Location

Lichfield Cathedral
Lichfield

Project Summary

Just seventeen miles north of Birmingham, Lichfield lies at the heart of England. 1300 years ago it stood at the centre of the Kingdom of Mercia. When Chad was made Bishop of Mercia in 669 he moved his See from Repton to Lichfield, which may already have been a holy site since there is a legend that Christians were martyred there under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

When Chad died in 672 pilgrims began to come to his shrine, and in 700, Bishop Hedda built a new church to house his bones. Starting in 1085 and continuing through the twelfth century this Saxon church was replaced by a Norman Cathedral, then by the Gothic Cathedral begun in 1195.

The St Chad Gospels is an eighth century Gospel Book. St. Chad, was the youngest of the four brothers: Cedd, Cynebil, Celin and Chad, all eminent priests, born of noble parents in Northumbria around AD 623.

The Lichfield Angel, discovered in 2003, is a remarkable survival of early medieval sculpture. The carved limestone panel, which is dated to around 800 A.D., comprises three separate fragments which are thought to have formed the corner of a shrine chest, possibly that of St Chad.