Wood Work

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Lichfield Lore

This week started with a brand new orchard and ended with an ancient woodland.

Last weekend, I helped to plant cider trees at Woodhouse Community Farm in Fisherwick. It wasn’t just the potential liquid reward that got me out of bed on a cold and frosty Sunday morning, there were a couple of other reasons!

It's got a lot of potential....

Orchards are becoming a rare habitat – according to Natural England, it’s estimated that the overall orchard area in England has declined by 63% since 1950. A traditional orchard can support around 1,800 species of wildlife. Although it will clearly take a while for the new cider orchard to reach this stage, I’m hoping that it will help to redress the balance a little bit! The People’s Trust for Endangered Species recently created an inventory of the traditional orchards in England, and you can read the summary of their findings for Staffordshire here.

Being involved with the orchard will also give me an opportunity to learn something about some disappearing traditional skills and knowhow. Growing fruit trees is a fascinating business, although I clearly have much to learn as I was the only person whose tree had to be dug up and replanted. Hopefully I’ll be better at the cider making bit, but if not, there’s always the cider drinking part which I’m fairly confident about.

In contrast to this budding orchard, on Friday I found myself amongst much older trees. Merrion’s Wood is a lovely nature reserve, just outside Walsall town centre and looked after by Walsall Countryside Services. Bluebells are already starting to shoot up all over there and countryside ranger Morgan told me that these plants were an indicator of ancient woodland, along with several other species.

Ancient Woodland in Leomansley

Leomansley Wood is full of bluebells in springtime. An interactive map of habitats from DEFRA confirms it as ‘ancient replanted woodland’. This means that although the site has been continuously wooded since 1600 (at least), the trees are more recent. It’s interesting that the place name is thought to include the celtic element ‘lemo’, meaning an elm (1) or possibly ‘leme’, lime tree. The ‘-ley’ suffix is thought to come from the Anglo Saxon ‘leah’ meaning ‘clearing’ (2).

I think that to find a nearby semi natural ancient woodland, you need to visit Hopwas Woods near Whittington Barracks. I should probably do this myself at some point! It’s worth pointing out that only 1.2% of the UK is made up of this kind of habitat and that it is irreplaceable. (3)

The DEFRA map also shows a traditional orchard between Maple Hayes and Jubilee Wood (where the conduits are!) with several others around Burntwood and Chorley. Perhaps even more interestingly, it seems there are two patches of traditional orchard in a built up residential area of Lichfield. I don’t know if I should say where, it might encourage scrumping!

I’ve also noticed several apple trees growing alongside the A51. How did these get here – discarded apple cores from car windows or remnants of something else? Perhaps more importantly, can I use these to make cider? 😉

Footnotes:

Don’t just take my work for how brilliant Woodhouse Community Farm is! There is a snowdrop walk on Sunday 5th February at 10.30am, where you can also see some of the things they have planned for the future.

The Woodland Trust point out that although many ancient woodlands have been recorded on inventories, there may also be unidentified fragments out there. Although bluebells don’t always indicate ancient woodland, if you do spot any growing this spring it might be worth having a closer look to see what else is around! The Woodland Trust have a really interesting guide to ancient woodland that you can read by clicking here.

Sources:

1) ‘Lichfield: The place and street names, population and boundaries ‘, A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14: Lichfield (1990), pp. 37-42.
2) http://finds.org.uk/staffshoardsymposium/papers/mattiasjacobsson

(3)http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1437

Changes – New Mental Health Support Service in Lichfield & Burntwood

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Lichfield Lore

Ian’s been in touch to ask if I can help to publicise a new organisation doing some great work in our area……

Changes is a mental health organisation offering a range of services including friendly mutual support groups, social activities and opportunities for accredited training via the National Open College Network. These services can be accessed for free, without the need for a GP referral. Local volunteers are helping to run the service in the Lichfield area.

