Lichfield

Lichfield ( ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth, south-west of Burton upon Trent and Derby and 14 miles (22.5 km) north of Birmingham. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population was 34,738 and the population of the wider Lichfield District was 106,400. Notable for its three-spired medieval cathedral, Lichfield was the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the compiler of the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language. The city's recorded history began when Chad of Mercia arrived to establish his bishopric in 669 AD and the settlement grew as the ecclesiastical centre of Mercia. In 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, was found south-west of Lichfield. The development of the city was consolidated in the 12th century under Roger de Clinton, who fortified the Cathedral Close and also laid out the town with the ladder-shaped street pattern that survives to this day. Lichfield's heyday was in the 18th century, when it developed into a thriving coaching city. This was a period of great intellectual activity; the city was the home of many famous people including Samuel Johnson, David Garrick, Erasmus Darwin, and Anna Seward, prompting Johnson's remark that Lichfield was "a city of philosophers".…

Lichfield ( ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth, south-west of Burton upon Trent and Derby and 14 miles (22.5 km) north of Birmingham. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population was 34,738 and the population of the wider Lichfield District was 106,400. Notable for its three-spired medieval cathedral, Lichfield was the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the compiler of the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language. The city's recorded history began when Chad of Mercia arrived to establish his bishopric in 669 AD and the settlement grew as the ecclesiastical centre of Mercia. In 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, was found south-west of Lichfield. The development of the city was consolidated in the 12th century under Roger de Clinton, who fortified the Cathedral Close and also laid out the town with the ladder-shaped street pattern that survives to this day. Lichfield's heyday was in the 18th century, when it developed into a thriving coaching city. This was a period of great intellectual activity; the city was the home of many famous people including Samuel Johnson, David Garrick, Erasmus Darwin, and Anna Seward, prompting Johnson's remark that Lichfield was "a city of philosophers". Today, the city still retains its old importance as an ecclesiastical centre, and its industrial and commercial development has been limited. The centre of the city has over 230 listed buildings (including many examples of Georgian architecture) and preserves much of its historic character. ==Geography== Lichfield covers an area of approximately in the south-east of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. It is approximately north of Birmingham and north-west of London. The city is located between the high ground of Cannock Chase to the west and the valleys of the Rivers Trent and Tame to the east. It is underlain by red sandstone, deposited during the arid desert conditions of the Triassic period. Mercia Mudstone underlies the north and north-eastern edges of the city towards Elmhurst and Curborough. The red sandstone underlying the majority of Lichfield is present in many of its ancient buildings, including Lichfield Cathedral and the Church of St Chad. The ground within the city slopes down from 116m in the north-west to 86m on the sandstone shelf where Lichfield Cathedral stands. To the south and east of the city centre is a ridge which reaches 103 m at St Michael on Greenhill. Boley Park lies on top of a ridge with its highest point on Borrowcop Hill at 113m. To the south-east the level drops to 69 m where Tamworth Road crosses the city boundary into Freeford. There is another high ridge south-west of the city where there are two high points, one at Berry Hill Farm at 123 m and the other on Harehurst Hill near the city boundary at Aldershawe where the level reaches 134 m. The city is built on the two sides of a shallow valley, into which flow two streams from the west, the Trunkfield Brook and the Leamonsley Brook, and out of which the Curborough Brook runs to the north-east, eventually flowing into the River Trent. The two streams have been dammed south of the cathedral on Dam Street to form Minster Pool and near St Chad's Road to form Stowe Pool. ==Culture== was built in 2003. to the left and Donegal House to the right ===Culture=== The Lichfield Greenhill Bower takes place annually on Spring Bank Holiday. Originating from a celebration that was held after the Court of Arraye in the 12th century, the festival has evolved into its modern form, but has kept many of its ancient traditions. After a recreation of the Court of Arraye at the Guildhall, a procession of marching bands, morris men and carnival floats makes its way through the city and the Bower Queen is crowned outside the Guildhall. There is a funfair in the city centre, and another fair and jamboree in Beacon Park. The Lichfield Festival, an international arts festival, has taken place every July for 30 years. The festival is a celebration of classical music, dance, drama, film, jazz, literature, poetry, visual arts and world music. Events take place at many venues around the city but centre on Lichfield Cathedral and the Garrick Theatre. Popular events include the medieval market in the Cathedral Close and the fireworks display which closes the festival. Triennially the Lichfield Mysteries, the biggest community theatre event in the country, takes place at the cathedral and in the Market Place. It consists of a cycle of 24 medieval-style plays involving over 600 amateur actors. Other weekend summer festivals include the Lichfield Folk Festival and The Lichfield Real Ale, Jazz and Blues Festival. Lichfield Heritage Weekend, incorporating Dr Johnson's Birthday Celebrations, takes place on the third weekend in September with a variety of civic events including live music and free historical tours of local landmarks. ==Media== Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals are received from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter. The city's local radio stations are BBC Radio WM, Capital Mid-Counties, Heart West