page_title: Lichfield
section_title: Places of interest
hierarchical_section_title: Lichfield / Places of interest
caption_attribution_description: Gardens in Lichfield near the Minster Pool. On Bird Street is the Free Library and Museum. Grade II listed. &lt;a href="http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-382584-art-gallery-and-attached-balustrades-lic" rel="noreferrer nofollow"&gt;Art Gallery and Attached Balustrades, Lichfield&lt;/a&gt; LICHFIELD SK1109NW BIRD STREET 1094-1/4/38 (West side) 11/02/93 Former Public Library and Art Gallery and attached balustrades GV II Public library and museum. 1857-9. By Bidlake and Lovatt. Brick with buff brick facades, ashlar dressings; parapeted roof. Right-angle plan with inset octagonal entrance tower to angle to left. Renaissance style. 2 storeys with basement; 3-window range. Panelled brick plinth over basement; rusticated end piers and cornice to impost level and cornice over ground floor; top dentilled brick frieze and modillioned ashlar cornice. Entrance tower has rusticated piers and entablature to ground floor; high plinth and entablature to 1st floor, and cupola with dentilled cornice and domical vault with wind vane. Round-headed entrance has tall key to plain fanlight over C20 door; flanking round-headed windows with brick archivolts and ashlar keys; plinth has square ashlar plaque inscribed: FREE/ LIBRARY/ AND/ MUSEUM, flanking roundels; 1st floor has 3 round-headed windows; round-headed openings to cupola. 3-window range has windows with rubbed brick flat arches and 8-pane sashes with 2 ashlar antae with lotus capitals, tympana above have archivolts and keys; 1st floor has blind arcading of 3 pairs of round arches with ashlar colonnettes; two C20 buttresses with continuations of cornices. Left return facing Museum Gardens is 6-window range, the windows grouped in pairs with C20 buttresses between. Ashlar statue of sailor with HMS POWERFUL to his hat band on corbel to right end; said to date from the Boer War, origin unknown. Rear is simpler, with lean-to projection with blocked wide segmental-headed entrance and flanking niches. Right return is plain, with C20 addition to rear. Entrance tower flanked by low brick walls and ashlar balustrading of 4-centred arches, piers with chamfered angles, similar in style to those to causeway (qv). INTERIOR: geometrical stair with slender iron balusters and wreathed handrail; top-lit 1st floor. (Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Staffordshire: London: 1974-: P.192; Clayton H: Cathedral City: Lichfield: 1977-: P.102-5). Listing NGR: SK1140909629
context_page_description: Lichfield is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly 16 mi north of Birmingham, 8.1 miles from Rugeley, 9 miles from Walsall, 7.9 miles from Tamworth and 13 miles from Burton Upon Trent. At the time of the 2011 Census the population was estimated at 32,219 and the wider Lichfield District at 100,700.
  Notable for its three-spired medieval cathedral, Lichfield was the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the writer of the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language. The city's recorded history began when Chad of Mercia arrived to establish his Bishopric in 669 AD and the settlement grew as the ecclesiastical centre of Mercia. In 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, was found 5.9 km south-west of Lichfield.
  The development of the city was consolidated in the 12th century under Roger de Clinton, who fortified the Cathedral Close and also laid out the town with the ladder-shaped street pattern that survives to this day. Lichfield's heyday was in the 18th century, when it developed into a thriving coaching city.
context_section_description: Lichfield Cathedral - The only medieval cathedral in Europe with three spires. The present building was started in 1195, and completed by the building of the Lady Chapel in the 1330s. It replaced a Norman building begun in 1085 which had replaced one, or possibly two, Saxon buildings from the seventh century.
  Cathedral Close - Surrounding the Cathedral, the close contains many buildings of architectural interest.
  Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum - A museum to Samuel Johnson's life, work and personality.
  Erasmus Darwin House - Home to Erasmus Darwin, the house was restored to create a museum which opened to the public in 1999.
  Lichfield Museum - in St Mary's Church in the market square, an exhibition of 2,000 years of Lichfield's history.
  The Guildhall - an historic building in the centre of Lichfield, located in Bore Street, it has been central to the government of the City for over 600 years.
  Bishop's Palace - Built in 1687, the palace was the residence of the Bishop of Lichfield until 1954; it is now used by the Cathedral School.
  Dr Milley's Hospital - Located on Beacon Street, it dates back to 1504 and was a women's hospital.
  Hospital of St John Baptist without the Barrs - A distinctive Tudor building with a row of eight brick chimneys. This was built outside the city walls (barrs) to provide accommodation for travellers arriving after the city gates were closed. It now provides homes for elderly people and has an adjacent Chapel.
  Church of St Chad - A 12th-century church, though extensively restored; near the church is a reconstruction of 'St Chad's Well', where the 7th-century churchman St Chad St Chad is said to have prayed and baptised people.
  St Michael on Greenhill - Overlooking the city, the ancient churchyard is one of the largest in the country at 9 acres (4 ha).
  Christ Church - An outstanding example of Victorian ecclesiastical architecture and a grade II* listed building.
  The Market Square - In the centre of the city, the square contains two statues, one of Samuel Johnson overlooking the house in which he was born, and one of his great friend and biographer, James Boswell.
  Beacon Park - An 81-acre (33 ha) public park in the centre of the city, used for many sporting and recreational activities.
  Minster Pool & Stowe Pool - The two lakes occupying 16 acres in the heart of Lichfield: Stowe Pool is designated a SSSI site as it is home to native White-Clawed Crayfish. By Stowe Pool stands Johnson's Willow, a descendant of the original enormous tree which was much admired and visited by Samuel Johnson.
  The Franciscan Friary - The ruins of the former Friary in Lichfield, now classed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
  Lichfield Clock Tower - A Grade II listed 19th century clock tower, located south of Festival Gardens.
  Letocetum - The remains of a Roman staging post and bath house, in the village of Wall, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) south of the city.
  Staffordshire Regiment Museum - 2.5 miles (4 km) east of the city in Whittington, the museum covers the regiment's history, activities and members, and includes photographs, uniforms, weapons, medals, artefacts, memorabilia and regimental regalia. Outdoors is a replica trench from World War I, and several armoured fighting vehicles.
  National Memorial Arboretum - 4 miles (6 km) north east of the city in Alrewas, the Arboretum is a national site of remembrance and contains many memorials to the armed services.
caption: The Free Library and Museum
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