In addition to these services, Changes also run wellness courses for people in mental distress, and the next one starts on Monday 23rd January between 10.30am & 12pm at the Pavilion in Beacon Park. The course is free of charge and public transport costs can also be met.

Changes was formed by people with experience of using mental health sevices, to help both themselves and others in the same situation. They aim to provide personalised support and services, greater independence and to help people with their social skills, to regain confidence and to become active members of their community.

If you would like to find out more about the course, or to find out more about the service generally, you can visit the website www.changes.org.uk or contact Ann at the Lichfield Wellbeing Centre on 01543 309 770 or Samatha at the Burntwood Wellbeing Centre on 01543 679 000 who would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.

Discovery Channel

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Lichfield Lore

After fifty-five weeks, four failed attempts and roping in several members of my family I finally found the medieval conduit head up at Pipe Hall Farm in Burntwood. You know though, you wait all year for a conduit head & then two turn up…..

A little background first. From 1160 until 1969 water was carried one and a half miles from springs in the Pipe area of Burntwood to the Cathedral Close via a conduit. At the source, a cistern was cut into the rock and a small brick building was erected over the source to keep the water clean and healthy. (2) This medieval conduit-head was in use for the majority of the time, but was temporarily replaced by a brick conduit between 1780 and 1821*. After an incredible 809 years, it was decided that it should carry water no more as it was constantly being damaged by ploughing and having to be fixed by Bridgeman’s employees (hope you appreciate the irony of this Vickie Sutton!) (3)

This pump outside the Cathedral replaced the Close’s conduit head in 1786

As water pipes go, this one had a pretty eventful life. Although the conduit itself was later known as Moses, it’s thought it gave the name ‘Pipe’ to the whole area.(4) It was vandalised by Lord & Lady Stanley, until King Henry VII stepped in in 1489 and told them to behave. In the early 16th century, washerwomen drawing water at the Cathedral end were said to be scandalising residents of the Close and during the Civil War it was inevitably stripped of lead by soldiers.(5)

In December 2010, around the same time I started this blog, I made it my mission to find the Medieval Conduit Head. I went to the wrong woods twice. Then I went to the correct woods twice but looked in the wrong place. This time, I gathered a team of explorers aka my family and at the noticeboard in the Pipe Hall Farm car park I gave them their orders. ‘This’, I said pointing to a helpful map & photo, ‘is what we are looking for and we are not leaving here until we find it’. After an initial search proved fruitless we split up. Mr G spotted some bricks and on closer inspection we were sure we’d found the 18th century replacement brick conduit head.

Not medieval but still a conduit head!Close up there’s a visible date. 1755?

Cheered by this discovery, we went to find the others. My Mum wasn’t far away and told us a little further on she had spotted steps leading down to something and had sent my Dad to investigate. This had to be it. I called to ask him if he’d found anything. ‘There’s this. I wasn’t sure if this was it or not?’ he said deadly serious, whilst stood next to a small building identical to the one in the photo. ‘Yes Dad’, I said ‘Yes it is’. We celebrated with a cup of tea, enjoying the views of Lichfield from the hill.

The Medieval Conduit Head. As found by my Dad.

…..to here.

Footnotes:

It seems ridiculous to say but both Conduit Heads are actually really easy to find. They are actually just off a main path running alongside the Jubilee Wood. You can even see the medieval one from this path. => I was almost looking too hard. And I can’t read maps.

The Medieval Conduit Head was included on the 2008 English Heritage ‘At Risk’ register where its condition was said to be ‘poor’ but was removed from the list in 2010 after its restoration.

Pipe Hall Farm was recently included in the Guardian’s 10 best woods & forests for wheelchairs & buggies.

The date on the brick conduit head appears to be 1755, could this mean this conduit was in use for longer than previously thought?