Midlands, Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands, Smooth West Midlands, Hits Radio Birmingham and Cannock Chase Radio FM, a community radio station that broadcast from Cannock Chase. Local newspapers are Lichfield Mercury and Lichfield Live. ==Landmarks== ===Parks=== , in the city centre, hosts a wide range of community events. There are many parks, gardens and open spaces in the city. The city centre park is Beacon Park, which hosts a range of community events and activities throughout the year. Also in the city centre are two lakes, Minster Pool and Stowe Pool. The Garden of Remembrance, a memorial garden laid out in 1920 after World War I, is located on Bird Street. Many other parks are located on the outskirts of the city: these include Brownsfield Park, Darnford Park, Shortbutts Park, Stychbrook Park, Saddlers Wood and Christian Fields. ===Leisure Centres=== There are two public sports and leisure facilities in the city. Friary Grange Leisure Centre in the north-west of the city offers racket sports, a swimming pool, and sports hall and fitness gym. King Edward VI Leisure Centre in the south of the city offers racket sports, a sports hall and an artificial turf pitch. ===Library=== Lichfield Library and Record Office was located on the corner of St John Street and The Friary. The building also included an adult education centre and a small art gallery. The library occupied this building in 1989, when it moved from the Lichfield Free Library and Museum on Bird Street. The library moved into the newly renovated St Mary's Church on Market Square in 2018 The city is served by the Samuel Johnson Community Hospital located on Trent Valley Road. This hospital replaced the now-demolished Victoria Hospital in 2006. ==Transport== ===Railway=== Lichfield is served by two railway stations: and , both built by the London and North Western Railway. These stations are now on the Cross-City Line, with regular services to and , via , operated by West Midlands Trains. Trent Valley station is also a stop on the West Coast Main Line, located to the north-east of the city centre. London Northwestern Railway provides semi-fast services between , , , and . Despite being north of Birmingham, trains to London Euston can take as little as 1 hour 9 minutes. ===Buses=== Arriva Midlands, Diamond East Midlands (formerly Midland Classic), Chaserider and National Express West Midlands & Bus Link are the main bus operators in Lichfield. These companies run regular services to Birmingham, Aldridge, Brownhills, Burntwood, Rugeley, Burton upon Trent, Stafford, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth and Walsall. Service X12 to Burton also operates on Sundays, with funding from the Roman Heights housing development. The bus station is located on Birmingham Road, although as part of the Friarsgate development plans have been approved for it to be moved next to Lichfield City railway station. Lichfield has college services for the Rodbaston campus of South Staffordshire College, run by Diamond East Midlands, and school-only journeys for local high schools. Seasonal bus routes run for Boots and Amazon employees only are usually operated by Diamond East Midlands and National Express West Midlands. LinkUp provides bus connections for all residents to Lichfield, Burntwood and surrounding villages. The service runs daily except Sunday and is bookable in advance (no fares are taken on board) and is operated by Diamond Bus. ===Roads=== Lichfield is centrally located on the UK road network. Historically, the Roman roads of Watling Street and Ryknild Street crossed south of the city at Letocetum; today, they follow much of the same routes as the A5 and A38. The A5 runs west towards Wales and south-east towards Tamworth. The A38 runs south to Birmingham and north-east to Derby. Running along the western perimeter of the city is the A51 road, which runs north to Chester and south-east to Tamworth. The nearest motorway junction is T5 of the M6 Toll, located south of the city. Junction 9 of the M42 and junction 4A of the M6 are and to the south respectively. ===Canals=== Lichfield Canal was historically part of the Wyrley and Essington Canal and ran south of the city from 1797, until it was abandoned in 1955. It covers a distance of through 30 locks from Ogley Junction on the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) to Huddlesford Junction on the Coventry Canal. In 2009, a detailed feasibility report was produced by renowned consultants WS Atkins to restore the canal along much of its original route and make it navigable. The nearest navigable canal to Lichfield is the Coventry Canal, which runs through Streethay. ===Airports=== Two nearby airports serve Lichfield: Birmingham Airport is to the south and East Midlands Airport is to the north-east. ==Religion and beliefs== Some 66.5% of the people in the Lichfield parish area polled as part of the 2011 Census described themselves as Christian. Lichfield has held a religious importance since St Chad became the first Bishop of Lichfield and built a monastery in 669 AD. After Chad's death in 672 AD he was buried in an Anglo-Saxon church which later became part of Lichfield Cathedral. Anglicanism predominates, with three parishes as well as the cathedral. St Michael's and St Mary's serve one parish and Christ Church and St Chad's serve the other two. Lichfield is within the Diocese of Lichfield and represented by Michael Ipgrave, the current Bishop of Lichfield. There are two Roman Catholic churches, Holy Cross and SS Peter & Paul, which are part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a meeting house on Purcell Avenue on the north side of the city. In the city centre there is a Methodist church and Wade Street Church, which is a United Reformed and Baptist church. There is a Pentecostal Church under the name Emmanuel Christian Centre in Nether Stowe and the Christadelphian Hall on Station Road. Jehovah's Witnesses have a Kingdom Hall on Lombard Street. There are five faith schools in the city, all of which are primary schools. St Michael's C of E School, Christ Church C of E School and St Chad's C of E (VC) School are all Church of England faith schools. St Joseph's RC School and SS Peter & Paul School are Roman Catholic faith schools. ==Notable Lichfeldians== Ceatta of Lichfield, an obscure 11th-century Anglo-Saxon saint.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1375587888 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.