Editing Lichfield (section)

== History ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=November 2024}}

=== Prehistory and antiquity ===
{{Main|Letocetum}}
The earliest evidence of settlement is [[Mesolithic]] flints discovered on the high ground of the cemetery at [[St Michael on Greenhill, Lichfield|St Michael on Greenhill]], which may indicate an early flint industry. Traces of [[Neolithic]] settlement have been discovered on the south side of the sandstone ridge occupied by [[Lichfield Cathedral]].<ref name=staf>{{Citation | last =Greenslade | first =M.W. | title =A History of the County of Stafford: Volume XIV: Lichfield| publisher = Victoria County History| year =1990 | isbn =978-0-19-722778-7  }}</ref>

{{convert|2.2|mi|km|abbr=on}} south-west of Lichfield, near the point where [[Icknield Street]] crosses [[Watling Street]], was the site of Letocetum (the [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] *Lētocaiton, "Greywood"). Established in AD 50 as a [[Roman Empire|Roman]] military fortress, it had become a civilian settlement ([[vicus]]) with a bath house and a [[mansio]] by the 2nd century.<ref name=staf/> Letocetum fell into decline by the 4th century and the Romans had left by the 5th century. There have been scattered Romano-British finds in Lichfield and it is possible that a burial discovered beneath the cathedral in 1751 was Romano-British.<ref name=staf/> There is no evidence of what happened to Letocetum after the Romans left; however, Lichfield may have emerged as the inhabitants of Letocetum relocated during its decline. A {{nowrap|Cair Luit Coyd}} ("[[Caer|Fort]] Greywood") was listed by [[Nennius]] among the 28 cities of [[Sub-Roman Britain|Britain]] in his ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'',<ref>[[Nennius]] ({{abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr|ed.|Editor}}). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD&nbsp;830. {{in lang|la}} Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]].</ref> although these were largely historic remembrances of early [[Sub-Roman Britain]].

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:The West Front, Lichfield Cathedral - Anon - circa 1830.jpg|thumb|The three-spired [[Lichfield Cathedral]] was built between 1195 and 1249]]
[[File:St Michael's Churchyard 1840.jpg|thumb|St Michael's Churchyard 1840]]
The early history of Lichfield is obscure. The first authentic record of Lichfield occurs in [[Bede|Bede's]] history, where it is called ''Licidfelth'' and mentioned as the place where [[Chad of Mercia|St Chad]] fixed the [[episcopal see]] of the Mercians in 669. The first [[Christians|Christian]] king of [[Mercia]], [[Wulfhere of Mercia|Wulfhere]], donated land at Lichfield for St Chad to build a monastery. It was because of this that the ecclesiastical centre of Mercia became settled as the [[Diocese of Lichfield]], which was approximately {{convert|7|mi|km|0}} northwest of the seat of the Mercian kings at [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]].

In July 2009, the [[Staffordshire Hoard]], the largest collection of [[Anglo-Saxon]] gold ever found, was discovered in a field in the parish of [[Hammerwich]], {{convert|4|mi|km|1|abbr=on}} south-west of Lichfield; it was probably deposited in the 7th century.

The first cathedral was built on the present site in 700 when Bishop [[Hædde]] built a new church to house the bones of St Chad, which had become the centre of a sacred shrine to many pilgrims when he died in 672. The burial in the cathedral of the kings of Mercia, Wulfhere in 674 and [[Ceolred of Mercia|Ceolred]] in 716, further increased the city's prestige.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk">From: 'Lichfield: History to c.1500', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14: Lichfield (1990), pp. 4–14. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42336 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021214211/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42336 |date=21 October 2012 }} Date accessed: 24 July 2009.</ref> In 786 King [[Offa of Mercia|Offa]] made the city an archbishopric with authority over all the bishops from the [[Humber]] to the [[River Thames]]; his appointee was Archbishop [[Hygeberht]]. This may have been motivated by Offa's desire to have an archbishop consecrate his son [[Ecgfrith of Mercia|Ecgfrith]] as king, since it is possible [[Jænberht]] refused to perform the ceremony, which took place in 787. After King Offa's death in 796, Lichfield's power waned; in 803 the primacy was restored to Canterbury by [[Pope Leo III]] after only 16 years.

The ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' lists the city as one of the 28 cities of Britain around AD 833.

During the 9th century, Mercia was devastated by Danish [[Vikings]]. Lichfield itself was unwalled and the cathedral was despoiled, so [[Peter of Lichfield|Bishop Peter]] moved the see to the fortified and wealthier [[Chester]] in 1075. At the time of the [[Domesday Book]] survey (1086), Lichfield was held by the [[bishop of Chester]]; Lichfield was listed as a small village. The lord of the manor was the Bishop of Chester until the reign of [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]].[[File:Staffordshire hoard annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Staffordshire Hoard]] was discovered in a field near Lichfield]] In 1102 Bishop Peter's successor, [[Robert de Limesey]], transferred the see from Chester to Coventry. The Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield had seats in both locations; work on the present Gothic cathedral at Lichfield began in 1195. (In 1837 the see of Lichfield acquired independent status, and the style 'Bishop of Lichfield' was adopted.)

