. The imperial island; England's chronicle in stone;. rmed one of the last groups of Saxonsubjects to continue in the relapse from Christianity that pre-vailed after the invasion of the Northmen. St. Chad becamethe great patron saint of Lichfield as well as its first bishop, orthe successor of four Mercian bishops. His See was very large,but soon was subdivided; the See of Hereford was formed in676; that of Worcester in 680, and about the same time thoseof Leicester and Lindsey. The last two were afterwards mergedin that of Lincoln, and in 1075, when the episcopal seats weremoved from small to
. The imperial island; England's chronicle in stone;. rmed one of the last groups of Saxonsubjects to continue in the relapse from Christianity that pre-vailed after the invasion of the Northmen. St. Chad becamethe great patron saint of Lichfield as well as its first bishop, orthe successor of four Mercian bishops. His See was very large,but soon was subdivided; the See of Hereford was formed in676; that of Worcester in 680, and about the same time thoseof Leicester and Lindsey. The last two were afterwards mergedin that of Lincoln, and in 1075, when the episcopal seats weremoved from small to larger places, this of Lichfield was trans-ferred to Chester. About a dozen years later it was movedto Coventry, and the title became Coventry and Lichfield,and the reverse after the restoration (1660). In earlier timesthere were severe dissensions between two chapters of theseplaces in regard to the election of the bishops, and some violentproceedings with the monks, especially at Coventry. The dates of the erection of the Cathedral are uncertain,. LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL. LICHFIELD. 185 for its archives were destroyed in 1642 by certain imitators ofthe Mohammedans at Alexandria. Its ground plan shows theform of a cross, the east end of which is longer than the west-ern. According to Prof. Willis the existing edifice was prob-ably began about 1200 at the west end of the choir. About1240 the transept and the chapter-house at the north end werefinished, as were the nave in 1250, the west front in 1275,the Lady Chapel in 1300, — all of them in Early English orDecorated. The exterior is oftentimes first seen from the south-east,and there presents some of its most striking features, in oneof the most picturesque views of any English cathedral. Itscentral and two western spires, a group found nowhere else inEngland, form with the transept a triple pyramid, that risesfrom a little lake reflecting them on its calm surface. Whenthey are approached, and are seen from the south, the longf
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidi, booksubjectarchitecture
