Cathedral Close, Lichfield

The Cathedral Close is a historic set of buildings surrounding Lichfield Cathedral in Lichfield in the United Kingdom. The Close comprises buildings associated with the cathedral and the clergy which encircle the Cathedral. The Close grew up around the cathedral during medieval times and today some medieval buildings remain in the Close but the majority of buildings date from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

After raids from the Vikings during 9th century the Cathedral lost some of its power. Bishop Clinton fortified the Cathedral in the 12th century. On three sides a deep man-made ditch was dug and the south was defended naturally by Minster Pool. This fortification effecively created the Close.

In 1299 Bishop Langton was licensed to wall the Close in stone and crenellate it. He also rebuilt the gates. The work was unfinished at his death in 1321. In 1322, during the crisis involving Thomas, earl of Lancaster, the chapter under royal pressure ordered the immediate clearance of the ditch and the completion of the west tower of the south-east gate. The fortification comprised corner towers and interval towers along the wall. An octagonal tower at the north-east corner was incorporated in Langton's palace; its base still survives. At the south-east corner there was a parapet along the top of the wall and a projecting turret, which survive as part of the later St. Mary's House. The south-west tower was recorded in 1312–13 and was shown on Speed's 1610 map of Lichfield; it had been demolished by 1661. The north-west tower had a statue of Bishop Walter, presumably Walter Langton, in the 1390s; the tower was evidently another Civil War casualty. Three interval towers were placed on the east wall, two of them incorporated in Langton's palace and the third on the site of the later Selwyn House. The Dean's Tower, so called in 1315, apparently stood on the west wall; it had been demolished by 1661.

The gate built by Langton at the south-east corner of the Close had two towers. The eastern one, whose base was excavated in the late 1980s, was a half-octagon with 12-ft. sides. The western tower was presumably of similar dimension. The gate had a portcullis in 1376. There was a drawbridge, still in existence in the earlier 18th century, which crossed the outflow of water from Minster Pool, and also a wicket for pedestrians. The gate was removed in the mid 18th century in order to improve access for coaches into the Close. A northward extension of the eastern tower was used as a porter's lodge in the early 17th century. After being damaged in the Civil War, it was rebuilt and in 1666 was assessed for tax on four hearths. By 1734 the porter or verger lived in a house at the west gate, and the former lodge was demolished between 1812 and 1836.

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