Lichfield

The cathedral city of Lichfield, which has a population of around 31,000 , retains great importance as an ecclesiastical centre but has also developed commercially in recent years.

Dominated by the three spires of its cathedral and noted as being the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the writer of the first authoritative English Dictionary, this characterful city was first recorded in Bede's history in 669 when the first Christian king of Mercia, King Wulfhere, donated land at Lichfield for St Chad to build a monastery.

Lichfield then became an ecclesiastical centre for the Diocese of Mercia and its first cathedral was built in 700 by Bishop Hedda to house the sacred bones of St Chad.

During the 16th century, Lichfield suffered when Henry VIII's Reformation brought about the destruction of St Chad's Shrine, as well as the Franciscan friary, and the last person in England to be burnt at the stake for heresay took place in Lichfield, in 1612.

The city enjoyed a lively coaching trade in the latter part of the 16th century when it became a major stop-off point on the busy Chester-London route and later became a hive of intellectual activity with the birth of its many notable residents including David Garrick and Erasmus Darwin.

Today, the cathedral is still the city's main place of interest, along with several churches and museums, and there are three secondary schools and numerous primary schools, as well as a wealth of local amenities and transport links.