In 1153 a markets charter was granted by King Stephen and, ever since, weekly markets have been held in the Market Square.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Markets - Lichfield City Council |url=https://www.lichfield.gov.uk/Markets_702.aspx#:~:text=Lichfield%20Markets&text=In%20the%201550%27s,%20during%20the,so%20to%20die%20in%20England. |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=www.lichfield.gov.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Lichfield Cathedral 2010-10-13.jpg|thumb|Lichfield Cathedral in modern times.]]

Bishop [[Roger de Clinton]] was responsible for transforming the scattered settlements to the south of Minster Pool into the ladder-plan streets existing today. Market Street, Wade Street, Bore Street and Frog Lane linked Dam Street, Conduit Street and Bakers Lane on one side with Bird Street and St John Street on the other. Bishop de Clinton also fortified the cathedral close and enclosed the town with a bank and ditch, and gates were set up where roads into the town crossed the ditch.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> In 1291 Lichfield was severely damaged by a fire which destroyed most of the town; however the Cathedral and Close survived unscathed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/lichfield.html|title=Brief History of Lichfield|publisher=Local Histories|access-date=20 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229164653/http://www.localhistories.org/lichfield.html|archive-date=29 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1387 [[Richard II of England|Richard II]] gave a charter for the foundation of the guild of St Mary and St John the Baptist; this guild functioned as the local government, until its dissolution by [[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]], who incorporated the town in 1548.

=== Early Modern ===
[[File:John Snape Lichfield Plan.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Lichfield in 1781]]
The policies of [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] had a dramatic effect on Lichfield. The [[English Reformation|Reformation]] brought the disappearance of [[pilgrim]] traffic following the destruction of St Chad's shrine in 1538, which was a major loss to the city's economic prosperity. That year too the [[The Franciscan Friary, Lichfield|Franciscan Friary]] was dissolved, the site becoming a private estate. Further economic decline followed the outbreak of [[Black Death|plague]] in 1593, which resulted in the death of over a third of the entire population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42337|title='Lichfield: From the Reformation to c.1800', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14: Lichfield (1990), pp. 14-24.|publisher=British History Online|access-date=22 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526054843/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42337|archive-date=26 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

Three people were burned at the stake for [[heresy]] under Mary I. The last public burning at the stake for heresy in England took place in Lichfield, when [[Edward Wightman]] from [[Burton upon Trent]] was [[Execution by burning|executed by burning]] in the Market Place on 11 April 1612 for promoting himself as the divine [[Paraclete]] and Saviour of the world.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB |wstitle= Wightman, Edward |volume= 61 |last= Gordon |first= Alexander |author-link= Alexander Gordon (Unitarian) |pages= 195-196 |short= 1}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9AxAAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Edward+Wightman%22+treason&pg=PT379 Cobbett's complete collection of state trials and proceedings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503213240/https://books.google.com/books?id=9AxAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT379&lpg=PT379&dq=%22Edward+Wightman%22+treason&source=bl&ots=4iNNPt1Fb1&sig=rhZEDpVPZoGMvaYAwawtyuf5nFg&hl=en&ei=K5txTIvhMcKB8gaQzsCtDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Edward%20Wightman%22%20treason&f=false |date=3 May 2016 }}, 735–736.</ref>
[[File:Dr-Johnson.jpg|thumbnail|upright|200px|[[Samuel Johnson]] was born in Breadmarket Street in 1709]]
[[File:Samuel Johnson Statue.jpg|thumb|200px|Statue of Dr Johnson in Lichfield's Market Square<br />"The Doctor's statue, which is of some inexpensive composite painted a shiny brown, and of no great merit of design, fills out the vacant dulness of the little square in much the same way as his massive personality occupies—with just a margin for [[David Garrick|Garrick]]—the record of his native town."—[[Henry James]], ''Lichfield and Warwick'', 1872]]
[[File:Cockle Lucas Johnson.jpg|thumb|200px|Photograph by [[Richard Cockle Lucas]] (sculptor) of Johnson statue taken in 1859]]

In the [[English Civil War]], Lichfield was divided. The cathedral authorities, supported by some of the townsfolk, were for the king, but the townsfolk generally sided with the Parliament. This led to the fortification of the close in 1643. Lichfield's position as a focus of supply routes had an important strategic significance during the war, and both forces were anxious for control of the city. The Parliamentary commander [[Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke|Lord Brooke]] led an assault on the fortified close, but was killed by a deflected bullet on St Chad's day in 1643, an accident welcomed as a miracle by the Royalists. The close subsequently yielded to the Parliamentarians, but was retaken by [[Prince Rupert of the Rhine]] in the same year; on the collapse of the Royalist cause in 1646 it again surrendered. The cathedral suffered extensive damage from the war, including the complete destruction of the central spire. It was restored at the Restoration under the supervision of [[John Hacket|Bishop Hacket]], and thanks in part to the generosity of [[King Charles II of England|King Charles II]].

