the

theories raised by the curious discoveries made as to the deflections

of various parts of this cathedral. They are too numerous to quote here,

and it will be sufficient to note that the total deflection of the east

end from the true east is about ten degrees.

[Illustration: A BAY OF THE NAVE--INTERIOR.]

=The Nave.=--The view of the interior of the cathedral from the inside

of the west door is, as we have said, extremely beautiful. This beauty

is much enhanced by the general appearance of unity in the whole

design. There seems to be no mixture of styles, and though a closer

examination of the details of the interior shows that there is a very

marked difference between the style in which the nave is built and that

which was in vogue when the Lady Chapel and presbytery were erected;

yet the whole, having been built at a time when the Early English style

was giving place gradually to the Decorated, or, in the more eastern

portion, when that later style was well established, the general effect of

the cathedral, seen from this aspect, is one of unity. The exact date of

the nave cannot be determined, and there is no direct evidence on which

to base a theory; but it is very clear, from a comparison of its style

with that of churches whose history is known, that it must have been

commenced and carried to a speedy conclusion about the middle of the

thirteenth century. Professor Willis gives the date as 1250, and other

archaeologists at various dates between that and 1280. There is no doubt,

at any rate, that it was built at the transitional period of the Early

English style, and it would be described by some as belonging to the

Early Decorated period, and by others as belonging to the geometrical

period of the Decorated style. The nave, including the western front,

consists of eight bays, having aisles on the north and south sides,

with the same number of bays; but the spaces underneath the two western

towers are considerably larger than the other aisle bays, though not

large enough to be looked upon as western transepts, as is possible in

some churches where there is a similar arrangement. Many writers have

complained of the insufficient height of the nave, and that the general

effect is thereby spoilt, and to a very limited extent this may be true.

Probably the nave roof was at one time of much higher pitch; the course

on the outside of the great tower suggests it, as also does the fact

that the great west window runs into the roof. Probably the roof was

lowered when the presbytery was built, and the whole roofing of the

cathedral brought down to the same level.

[Illustration: A BAY OF THE CHOIR--INTERIOR.]

The piers are large, and consist of clustered shafts, lozenge-shaped in

plan, set on much moulded bases, and having beautifully carved foliated

capitals from which spring architrave mouldings of great variety.

From the base and up the centre of each pier runs a cluster of three

fine columns to capitals, also foliated, at the top of the triforium;

from these spring five vaulting ribs, three of which diverge to an

ornamental central rib, and two to a small similarly decorated transverse

rib. There are finely carved bosses at the intersection of all the various

ribs. The top of each arch touches the string course, above which is

the beautiful triforium. This consists of a row of double arches, each

arch being sub-divided into two lights with geometrical tracery above.

The mouldings are highly decorated with dog-toothing, and the string

course between the triforium and the clerestory, as well as the moulding

enclosing the clerestory windows, has this same ornament, which is

freely used and produces a very rich effect. The clerestory windows

are spherical triangles enclosing three circles with quatrefoil cusps;

the form of these windows is somewhat rare, but similar windows are to

be seen at Westminster, Hereford, Carlisle, and York. The spandrels of

most of the pier arches are ornamented with a large circle with five

cusps, across which the vault shafts pass; this decoration will be seen

again in the choir. A notable feature in these bays is the size of the

triforium in proportion to the size of the pier arches and clerestory;

this gives it unusual importance in the general scheme. At Lincoln, where

there is a similar triforium, a very different effect is produced by its

comparative smallness. The open tracery here is very much like that in

Westminster Abbey. It will be seen that the dripstones of the arches and

windows terminate in small sculptured heads: a usual arrangement at this

period. It may be added that the beautiful capitals have scarcely been

restored at all; so little damage had been done to them, that when the

whitewash was removed during the recent restorations, they were found to

have been hardly touched either by decay, Puritans, or previous restorers.

[Illustration: THE NAVE IN 1813.]

[Illustration: THE NAVE, LOOKING EAST.]

