A view of the Presbytery at Lichfield Cathedral

The City of Lichfield in Staffordshire boasts one of the finest medieval cathedrals in England. We took our 360° panoramic into the Cathedral to take some very special shots indeed...

Lichfield lies in the county of Staffordshire and boasts a splendid medieval cathedral. 1300 years ago, Lichfield stood at the centre of what was then the Kingdom of Mercia.

A Brief History of the Cathedral

When Chad was made Bishop of Mercia in 669 he moved the focus of his diocese from Repton to Lichfield. When Chad died in 672, pilgrims began to come to his shrine and, eventually, a new church was built to house his bones.

Starting in 1085 and continuing through the twelfth century this church was replaced by a Norman Cathedral, and this in turn by a Gothic Cathedral that was begun in 1195.

All this changed at the reformation, and the Cathedral was severely damaged during the Civil War being under siege three times. The roof was holed and the central spire destroyed by cannon fire. Parliamentary forces also defaced and destroyed many of the original features of the Cathedral.

In 1660 the restoration of Charles II to the throne brought new hope for the Cathedral. Bishop Hacket was charged with the responsibility for the restoration of the Cathedral. James Wyatt continued the restoration work in eighteenth century and made substantial changes to the structure to prevent collapse.

However, it was Sir George Gilbert Scott, Cathedral Architect from 1855-1878, who was most responsible for its successful restoration to its Medieval origins.