In the 16th century Henry VIII led the Church in England to a break with Rome, which had great implications for the practice of the Faith. The elaborate pattern of worship, with its emphasis on masses for the dead, was brought to an end, and in the reign of Henry’s son, Edward VI, chantry chapels were disendowed. In Lichfield, the Shrine of St. Chad was taken away, Stone altars were destroyed, and the costly ornaments and relics dispersed. The gaily decorated walls were white-washed, statues destroyed, and the cathedral took on a very austere appearance. Pilgrimage came to an end.

Change and destruction

This process of change and destruction was taken much further by the Civil War in England. Lichfield Close, being a fortified area, became a Royalist stronghold, and was besieged by Cromwell’s men in 1643. When the Royalists capitulated, the Parliamentarians moved in. Not long afterwards, The Royalists recaptured the Close, but, in 1646, it was besieged by Parliament again. Cannonballs were fired at the cathedral, the roof was holed, and the central spire destroyed. When they entered the Close again, Cromwell’s men found many houses in ruins, and the cathedral in considerable disrepair. The troops are recorded as acting very destructively, destroying statues and monuments, defacing the carvings and causing other extensive damage. Lichfield Cathedral suffered more than any other at the hands of the devastators. The pressure of the cult of St. Chad, of pilgrimage, and of the practice of medieval religion had led to the building and extension of three successive cathedrals, elaborately carved and decorated. Within two hundred years religion in England had changed so dramatically that the cathedral had been completely altered in appearance and in use.

The long process of restoration

The Civil War period in England severely affected the life and worship practice of its churches. The Parliamentary party was against bishops and against the Prayer Book, which had become the symbol of the new Church of England. Both were thrown out as the Church became more Protestant, under Presbyterian influence from Scotland. A study of the records of the priests and bishops serving the cathedral shows that they suffered greatly for their allegiance to King Charles I and their Church. However, with the accession of Charles II, Precentor Higgins and the reformed Chapter began the long process of restoration. In 1662, Bishop Hacket was appointed by the King, and considerably influenced the rebuilding of the cathedral. Regular worship began in the Chapter House, one of the least damaged parts of the building. The choir was in use by 1670, and Morning and Evening Prayer were once again sung regularly. Holy Communion was less frequent, but a new emphasis on preaching developed.

The whole building would have looked very austere compared with, say, 1400. Light from the plain glass windows would have shown up the defaced carvings of the arcading, still visible today. The whitewashed walls were broken only by the niches where statues had been torn away. The fine Gothic screen, separating the choir from the Lady Chapel, had been covered to hide its mutilation, by a Classical-style screen, based on one in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall; damaged monuments were everywhere. Areas like St. Chad’s Head Chapel, which had become the Muniment Room for storing archives, would have shown all too clearly the scars of the Civil War. A false ceiling hid the broken vaulting.Elsewhere too, chapels had been put to new use. A 17th-century ground plan, by Willis, shows that the chapel below St. Chad’s Head, formerly dedicated to St. Peter, had become the Prebendaries’ Vestry; those of the south transept the Vicars’ Vestry and the Dean’s Consistory Court. The Bishop’s Consistory was in the north transept, adjacent to St Stephen’s Chapel.