The roof of the nave was greatly damaged at the time of the Civil

Wars--indeed, it has been said that the central spire, in its fall,

completely smashed it in; but this is probably not the case, as the spire

almost certainly fell on the other side of the tower. Still, it is not

difficult, after reading an account of the siege, to understand that the

roof would be much injured. About a century after its repair by Bishop

Hacket, it was found that the great weight of the stone groining was

forcing out the clerestory walls, already much weakened by rough usage,

and, in consequence, Wyatt removed the stone work in several bays,

and replaced it with lath and plaster work made to imitate the rest

of the roofing. Sir Gilbert Scott was urged to restore the old stone

vaulting, but he decided that without great structural alterations,

principally to the buttresses, which he did not feel justified in

making, this could not be done. The vaulting has been coloured so that

the difference between the stone compartments--the most eastern and the

two western ones--and the plaster compartments might not be noticed;

it will easily be seen how much the clerestory walls have been thrust

out. It is also interesting to note that at about the same time Wyatt

restored the roof of the aisles to its old pitch. Originally, as now,

the aisle roof ascended so as to reach to just below the clerestory

windows. In Hollar's picture the upper portion of the triforium windows

can be seen, so that they must have become practically a portion of the

clerestory during this time. Investigation of the windows themselves

proves that they have been glazed, and this confirms what otherwise,

considering the great inexactness of the pictures of the period, could not

be inferred with certainty. There is a view of the cathedral as late as

1781 showing this arrangement; but in Jackson's "History of Lichfield,"

1796, the aisle roof hides the whole of the triforium as at present.

The windows of the aisles agree well with the other windows of the nave,

and have three lights with trefoiled circles in the head, while below

the windows is an arcade resting on a bench, the arches of which are

surmounted with pediments richly carved. There are six of these arches in

each bay, and between the bays rise triple vaulting shafts with carved

capitals of leafage; from these spring three ribs running to a central

rib on which are beautiful bosses like those in the nave.

[Illustration: THE NAVE, LOOKING WEST.]

=The Great West Window.=--The tracery of this window has already been

discussed in the description of the exterior. The present glass was

placed there in 1869, to the memory of Canon Hutchinson, who, perhaps,

of all was most eager for the restoration of the cathedral, and to whose

untiring energy, it is said, is due the wholesale renovation of the

interior by Sir Gilbert Scott. This window was the result of a public

subscription, and is the work of Messrs Clayton & Bell. The six large

figures represent St. Michael, St. Joseph, St. Mary, and the Three Magi,

while underneath are small pictures of the Annunciation, the Angel warning

Joseph, the Nativity, the Journey of the Magi, the Magi inquire of Herod,

and the Flight into Egypt. As to the previous glass in this window, there

seems to be no record of that which must have decorated it before the

Civil Wars. In Shaw's "History of Staffordshire," there are long lists

of the glass to be found in the cathedral; but it is difficult to decide

which window is being described. After the Restoration, we have in a

Bodleian MS. the following record:--"Oct. 6, 1671. Arms in the Great West

Window, Arms of King Charles the Second, Crest and Supporters; Arms of

James Duke of York, his brother, Crest and Supporters. And beneath them,

_Serenissimus princeps Jacobus dux Ebor hanc fenestram. F.F._" Britton

says it was afterwards filled with painted glass, the work of Brookes,

by the legacy of Dr Addenbroke, who died dean of this cathedral in 1776.

Over the great west door in the inside of the cathedral was

formerly inscribed:--

_Oswyus est Lichfield fundator, sed reparator_

_Offa fuit; regum fama perennis erit:_

_Rex Stephanus, rex Heniricus primusque Richardus,_

_Rex et Johannis, plurima dona dabant._

_Pene haec millenos ecclesia floruit annos,_

_Duret ad extremum nobilis usque diem,_

_Daque deus longum, ut floreat hae sacra aedes_

_Et celebret nomen plebs ibi sancta tuum._

_Fundata est ecclesia Merciencis_

_Quae nunc Lichfieldia dicitur_

_Facta Cathedralis_

_Anno Domini_

_DCLVII_

Dugdale, in his "Visitation of Staffordshire," gives us this inscription.

