Discover Lichfield, Staffordshire

Lichfield Cathedral: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lichfield_cathedral,_west_front.JPG
Author: Tony Grist


Lichfield is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is located 25 km (16 mi) to the north of Birmingham.

The history of Lichfield began in AD 669, when St Chad established a bishopric there. The settlement became a religious center within the then Kingdom of Mercia. In 2009, a hoard of gold and silver artifacts from the Kingdom of Mercia was discovered in a field in Hammerwich, near Lichfield. It was the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure to be discovered.

Lichfield Cathedral and its surrounding buildings, collectively known as Cathedral Close, was developed in the 12th century. Despite a large blaze that destroyed much of Lichfield in 1291, the Cathedral and Close were somehow spared.

Beacon Park Museum Gardens, Lichfield: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beacon_Park_Museum_Gardens.jpg
Author: Bs0u10e01


In the 17th and 18th century, Lichfield developed as a staging post for coach traffic. This came to an end in the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution introduced railways to the country, bringing coach trade to a decline. Industrialization brought much development to nearby Birmingham but bypassed Lichfield. On the bright side, it was spared the most severe bombings during World War II, becoming a refuge for evacuees from other more industrialized areas.

Today Lichfield has a diversified economy not dependent on any particular industry. Among the manufacturers with operations there include Armitage Shanks, makers of bathroom fixtures, and Arthur Price of England, makers of silverware and cutlery.

Hospital of St John the Baptist, Lichfield: Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hospital_of_St_Johns.jpg
Author: Bs0u10e01

Visiting Lichfield

The fastest way to reach Lichfield by car is to take the M6 (Toll) motorway, then continue on the A5206 to enter the city. Other roads leading to Lichfield include the A38 and the A5. There are also trains to Lichfield from Birmingham, London, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe.

Places of Interest in Lichfield

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.