I understand that the water that went to the other city wells & pumps (such as the Crucifix Conduit outside the Library and Records Office) came from a different source i.e. Aldershawe

Sources:
(1)Lichfield: Public services’, A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14: Lichfield (1990), pp. 95-109. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42348

(2)Water Technology in the Middle Ages: Cities, Monasteries & Waterworks after the Roman Empire by Roberta J Magnusson

(3) Annals of a Century: Bridgeman’s of Lichfield, 1878-1978 by Owen Keyte

(4) Notes on Staffordshire Placenames WH Duignan

(5) English Heritage at Risk Register 2008 and 2009

Monumental Task

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Lichfield Lore

I’ve used this database created by the Public Monuments & Sculptures Association a lot. It’s a national recording project that aims to collect information on all British public sculpture and monuments, whether historic or contemporary.

As well as including Lichfield’s usual suspects, the database also features some of our less obvious works such as the Calming Stone in Beacon Park, the etched glass in the Library foyer, the facade of Boots in Tamworth St and the Standing Stones I formed a bit of an attachment to back in November 2011.

Facade of Boots created 1908. Decorations include an owl, a beehive and a piper. There must have been a good reason for this motley crew!

They're outside!

Not everything on the list is still around – there’s an entry for Dean Denton’s Market Cross which was pulled down in 1849. There are also entries on the database that don’t seem to have made it as fully fledged pieces of Lichfield public sculpture. Since Pat brought it to our attention back in November 2011 an entry has now appeared on the database about the Vision & Youth sculpture.

As the association says, ‘The database is an excellent resource for students & researchers, conservators, local historians, art buffs, enthusiasts, genealogists and all who want to know more about public sculpture: statues; obelisks; columns; sculptures; installations; fountains; follies; commemorative clocks; wayside markers; and towers – from the Stuart era to the present day.’ I think it’s fantastic and you can read more about future plans & how you can get involved in contributing information here.

One to be added to the database in the future is the proposed statue of Erasmus Darwin at Cathedral Walk (I think there’s another one planned for Beacon Park too). I’ve just been reading a few of the comments about this on the S106 document. One person said that they were in favour of the statue, as Darwin is a local hero we should be proud of. However, the comment goes on to say that Lichfield should also celebrate more contemporary heroes relevant to young people and also more women ‘not just old blokes’.* I think this is potentially a whole new blog post but this is a really interesting point. Who or what should we be commemorating with our future public art & monuments?

*I remember when I was a young person. A young person who used to go out on a Saturday night instead of sitting in reading the comments on S106 consultations 😉

Shopping Daze

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Lichfield Lore

Dam St is one of the most wonderful places in Lichfield, offering a winning combination of varied architecture, independent shops, duck feeding and ice-cream on route to the Cathedral.

Three small signs above the shops at the Market Square end may well go unnoticed. They say ‘J Dean Putney Maker’ and have little hooks on them. A quick google search leads to the website of ‘Deans Blinds & Awnings’ established 1894 and tells how the company was started by a policeman’s son called Tom Dean, and was taken over by his brother John. It seems John Dean and subsequent generations of his family were involved in the ownership of Fulham FC as well as manufacturing blinds and awnings.

J Dean Putney

The listed buildings describes them as ‘late C19 shop fronts with bracketed cornice and canvas canopies’. Another look at these buildings and you can also see the chains attached to these awnings, which presumably must still be there, tucked away from sight. I wonder when they were rolled shut for the last time? What kind of shop was this when these canopies were added? There was a drapers & silk merchants in this area of Dam St in 1914, could this have been it?

J Dean 2 with Metal erm thing

On the second photo, there is also a metal….thing. I first came across these in Tamworth, where nearly every shop seems to have one albeit slightly newer looking.

Tamworth version of 'the metal thing'. They have lots of interesting things on buildings in Tamworth including mermaids.

Someone got in touch on flickr and suggested they were holders for flags or Christmas trees. I was in Bakewell in Derbyshire last week where they seem to be using them for the latter, as you can see here in the Matlock Mercury. Looks pretty, doesn’t it! I’m guessing the Dam St one was a flag holder but am more than happy to be proved wrong by memory or photographic evidence or just a convincing argument as to what else it might be 😉

You can also have a look at the Street View here, perhaps whilst eating a mincepie by a roaring fire (although it is out of date, as The Staffs Bookshop is now Realwoods).