It has long since disappeared. Pennant mentions a curious or, as he calls

it, "droll" epitaph on the floor near the west door, but there is no sign

of it now:--"_William Roberts of Overbury, some time malster in this town

(tells you) for the love I bore to choir service, I chose to be buried

in this place._ He died Decr. 16th, 1768."

From a MS. quoted by Shaw we learn that before the Great War "on a fair

marble gravestone, placed on the right-hand at the entrance into the

choir, is this inscription on a brass plate:--

"_Here lyeth George Bullen lat dean of this church who made his own

epitaph--viz._,

_Lo here in earth my body lyes,_

_Whose sinfull lyfe deserves the rod:_

_Yet I believe the same shall rise,_

_And praise the mercies of my God._

_As for my soule let none take thought,_

_It is with him that hath it bought;_

_For God on me doth mercy take_

_For nothing else but Jhesus sake._"

Bullen or Boleyn was dean during the greater part of the reign of

Elizabeth, who offered him the bishopric of Worcester, which he

refused. Elizabeth, it will be remembered, was the daughter of Anne

Boleyn, whose kinsman the dean was.

=The Font= stands between the first and second pillars from the west

door on the north side of the nave. It is quite modern, and is the gift

of the Honourable Mrs Henry Howard, widow of the late dean. It is made

of alabaster and Caen stone, and is supported on marble pillars. There

are four sculptured panels in relief, representing--"The Entry into

the Ark," "The Passage of the Red Sea," "The Baptism of our Lord," and

"The Resurrection." Between these there are niches containing figures

of St. Mary, St. Peter, St. Chad, and St. Helen.

A curious old font was discovered in 1856 immediately under the place

where the present altar stands. It was very simple in form, being about

a yard and a half square and two feet thick, with a hemispherical cavity

in it. It had been coloured bright red, and was much cracked, as though

it had been subjected to intense heat. How it came where it was is not

known. It may have been discarded as rubbish or hidden as a relic.

=The Pulpit= is in the nave, and is fixed to the north-western pier of the

tower. Its design and execution were by Sir Gilbert Scott and Mr Skidmore

respectively, who were also responsible for the choir screen. The pulpit

is of wrought-iron, brass, copper, enamels, and marble. In the middle

there is a bronze group representing St. Peter preaching on the Day

of Pentecost. There are stairs on each side of the pulpit. The brass

=Lectern= is also modern, and is in the usual form of an eagle. It was

presented by the members of the Lichfield Theological College, and was

executed by Mr Hardman of Birmingham. The =Litany Desk= is by Messrs

Rattee & Kett of Cambridge, the well-known carvers; and the =Bishop's

Chair=, which stands under the great tower, was presented by the clergy

of Derbyshire when that county was transferred from this diocese to the

new diocese of Southwell. The chair is not of striking beauty.

[Illustration: NORTH AISLE OF NAVE, LOOKING EAST.]

In the North Aisle of the Nave there are several monuments and some

modern glass. The window in the north-west tower has recently been

adorned with glass to the memory of Bishop Lonsdale, under whom the

recent restoration commenced. The subject is "The Presentation of Christ

in the Temple," and it is the work of Messrs Burlison & Grylls. Close to

this is a tablet, originally placed in the north transept by order of Ann

Seward, who had considerable fame as a poetess in the last century, to

the memory of her father, Canon Seward, his wife and daughter Sarah. It

also commemorates her own death. The lines are by Sir Walter Scott,

but it is impossible to be enthusiastic over them. They end--

"_Honour'd beloved, and mourn'd here Seward lies;_

_Her worth, her warmth of heart, our sorrows say,--_

_Go seek her genius in her living lay._"

There is a representation of the poetess mourning her dead relatives,

while her harp is hanging neglected on a tree. On the other side is

a memorial tablet to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who was a native of

