St Mary's Church is a city centre church in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

England located on the south side of the market square. A church is reputed to have been on the present site since at least 1150 but the current building dates from 1870 and is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The church was remodelled in the early 1980s and again in 1997-1999 and now serves a variety of purposes including Lichfield Library and Tourist Information on the ground floor, and on the top floor
The Hub at St Mary's
is now home to a speciality coffee shop, art gallery, treasury exhibition and performing arts space.

History

Early Buildings

It is understood that the current St Mary's church is the fourth incarnation of the church on the site in the market square. It is thought that the first church on the site was built when the town was laid out by Bishop Clinton in around 1150 although first mention of it is in the 13th century. A fire in 1291 destroyed most of the town including its churches. St Mary's was rebuilt in the 14th century. This

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

church consisted of an aisled chancel, an aisled nave, a west tower and a spire. The tower is believed to have been built in 1356. It was at this time that St Mary's achieved a special prominence in the city as the church of the

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

of St Mary and St John the Baptist, founded in 1387 by the amalgamation of two existing guilds. This guild ran affairs of the city until 1538. From 17th century the north side of the church became the burial place of Anthony Dyott (d. 1662) and later members of the Dyott family, who were the owners of Freeford Manor. The present church has a chapel dedicated to the Dyotts at its northern end. The tower and spire of the medieval church consistently had structural failings over the years. The spire fell down in 1594 and 1626. Extensive repairs took place in the 17th century but it was to no avail when in 1716 it fell again. It was this collapse in 1716 which led to the rebuilding of the church, which began in 1716. The church register dates from 1566 and includes the entry of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

's baptism which would have taken place in the latter years of the medieval church.

Neoclassical Style Building (1721–1868)

The decision was made to demolish the medieval church in 1716. A new church designed by the architect

Francis Smith of Warwick Francis Smith of Warwick (1672–1738) was an England, English master-builder and architect, much involved in the construction of country houses in the Midland counties of England. Smith of Warwick may refer also to his brothers, or his son. Ar ...

would be built in a neoclassical style. The construction of the new church was funded by public subscription, the Conduit Lands Trust and the Lichfield Corporation. After five years of construction the church was completed in 1721. These years of construction were probably overseen by Samuel Johnson who would have experienced his early childhood in the house facing onto the church. The church body was built in brick while the medieval tower was retained (without its spire) and encased in stucco. The new church consisted of a chancel, an aisled nave with north south and west galleries and a west tower. Extensive repairs were carried out in 1806 and 1820 under Joseph Potter the Elder (a prominent Lichfield architect). In 1820 the brick exterior of the body of the church was covered in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

. By the mid 19th century there was much enthusiasm to rebuild the church in a

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. A new building would also serve as a memorial to the former Vicar Rev. Henry Lonsdale, brother of Bishop Lonsdale who died in 1851 and was buried beneath the west tower. In 1853 the tower was lowered and remodelled in a Victorian Gothic style, complete with steeple under a design by

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

. The architect also submitted a design for the main body of the church, but due to lack of funds rebuilding of the main church did not commence until 1868. For the last 15 years of the neoclassical style church it consisted of a gothic tower with spire and neoclassical style main body encased in stucco, the body of the church was demolished in 1868 after standing for 147 years.

Present Building (1870 – present)

The present building built in Derbyshire sandstone was completed in a Victorian Gothic style after two years construction in 1870. The architect for the building was James Fowler of Louth, it is not known if he used any of G. E. Street's original designs. The Lonsdale family met much of the cost towards the building. When complete the church consisted of a chancel, a chapel on its north side dedicated to the Dyott family, an aisled nave of four bays, and the tower and spire from 1853. By 1868 the lower part of the tower was dilapidated, much of it dating from the medieval church of the 14th century and was almost completely rebuilt. Charles Bateman incorporated some colour decorations to the interior of the church in the early 20th century. The city centre population in Lichfield declined from the 1930s as people moved out to the suburbs and shops and businesses moved into the city centre. This inevitably led to a decline in congregation at St Mary's and a large city centre church with a capacity for 900 people was no longer viable. By the 1970s a committee was set up to save the historic building from abandonment and demolition. The proposal was to transform the space into a multi-functional building that would serve the community at the heart of the city. The church would have five sections, a social centre for senior citizens, a coffee shop, a gift shop, a heritage exhibition and the Dyott Chapel at the north end would remain as the parish church of St Mary for worship. Works started on the transformation of the church in 1978 under the design of Hinton Brown Langstone of Warwick. Construction work was completed in December 1980 and the new centre opened on 30 May 1981. During 2018, an award-winning £1.8 million renovation began. St Mary's reopened, refocusing their efforts on being home to everybody in the community. Downstairs houses the new Lichfield Library, where over 200,000 books are currently available. Upstairs, you will find a space that is used for community activities, events, musical gigs, performance arts and a host of other things. The former parishes of St Mary's and St Michael on Greenhill were joined to form a single parish with St Michael's as the parish church and St Mary's designated as a Chapel of Ease. Together with St John's at

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

it forms a group of churches known as the United

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

. Occasional services take place in the Dyott Chapel at the north end of the church.

References

External links

The United Benefice of St Michael with St Mary, Lichfield and St John, Wall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys Church, Lichfield

Churches completed in 1870 19th-century Church of England church buildings Churches in Lichfield G. E. Street buildings