St Michael on Greenhill, Lichfield
| St Michael on Greenhill, Lichfield | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 52°41′00″N 1°49′06″W / 52.683283°N 1.818300°WCoordinates: 52°41′00″N 1°49′06″W / 52.683283°N 1.818300°W | |
| Location | Lichfield, Staffordshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Architect(s) | Thomas Johnson |
| Style | Early English, Gothic |
| Completed | 1843 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Lichfield |
| Diocese | Lichfield |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Revd Simon Baker |
| Vicar(s) | Revd Linda Collins |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Peter Hawksworth |
St Michael on Greenhill is a parish church in Lichfield, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom, located on the high ground of Greenhill in the east of the city. A church has been on the present site since at least 1190 but the current building dates mainly from the restoration of 1842-43. The churchyard is one of five ancient burial grounds in England and is one of the largest churchyards in the country at 9 acres (36,000 m2).
The church lies on a sandstone ridge at 104m above sea level, and it overlooks the city to the west. The land on which the church is located owes much of its ancient history to its hilltop location.
St Michael's Church at Greenhill is first recorded in 1190, but the area on which it stands has a much older history. Mesolithic flint remains have been unearthed in the churchyard and may indicate the site of an early flint industry, these remains indicate the site on which St Michael’s churchyard now stands was one, if not the earliest settlement in Lichfield.
Before the church, the site was one of significant religious importance as a burial ground. It is one of five ancient burial grounds in England. Local lore relates that it was consecrated by Saint Augustine and that the presence of this ancient site in Mercia drew Saint Chad to Lichfield and ensured that it became the centre of the new diocese. Evidence of its ancient roots can be found in the presence of crouched burials, a type of burial more common before the Norman Conquest.
Speculation about the churchyard's large size of 7 acres (increased to 9 acres (36,000 m2) in the 20th century) suggested that it had been the burial place of early Christians, victims of a supposed massacre of the followers of the apocryphal Saint Amphibalus. Another suggestion made it a Mercian tribal necropolis. Its size may merely reflect its function as the principal graveyard for the city and the surrounding areas.
The earliest church on the site was first recorded in 1190 and may have been a small cemetery chapel. But the oldest remaining parts of the current church date from the 13th century in the form of some masonry in the chancel. The church register dates from 1574.
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