The City of Lichfield, Staffordshire

The city of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England lies about 16 miles to the north of Birmingham and about 120 or so miles to the northwest of the center of London. It is one of only seven civil parishes in all of England that hold city status. This is interesting, given its relative small size for a city (31, 000 people).

The city is notable in England for its cathedral, which has three spires. The Lichfield Cathedral is the only medieval cathedral with such an arrangement. Construction on the present structure was started in 1195 and completed sometime in the 1330s. Lichfield is also the birthplace of Dr. Samuel Johnson, writer of the first English dictionary of any authority.

There has been human settlement in the area of Lichfield going all the way back to the Romans, who built a fort in the present day town. This occurred in the first century.

There is documented notice of the city in a history by the famous Catholic Church historian, Bede. It makes mention of the city as the place where church activity took place in 669.

Lichfield has had a documented and interesting history ever since. It was finally incorporated by King Edward VI in 1548. Other ruling monarchs in the ensuing years granted it further royal charters. During the 18th century, Lichfield was a prosperous stop on the main coach route to Ireland and the whole of northwest England. It still retains a predominant old world look within the center of the city.

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire lies in the West Midlands of the country. It is a completely landlocked region of about 1.1 million people, ranking it 16th in population size. The National Forest, a 200 square mile protected region, lies partly within the county's boundaries.

Both Lichfield and Staffordshire retain classic old English charm while displaying the best of modern day sensibilities.