09 February 2025

Exhibition tells how
Lichfield Cathedral and
its three spires have
survived storms and sieges

The three spires of Lichfield Cathedral rising above Minster Pool (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Patrick Comerford

I spent some time in Lichfield Cathedral last week, following the daily cycle of prayer, including the mid-day Eucharist with the Thursday Prayers for Peace at the Saint Chad Shrine in the Lady Chapel, and sitting in the chapter stall at Choral Evensong in evening, as well as spending some time in prayer and reflection in the chapel in Saint John’s Hospital.

For many reasons, both Lichfield Cathedral and the chapel in Saint John’s Hospital have been my spiritual homes since my late teens.

The three spires of Lichfield Cathedral symbolise of the city for many people, and it is the only mediaeval cathedral in England with three spires.

I missed my opportunities last to see the ‘Story of a Spire’, an exhibition in the Chapter House in Lichfield Cathedral that originally ran from 16 July to 31 August last year (2024), telling the story of the cathedral’s three spires and the people who built and restored them.

So, it was an added pleasure last week that the exhibition has been extended until this month, although it is now due to close later this month (February 2025).

The exhibition tells the stories about how Lichfield Cathedral and its three spires have withstood the tests of time and how they have survived storms and sieges, cannonballs and collapse to return time and again to being symbols of hope and resilience.

The cathedral bells have called people in Lichfield to worship since the 12th century, and the spires have been landmarks guiding pilgrims and visitors to the cathedral.

There are exhibits exploring the craftsmanship of stonemasons, past and present. Visitors can hear the choral music that is still sung in the cathedral today. And there are displays of manuscripts, books, pamphlets and paintings that tell the enduring stories of the spires.

The central spire, which was completed over 700 years ago in 1315, is built of sandstone, a soft stone that needs constant maintenance. The exhibition tells how it is likely that the spire was restored periodically throughout the mediaeval period.

An engraving by William Dugdale in the 1640s showing Lichfield Cathedral without the central spire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Richard Greville, Lord Brooke, a general who led the Parliamentarian forces against the Royalist troops during the first siege of the Cathedral Close in Lichfield during the English Civil War, was killed by a sniper firing from the central spire of Lichfield Cathedral on 2 March 1643. The deadly shot is said to have been fired by a deaf-mute, John ‘Dumb’ Dyott, who was a godson of the Royalist High Sheriff of Staffordshire, William Comberford of Comberford Hall and the Moat House, Tamworth.

Some time later, the central spire was destroyed by a besieging Parliamentarian force, and as the spire came tumbling down the roof of the cathedral was damaged too.

After the Caroline restoration in 1660, Bishop John Hacket spent nine years restoring the cathedral and rebuilding the central spire, and the cathedral was rededicated on Christmas Day 1669. A stained glass window in the south choir aisle depicts this restoration and rebuilding in progress.

The spire was in need of restoration again in the 1940s. The gold cross on top of the spire was removed and brought into the cathedral. There it was converted into a collection box to collect money as donations.

The cathedral again appealed again in the 1990s and 2020s for donations and grants to cover the cost of repairs to the central spire.

The exhibition, ‘Story of a Spire’, is curated by Clare Townsend, the Cathedral’s Library Manager, and Ishbel Curr, the Exhibition Officer. The exhibition is now expected to close this month (February 2025), but there are still opportunities to see these interesting insights into the cathedral spires in the Chapter House.

Appeals and donations in the 1660s towards Bishop Hacket’s restoration of the cathedral and the central spire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)