Lichfield. In these days of anti-vaccination agitations it is interesting

to read the inscription which runs:--

"_The Right Honourable Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who happily

introduced from Turkey into this country the Salutary Art of

inoculating the Smallpox. Convinced of its efficacy, she first

tried it with success on her own children, and then recommended

the practice of it to her fellow-citizens. Thus, by her example

and advice, we have softened the Virulence and escaped the

danger of this Malignant Disease. To perpetuate the memory of

such benevolence, and to express the gratitude for the benefit

she hereby has received from this Alleviating Art, this Monument

is erected by Henrietta Inge, Relict of Theodore William Inge,

Esq., and Daughter of Sir John Wrotesley, Baronet. In the year

of Our Lord, 1789._"

Close at hand is a tablet in memory of Mr Gilbert Walmesley, who

was registrar of the diocese, and an early and close friend of Dr

Johnson. Of him the latter wrote, in his life of Edmund Smith (one of

the well-known "Lives of the Poets"), that passage which contains the

celebrated sentence about David Garrick so often quoted. Speaking of

Gilbert Walmesley, he says that he is "not able to name a man of equal

knowledge. His acquaintance with books was great; such was his amplitude

of learning, and such his copiousness of communication, that it may be

doubted whether a day now passes in which I have not some advantage

from his friendship. At this man's table I enjoyed many cheerful and

instructive hours with companions such as are not often found; with

one who has lengthened, and one who has gladdened life; with Dr James,

whose skill in physic will be long remembered, and with David Garrick,

whose death has eclipsed the gaiety of nations, and impoverished the

public stock of harmless pleasure."

There are other monuments in this aisle, but they are scarcely of such

general interest. Here are tablets in memory of Jane and Catherine Jervis

and of Elizabeth and Arabella Buchanan. There is a stained glass window

by Messrs Burlison & Grylls containing three large figures of Joshua,

St. Michael, and the Centurion, with, underneath, pictures of the Angel

appearing to Joshua, the Centurion at the Cross, and the Centurion coming

to Our Lord; above, in the tracery of the window, are angels. This window

was the gift of the officers of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment;

on one side are their Peninsular, and on the other their Crimean colours,

which the dean and chapter received from the regiment with much ceremony

in 1886 and 1887 respectively. Beneath the window is a brass in memory

of those members of the regiment who died in the Peninsula, first Burmah,

Crimean, and Egyptian (1882) wars, and the Indian Mutiny. There are also

brasses to Lieutenant-Colonels Sinclair and Eyre and the officers and

men of this regiment who fell in the first Soudan war, and also brasses

to Colonel Bromley Davenport and Sir Arthur Scott, Bart. Here, too, is a

window in memory of Canon Madan, his wife and children: the subject being

Faith, Hope, and Charity. In the window next the transept is some quite

new glass in memory of Canon Curteis, the large figures representing

Samuel, St. Paul, and Origen, while below are Samuel teaching the Sons

of the Prophets, St. Paul saying farewell to the Elders at Miletus,

and St. Catherine and the Philosophers of Alexandria.

The famous Dr Stukeley, writing about 1715, says: "As you walk down the

north aisle, by a little doorway, formerly a chapel, where lay several

figures now demolished, yet one remains, who was dean Yotton, his coat

of arms at his head and Yot with a tun by it which shows his name." The

only remaining sign of this chapel is the entrance, which can be plainly

seen from the outside of the cathedral.

In the =South Aisle of the Nave=, at the west end, there is a monument

to Dean Addison, the father of the great essayist and poet; he died in

1703. His memorial slab is now under the Jesus Tower, but formerly it was

on the north of the west door. The glass in the window of the tower is

in memory of Dean Howard, during whose time as dean so much of the work

of restoration was done, and who so munificently aided the work. This

glass, which is by Messrs Burlison & Grylls, represents St. Michael and

the Dragon, and St. Chad. The other glass on this side is the window of

the fifth bay, by Messrs Clayton & Bell, the subjects being Our Lord and

Lazarus, Our Lord and Mary and Martha, and Mary Magdalene washing Our

Lord's feet; in the next bay the glass, by Messrs Ward & Hughes, shows

Faith, Hope, and Charity; in the seventh bay the glass is by Messrs

Clayton & Bell, and has David and Goliath for its subject, and is in

memory of the officers of the 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment who fell

in the Indian Mutiny. There is in the eighth bay a window by Hardman in

memory of Helen, wife of Josiah Spode. Between the aisle and the nave

there is a brass in the floor in memory of the late Earl of Lichfield,

placed there in 1854. There are several other modern brasses and tablets.