Lichfield started to develop a lively coaching trade as a stop-off on the busy route between London and [[Chester]] from the 1650s onwards, making it Staffordshire's most prosperous town. In the 18th century, and then reaching its peak in the period from 1800 to 1840, the city thrived as a busy coaching city on the main routes from London to the north-west and Birmingham to the north-east. It also became a centre of great intellectual activity, being the home of many famous people including [[Samuel Johnson]], [[David Garrick]], [[Erasmus Darwin]] and [[Anna Seward]]; this prompted Johnson's remark that Lichfield was "a city of philosophers". In the 1720s [[Daniel Defoe]] described Lichfield as 'a fine, neat, well-built, and indifferent large city', the principal town in the region after Chester.<ref name="From 1990 pp. 14-24">From: 'Lichfield: From the Reformation to c.1800', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14: Lichfield (1990), pp. 14-24. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42337 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526054843/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42337 |date=26 May 2011 }} Date accessed: 24 July 2009.</ref> During the late 18th and early 19th century much of the medieval city was rebuilt with the red-brick [[Georgian architecture|Georgian style]] buildings still to be seen today. Also during this time, the city's infrastructure underwent great improvements, with underground sewerage systems, paved streets and gas-powered street lighting.<ref name=clay>{{Citation | last =Clayton | first =Howard | title =Coaching City| publisher = Abbotsford Publishing| year =1981 | isbn =978-0-9503563-1-0}}</ref> An infantry regiment of the [[British Army]] was formed at Lichfield in 1705 by Col. [[Luke Lillingstone]] in the King's Head tavern in Bird Street. In 1751 it became the 38th Regiment of Foot, and in 1783 the 1st [[Staffordshire Regiment]]; after reorganisation in 1881 it became the 1st battalion of the [[South Staffordshire Regiment]].<ref name="From 1990 pp. 14-24"/>

=== Late Modern and contemporary ===

The arrival of the [[Industrial Revolution]] and the railways in 1837 signalled the end of Lichfield's position as an important staging post for coaching traffic. While nearby Birmingham (and its population) expanded greatly during the Industrial Revolution, Lichfield remained largely unchanged in character.

The first council houses were built in the Dimbles area of the city in the 1930s. The outbreak of [[World War II]] brought over 2,000 [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuees]] from industrialised areas. However, due to the lack of heavy industry in the city, Lichfield escaped lightly, although there were [[strategic bombing|air raids]] in 1940 and 1941 and three Lichfeldians were killed. Just outside the city, [[Wellington Bomber]]s flew out of Fradley Aerodrome, which was known as [[RAF Lichfield]]. After the war the council built many new houses in the 1960s, including some high-rise flats, while the late 1970s and early 1980s saw the construction of a large housing estate at Boley Park in the south-east of the city. The city's population tripled between 1951 and the late 1980s.

The city has continued expanding to the west. The Darwin Park housing estate has been under development for a number of years and has swelled the city's population by approximately 3,000. Plans were approved for Friarsgate, a new £100 million shopping and leisure complex opposite [[Lichfield City Station]]. The police station, bus station, Ford garage and multi-storey car park were to be demolished to make way for 22,000 m<sup>2</sup> of retail space and 2,000 m<sup>2</sup> of leisure facilities, consisting of a flagship department store, six-screen cinema, hotel, 37 individual shops and 56 flats.<ref name=ldcfp>{{Citation| url = http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1328| title = Lichfield District Council:Friarsgate Plans| access-date = 26 January 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110928030819/http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1328| archive-date = 28 September 2011| url-status = dead| df = dmy-all}}</ref> These plans have not gone ahead<ref>{{Cite web|title=Meeting told building new Lichfield leisure centre on site of failed Friarsgate scheme would be too costly|url=https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2020/09/25/meeting-told-building-new-lichfield-leisure-centre-on-site-of-failed-friarsgate-scheme-would-be-too-costly/|website=Lichfield Live|date=25 September 2020}}</ref> and new plans have been made for a cinema in the abandoned [[Debenhams]] building.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerr |first=Andrew |title=Lichfield District Council approves investment in long-awaited multi-screen cinema for the district. |url=https://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/news/article/663/lichfield-district-council-approves-investment-in-long-awaited-multi-screen-cinema-for-the-district- |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=Lichfield District Council |language=en}}</ref>