Last weekend someone spotted something else interesting high up on another building in the city centre. I’m not saying anymore, as I’m hoping that they might consider doing something on this themselves. No matter how well you think you know your surroundings, there are always still things to discover. So whilst out and about shopping in the 8 (is that all!) shopping days left until Christmas try looking at Lichfield from a different angle. Who knows what you might notice…..

Edit 23/12/2011

Pat’s been on googlemaps and has spotted not only a whole load of these brackets on Tamworth St but also one actually in use outside the Scales! So I think that definitely answers this little Lichfield mystery!

Kindred Spirit

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Lichfield Lore

I’ve referenced J(ohn) W(alters) Jackson several times in this blog and really wanted to find out a bit more about him. So here we go….

Mr Jackson was 2 years old when he came to Lichfield in 1864. He was a music teacher and the organist at Christ Church. He lived at 81, Walsall Rd until he left the city to live with his son in Newport, Shropshire in October 1940 at the age of 78. During his time in Lichfield he was ‘City Librarian’. The Lichfield Mercury reported that after his appointment the number of readers increased from 70 a week to 500.

In the 1930s and 40s, Mr Jackson had a local history column in the Lichfield Mercury in which he answered readers’ queries and shared an assortment of historical facts, folklore and transciptions from old documents. Each ‘subject’ is given a paragraph at most, so if one snippet didn’t interest, the next one wasn’t far behind!

I thought I’d share one of my favorites with you, to give you a flavour of Mr Jackson’s work. I like this one especially because the ancient manor of Abnalls is one of my favourite places in Lichfield and I love a good ghost story (this one has the added bonus of an intrepid one-man paranormal investigation as well). So I’ll hand you over to Mr Jackson…..

“The Abnalls dates back to the time of Edward I. The present hall has taken the place of the ancient manor. Many years ago it was said to be haunted. Half a century ago considerable alarm was caused by reports of a spectre being seen by various passers-by at belated hours. The writer personally visited (at midnight when ghosts are said to appear) on several occasions but after patiently waiting saw nothing of a spectral character further than weird forms in the trees and bushes in the dim light, and on one occasion the gentle waving of a white nightgown pegged on a clothes line.”

The site of the old manor off Abnalls Lane. I know it doesn't look it from the photo but it is very intriguing place and a scheduled ancient monument.The aerial view from googlemaps reveals a lot more but I'm having trouble adding it to the post at the minute, so in the meantime, maybe do your own investigation & see if you can find it!

This kind of history might not be to everyone’s taste (but then what is?) but it sure is to mine – I think it’s entertaining, accessible and a great source of information. If you get the chance I highly recommend that you have a look at the Lichfield Mercury archives (warning – give yourself plenty of time as you’ll be engrossed).

I love the way that us humans, no matter what age we belong to, are curious about the stories of the places that surround us and the people that came before us (well, most of us are anyway). Investigate the blog list to the right of this post and you’ll find a lot of curious* & entertaining souls. I like to think that if Mr Jackson was around today, he’d be doing a blog. I hope he doesn’t mind being included on this one!

*curious in the inquisitive sense, not in the strange sense. I think 😉

Mutual Interest

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Lichfield Lore

Pat (who knows so much about Lichfield, that I think he should start his own blog!) was on holiday in Wales when he spotted a book about Lichfield’s very own Police Mutual Assurance Society (PMAS). The history of the friendly society was written by Peter N Walker, whose ‘Constable’ books published under the pen name Nicholas Rhea were made into the Heartbeat series. Pat very generously bought the book in the hope that it would be of interest, which it certainly has been.

PMAS, founded in 1866 is one of Lichfield’s biggest employers. The HQ, was built on former gasworks on Queen St by the Linford group, which up until its collapse in October this year was also one of Lichfield’s largest employers. Work started on the site in 1969, after the society outgrew its premises in Greenfield Crescent, Edgbaston, Birmingham where it had been since 1954.