In this aisle are two of the three semi-effigies to be seen in the

cathedral. These show only the heads and the feet. Britton says: "They

are said to represent two old canons of the church; and are evidently

of ancient date, as they appear to have been placed in the present

situation at the time of building or finishing the nave." One of these

is in a better state of preservation than the other, and shows in the

drapery the remains of colour.

=The Transepts= are earlier than the nave in style, having been built in

the beginning of the thirteenth century: the south transept first, and

then the north. It must have been for these transepts that Henry III.,

in 1235 and 1238, granted licences to the dean and chapter of Lichfield

to dig stone from the royal forest of Hopwas for the new fabric of the

church of Lichfield. Whether these ecclesiastics did more harm than the

king liked in digging on the first occasion cannot be said, but on the

second occasion they are permitted "fodere petram ad fabricam ecclesiae

suae de Lichefeld in quarrera de Hopwas; ita tamen quod hoc fiat sine

detrimento forestae nostrae"--that is to say, they were to do as little

damage as possible.

[Illustration: ARCADE, WITH SEMI-EFFIGY, IN SOUTH AISLE.]

The transepts have three bays each, with eastern aisles, the aisle

belonging to the north transept being very much the larger. There can

be no doubt that when the Norman transepts were standing there were

no aisles; nor were any contemplated when the choir was built, for, as

Professor Willis says: "The side walls of the choir are continued to the

transepts, and had windows in the part looking into the present transept

aisles. Probably when the choir was built Norman transepts were standing,

and had each an apsidal chapel looking east in the usual manner."

The history of the roof is extremely interesting. We know that "in

1243 King Henry III. issued a commission to Walter Grey, Archbishop

of York, to expedite the works at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, in

which he orders a lofty wooden roof, like the roof of the new work at

Lichfield, to appear like stone work, with good ceiling (_celatura?_) and

painting. The transepts of Lichfield have now stone vaults, considerably

later than the walls, and, therefore, may have had a wooden vault at

first. The date would suit the transepts better than the choir, and it

may be remarked that the early abacus of the vault shaft (at least, in

the south transept) is surmounted by a second abacus in the Perpendicular

style, which shows the later construction of the springing stones of the

present stone vault." The low stone vaulting has destroyed the effect

which the original windows in the north and south ends of the transepts

must have produced. At the south end was probably a large five-light

Early English window, surmounted by a rose window. The rose window still

remains, but, being above the present groining, cannot be seen from inside

the cathedral; the five lights are replaced by a nine-light obtuse-headed

window, which seems much too large for the transept; and this effect is

increased by the extreme whiteness and transparency of its glass. At the

north end, the five-light window is surmounted with three small lights,

but these last again are hidden in the roof.

[Illustration: DETAIL OF A SEMI-EFFIGY.]

The windows in the transepts have seen many changes, and are now mostly

in the Perpendicular manner, the exceptions being in the west wall of the

south transept, and the north window just referred to. Until 1892 this

was a large Perpendicular window--which, though early, and prior to the

Civil War, was a manifest intrusion on the space originally occupied

by an Early English window. The old design, which is not unlike that

of the famous window at York, has again taken its place. Canon Lonsdale

says that this change is "in every sense a restoration: for, on taking

out the Perpendicular window, and removing such of the stone work as was

defective on either side, the headings of the five Early English lights,

which had unquestionably composed the original window, were discovered,

hidden away by the later workmen. The cusps, or headings, of the lights,

as they are now seen from the inside, are, with the exception of six

stones, the very identical material which the Early English builders

carved, and placed in that spot. Of these six missing stones, three have

since been discovered during the work going on in the south transept."

