Lichfield Cathedral
| Lichfield Cathedral | |
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| Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Chad | |
The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral
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 Lichfield Cathedral
Shown within Staffordshire
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| Coordinates: 52°41′08″N 1°49′50″W / 52.685556°N 1.830556°W | |
| Location | Lichfield, Staffordshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | www.lichfield-cathedral.org |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Active |
| Functional status | Cathedral |
| Style | Gothic |
| Years built | c. 1195–1340 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 113m |
| Nave width | 21m |
| Width across transepts | 50m |
| Height | 76.8 m (central spire) |
| Number of towers | 3 |
| Number of spires | 3 |
| Spire height | 76.8 m (crossing), 60.5 m (western) |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Lichfield (since 787-1075, c.1200-) |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Jonathan Gledhill |
| Dean | Adrian Dorber |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Ben and Cathy Lamb |
| Organist(s) | Martyn Rawles |
Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands. The 99th and current Bishop of Lichfield is the Right Rev Michael Ipgrave who was appointed on 10 June 2016.
The cathedral is dedicated to St Chad and Saint Mary. Its internal length is 113 metres (370 feet), and the breadth of the nave is 21m (68'). The central spire is 77m (252') high and the western spires are about 58m (190').
The stone is sandstone and came from a quarry on the south side of Lichfield. The walls of the nave lean outwards slightly, due to the weight of stone used in the ceiling vaulting; some 200–300 tons of which was removed during renovation work to prevent the walls leaning further.
Lichfield suffered severe damage during the English Civil War in which all of the stained glass was destroyed. In spite of this the windows of the Lady Chapel contain some of the finest medieval Flemish painted glass in existence. Dating from the 1530s it came from the Abbey of Herkenrode in Belgium, in 1801, having been purchased by Brooke Boothby when that abbey was dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars. It was sold on to the cathedral for the same price. There are also some fine windows by Betton and Evans (1819), and many fine late 19th century windows, particularly those by Charles Eamer Kempe.
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Wikipedia