The original part of the building was opened in 1970.

The orginal part of the building was opened in March 1970 by Princess Alexandra. According to the Mercury, not many people knew that the building was to be called ‘Alexandra House’ until the princess arrived. Possibly today, not many people know why it’s called ‘Alexandra House’. However, on that cold spring day in Lichfield, there was much excitement about the Royal Visit from Princess Happiness as the Lichfield Mercury christened her (which to be fair is catchier than her full title Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order). There was a band from the Junior Soldiers Company of Whittington Barracks, a marquee erected behind the new building and 2,000 cheering school children (who would be round about 50 now? Wonder if anyone remembers it?).

The building won praise from Lichfield Civic Society who crowned it ‘Best New Building’ 1972 saying the bold design had produced a building which invited entry and which looks as if something is happening inside. I think that’s interesting because I think that this kind of architecture is the kind most people would turn their noses up at today….

PMAS HQ was extended in 1990 & 2000

The PMAS HQ was extended in 1990 and again in 2000. In 1990, originals from the Ladybird book ‘The Policeman’ were acquired and hung in the boardroom.

Mr Fabricant, MP for Lichfield, once said in an interview with the Mercury, “I believe one of the most interesting modern buildings in the region is the Police Mutual building in Queen Street in Lichfield. Its modern extension is elegant and blends in well with its surroundings”. I have to agree. What will people think of it in years to come though?

So following on from this I’ve had a few rambling thoughts for another day….
I’m not ready to explore this just yet but at some point, I really would like to consider this idea of ‘future heritage’ and how opinions will shift on what is and what isn’t valuable & attractive. Also, even if it isn’t ancient, pretty, haunted or associated with a famous inhabitant, I do think the history of anywhere people come together, like a workplace, is really important. Another interesting idea to explore is the impact of a workplace on a community? For example, when PMAS moved to Lichfield in 1954, many people apparently sold up in Brum & moved nearer to the new HQ. Also, how has the closure of Linford affected the city? I saw on twitter the other day that Wolverhampton Archives currently have an interesting project about local businesses in that area called ‘Taking Account of our Past’, which is definitely worth a look.

As ever, if any one has any thoughts, questions or comments on any of the above, I’d love to hear them 🙂 I do have a little bit more to add on PMAS HQ in relation to the stones at the entrance, which always remind me of the sea…..

Sources:

The Story of the Police Mutual Assurance Society by Peter N Walker

The Lichfield Underground

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Lichfield Lore

St Mary's House, The Close.

My introduction to Lichfield’s underground world came a couple of years ago, on the thoroughly enjoyable Gruesome & Ghostly City tour.

Then, back in January 2011, there was a series of great posts on TamworthTimeHikes about underground mysteries in Tamworth. As a result, information came to light (sorry!)about tunnels in Lichfield and Mark kindly passed the information on to me. Since then, tunnels have resurfaced several times (sorry again!), most recently in conversations with Vickie Sutton, Brownhills Bob , the folks at the BeaconStBlog, and as you may already have seen, in the comments section of the Monks Walk post. So, I thought I should finally get around to doing something on them! Here’s what I’ve heard/read/speculated about so far…..

1) Under Sandford St

My first tunnel! Standing on the corner of Sandford St on a chilly October night we were told that tunnels led from that area to the Cathedral. In recent conversations on the Monks Walk post, ‘Born a Lichfeldian’ has contributed more to the story of the tunnel, suggesting that the tunnel also runs to The Friary. You can read the discussion here.

2) White Hall on Beacon St

In a book ‘Lichfield & its Cathedral’ by H Snowden Ward (1893) is the following description “From the cellars of the inn, an underground passage ran some distance and was popularly believed to terminate as St Chad’s Church. That is went so far is extremely unlikely, and what was its object or termination will never be known, for a few years ago the late owner of the White Hall caused the portion under that house to be filled up, and without having the passage explored through its whole length”.