There can be no doubt that some of the Perpendicular work in the cathedral

is due to the general repair at the Restoration; but Professor Willis

declares that many of the changes are earlier, and that they were

perhaps effected in the time between Bishops Heyworth and Blythe,

1420 to 1503. The engravings of Hollar, already referred to, were

published before 1660, and show Perpendicular windows in the gable of

the south transept and in the clerestory; and though from these pictures

nothing can be gleaned about the north transept, the character of the

Perpendicular work was such that it also, as has just been stated,

must have been prior to the Rebellion. It is possible, on the outside

western face of the north transept, to trace the old lancet windows,

which must have been arranged in groups of three, while the lower windows

on the west side of the south transept are still in their old form,

though on this side there are only two lancets to each bay. It may

be mentioned here that underneath these last windows, on the outside,

there is an arcading with simple pointed arches which does not appear on

the other transept. Inside the arcading differs in the two transepts;

in the south and older one the pointed arches are plain, while on the

north they are cusped. This arcading is almost entirely new; what there

was of it until recently was principally of plaster.

From the ground plan of this cathedral published by Browne Willis in 1727,

we see that the whole of the aisle of the north transept is described as

"The Bishop's Consistory Court and St. Stephen's Chapel," while the aisle

of the south transept is divided into two parts, the southern being called

"The Dean's Consistory Court," the northern "The Vicar's Vestry." St.

Stephen's Chapel was in the inner bay of the aisle; and it has been

suggested that "the chantry of St. Anne and the image of Jesus" was in

the rood loft of the same transept.

In the =North Transept= are many memorial tablets, but it cannot

be said that they are of general interest either from their beauty,

age, or on account of the eminence of the persons commemorated. On

the west side of the steps down from the north door is the curious

monument to Dean Heywood, who died in 1492, and whose benefactions are

mentioned in their proper places. The monument is sadly decayed, but

there is a print of it in Shaw's "Staffordshire," taken, says Britton,

from Dugdale's "Visitation." From this we know that the upper part is

now missing; the lower part, which remains, shows the skeleton of the

dean--his body after death--while above was his representation in full

canonical costume. Similar monuments may be seen at St. John's College,

Cambridge, in the chapel, and at Exeter and Lincoln Cathedrals. On the

other side of the door is a large modern monument to Archdeacon Iles,

who died in 1888: the figure is recumbent. Above the door is a marble

tablet to Dean Woodhouse; he gave the glass--now in the Guildhall--which

filled the Perpendicular window recently replaced by the present Early

English window. The new glass, and indeed the new window, was given by

Mr James Chadwick of Hints Hall, near Tamworth; it is known as the Jesse

window, and gives the genealogy of our Lord according to St. Matthew. The

figures beginning from the west side represent (1) Achaz, Asa, Abia; (2)

Ezekias, Solomon, Roboam; (3) the Virgin Mary and Child, Salathiel, David,

Jesse; (4) Josias, Josaphat, Joram; (5) Manasses, Joatham, Ozias; with

angels in the four side lights. The inscription under the window says:

"Hanccine fenestram Jacobus Chadwick de vico Hints reficiendam vitroque

picto ornandam impensis suis curavit. A.D. MDCCCXCIII." Messrs Clayton &

Bell are responsible for this window.

The whole of the aisle of this transept is taken up with the organ,

in front of which a metal screen or gryll was placed in 1881 by the

officers and men of the 80th Regiment, in memory of their comrades who

fell in the Zulu War. The screen is ornamented with imitations of Zulu

shields and assegais. There are many tablets in this aisle, but they

are entirely hidden by the organ.

=The Organ= was presented by Mr Spode of Hawkesyard Park, near Lichfield,

in 1860, and was first used at the reopening in 1861; in 1884 it

needed repair, and was then very much enlarged by Messrs Hill & Son,

the well-known organ-builders of London, the expense being defrayed

by voluntary subscriptions. It was dedicated, at the same time as the

restored west front, in the presence of a vast concourse of people,

on May 29th, 1884. The console of the organ is now behind the stalls

in the first bay of the south aisle of the choir. It is interesting to

learn from Canon Lonsdale that, when it was found necessary to build

an engine-house in the close to supply motive power to the organ, in

digging out the chamber, somewhat to the east of the steps leading to

the north door, two or three cannon balls and the remains of a shell

were unearthed at a short distance from the surface.