HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL
The present cathedral building was begun in 1195, on the site of the church constructed to house St Chad’s relics approximately 500 years earlier. Built from the red sandstone on which Lichfield stands, it is 370ft (113m) long, and the central nave, lined by elegant columns, is 68ft (21m) wide. It is the only medieval cathedral in Britain with three spires, known locally as the Ladies of the Vale. St Chad’s shrine was destroyed during the Reformation, but visitors can see a virtual image based on descriptions from 1445. The cathedral also suffered serious damage during the Civil War, and has undergone extensive restoration. Some medieval wall paintings still survive, along with fine carvings of Green Men, boy bishops and cats. Some of the stonework still bears the scars where soldiers sharpened their swords during the war. In the Lady Chapel, light filters through some of the finest medieval glass in the country. The glass was purchased in 1802 by Sir Brooke Boothby, a friend of Erasmus Darwin and part of the intellectual and literary circle of Lichfield. It came from Herkenrode Abbey in Belgium, which was dissolved in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Other treasures include an 8th century depiction of the Archangel Gabriel carved on a 2ft (60cm) tall limestone panel, possibly part of a chest in which St Chad’s relics were originally kept, and St Chad’s Gospels, a beautifully decorated illuminated manuscript dating to AD730. Also popular with visitors is the poignant Sleeping Children, sculpted in white marble by Sir Francis Chantrey in 1817, considered one of his finest works. The statue is a memorial to two sisters who died young.