Edit 15/11/2011

City librarian & historian J W Jackson (who I’ll introduce you properly to another time) noted in his weekly history column in the Lichfield Mercury of the 1930s that the tunnel under White Hall was dug out by a previous owner during the plague. Presumably he wished to go about his business without soming into contact with carriers of the disease or the bad air that some thought caused the plague at the time. Would be interesting to see if there are stories of any tunnels elsewhere being dug for this purpose?

3) Under Dam St

Some information from googling, that I think came may have originally come from the Staffs Books Shop that used to be on Dam St, says that there is speculation that a passage runs along Dam St from the Cathedral to the Guildhall, and was used as an escape route during the Civil War. In an 1819 book, ‘A Short Account of the Ancient & Modern State of the City & Close of Lichfield’, it says ‘A large subterraneous passage of stone, several feet beneath the surface, has been traced from the middle of Quonians Lane, under the houses on the west side of the street, for a considerable distance in the gardens; its use cannot now be ascertained.”

4) St Mary’s House in The Close

In the Lichfield Records Office there is a copy of Lomax’s Pictoral Book of Lichfield, edited by Alan J Bull. It describes St Mary’s House as the oldest house in Lichfield and says that the East & South walls are part of the original building which dates back to before 1321 and formed part of the Close’s defences – at the base the walls are 6ft thick and you can still see the arrowslits. The book goes on to say that tradition has it that below this building are underground passages leading to St Chad’s, White Hall, the Friary, St John’s Hospital and the Old Brewery on Sandford St.

5) Beacon Street again!

Vickie’s Aunt remembers seeing a very large tunnel somewhere in the vicinity of Beacon St, which she describes as being whitewashed and large enough for a coach & horses to get through.

6) Tudor Tea Rooms

On their own website, there is a description of a passage going from their cellars to the Cathedral. They speculate that it may have been dug out during the Civil War. Apparently, the “passage has been followed for some distance in recent years, but is too dangerous to pursue further”

7) Greenhill

A rumour of a tunnel behind a building on Greenhill, which used to be a pub called the Spread Eagle. (You can still see the archway for the coaches & the building is called ‘Spread Eagle House’).

As well as discussing tunnels, I’ve also been talking to people recently about the importance of stories & legends, like these. Do we really need to get to the truth or should we leave them be & enjoy them for what they are? I still haven’t made my mind up, so, I’ll leave it for you to decide in this case.

Therefore, this next part is a bit like a Choose your Own Adventure book (remember those? I used to have my fingers bookmarking about 5 different options at a time!). If you would like to investigate the truth behind Lichfield’s mysterious tunnels you could start by clicking here or exploring some old maps of Lichfield here. Just suggestions though, can’t guarantee you’ll find the answers!

If you’re happy to accept the stories as they are, then relax and perhaps go & make yourself a nice cup of tea 🙂

Edit:

I’ve been told about another tunnel by someone on Twitter – one between Gaia Lane and the Cathedral. Apparently it leads to a house that used to be used as a laundry/servants quarters. A relative of my tunnel informant has actually been in the tunnel, and says it is blocked off. We’re thinking laundry tunnel, servants passage – anyone else know anything?

Interestingly there was a daughter and mother, Ellen Stone and a Mary Skelton, both described as a ‘Laundress’ living at Gaia Lane on the 1851 census. Going off topic somewhat, Ellen’s son Henry lived with them. He was illegitimate and there is some interesting speculation on who his Father may have been. You can read more at the Stone Family History site here.

Edit: 10/3/2012

I’ve come across a scribbled note I made some time ago which says there is a tunnel underneath Farewell Church. Interestingly, there is a work of semi- fiction set at the nunnery that preceded the church. The story is set at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries and is called ‘A Tale of Fairwell’. The last scene of the book is set in ‘the subterranean vaults of Fairwell Priory’.

Also, Hanch Hall has a confirmed underground passage of some description – the listed building description says there are ‘extensive brick vaulted cellars with vaulted passage or drainage channel leading into the park’.

Heads Up

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Lichfield Lore

First it was the Burton’s foundation stones, then the cockerels and now two heads above Oxfam on Market St. Have I been walking around Lichfield with my eyes closed for the last 7 years?

I have discovered from the listed building description that the correct term is corbel heads. I’ve taken a close up of each of them.

Corbel head on left, looking at building

Corbel Head , on right looking at building

Information on these heads is pretty thin on the ground. The listed building description tells us that the building is late C16th, does this mean that the heads date back to this period too? I’m not quite sure whether the one on the right is supposed to be sad or asleep (or as someone on twitter suggested ‘three sheets to the wind’). Do they represent some sort of old joke or story or moral? The building was a pub from at least 1793 (first record) until it closed in 1962.

There is a photo of The Castle on the Staffs Pastrack website, taken in the early part of the C20th. One peculiar thing, although this might just be me, is that the head on the right doesn’t look the same. I think on the old photo it looks like he has a beard but he looks like he’s had a shave since! On the subject of the old photo, what is that circular object between the pub windows, beneath the lamp? The thing that looks a bit like an anachronistic satellite dish.

It’s just occured to me as I’m typing this that I could pop in & ask in the Oxfam shop if anyone knows anything. Of course, if there are any corbel head experts out there, please let me know your thoughts!

Sources:
Information on The Castle, taken from ‘The Old Pubs of Lichfield’ by John Shaw

Hospitality in Lichfield

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Lichfield Lore

One of the places I really wanted to see during the Lichfield Heritage weekend was St John’s Hospital. On my way I bumped into someone I know. ‘I’m just off to St John’s Hospital’, I said ‘Oh where’s that?’, was the reply. As soon as I told her it was the place with all the chimneys, she of course knew exactly where I meant!

Looking back through the entrance from the courtyard. I'm normally peeping through in the other direction!

Beyond the entrance is a lovely courtyard, where we were met by one of the residents who told us about the history of the hospital, which you can read more about on the St John’s website. The Master’s house is now a Georgian building and you can see a drawing of it circa 1833 on Staffordshire Pasttrack. We were told today that some of the wooden beams inside came from galleons. I wonder if that’s true or just a story? I have done a quick search and it seems like quite a few old buildings claim to have beams reclaimed from ships.

Side of St John's with Masters House in the background

From the courtyard, we went to have a look around the chapel, which is the oldest of all of the buildings here.The most striking feature is the stained glass window by John Piper. I think I was suprised that this was so modern (it was created in 1984).

Clockwise from top left, the four corners represent the Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

There are stones embedded in the top of the altar, collected by a former Master whilst in Jerusalem & the surrounding area.

After leaving the chapel we visited the accomodation of one of the residents, which was lovely & incredibly peaceful bearing in mind the windows are looking out onto St John St! On the tour, I overheard someone say that the chimneys were the oldest domestic chimneys in the country. They are blocked off from the rooms now and I wonder when they were last used? Why do you always think of questions after the event?!

Finally, we were invited to have tea & cake. And then some more cake! One of the residents told us, ‘ We’re keeping up the tradition of hospitality!’. It’s true – on our visit we were made to feel incredibly welcome. As you can see I forgot to take any photos of the courtyard or indeed the aforementioned chimneys (I may have been distracted by the cake…). However, the grounds are open to the public, so you can go and have a look for yourself!

Edit 2/10/2011:
I came across a bit of an interesting snippet about Tudor nepotism relating to St John’s. In his book, ‘Note on a History of the Hospital of St John’s’, Harry Baylis says that the hospital lost none of its possessions in the reformation, as the Master at the time was the brother of Rowland Lee who officiated at the marriage of Henry VIII & Ann Boleyn, and later became the Bishop of Coventry & Lichfield. Wonder if this is true or not?

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