Patrick Comerford
Two new works of public art in Lichfield are spelling out the name of the cathedral city in capital letters in their own way: one is a work of street art in a hidden alleyway off a car park, the other is in Beacon Park, with the three spires of the cathedral as a backdrop; both are becoming popular as locations for ‘selfies’ among visitors and local people alike.
The name of Lichfield appears in block capital letters in the new colourful mural on the side of the Iceland supermarket that stretches for 30 metres along the first stage of the alleyway running from the Bird Street car park to Market Street.
The artist Nacho Welles seeks to capture Lichfield’s heritage and history in a work that features many local buildings and people, including Lichfield Cathedral, Samuel Johnson, Anna Seward, the Sandfields Pumping station, and the Lichfield-born Olympic cycling champion Sophie Capewell, who was one of the patrons of the Sheriff’s Ride in Lichfield this year (2025). There too are the terrapin that sunbathes at Minster Pool, a playful rabbit and a fox, the Roman ruins at Wall and, at the suggestion of local historian and tour guide Jonathan Oates of Jono’s Tourism, the Minster Pool heron.
This colourful piece of street art by Nacho Welles was commissioned by Lichfield District Council and was completed in recent weeks. At an early stage, the council invited residents, communities and businesses to take part in shaping the new mural, which has been funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Nacho Welles is a Spanish urban artist based in London who also goes by the name Core246. He has painted in street and graffiti art festivals across Europe, has painted murals all over the world, is the author of a sold-out series of books on graffiti, Not4 Profit, and paints with the graffiti crews Ghost Writers (GW) and Smile More Often (Smo).
His paintings on canvas reflect a mix of classic street art aesthetics, pop art and realistic portraiture, using vibrant colours and referencing popular movies, comics and videogames. He has taken part in street art festivals in Antwerp, Athens, Kosovo, Leicester, London, Madrid, Nara, Wiesbaden and Zagreb.
He began painting in oils at the age of 8, and soon moved on to spray painting in abandoned factories and tunnels, creating murals with friends for fun. After studying fine art at the University of Cuenca in Spain, he moved to London in 2011, and he continues creating freehand aerosol graffiti in situ, in addition to his studio practice.
When the mural was being planned earlier this year, Councillor Richard Holland, Cabinet Member for High Street and Economic Development on Lichfield District Council, said the alleyway would be ‘transformed into a vibrant area that our residents can be proud of’ and that the mural would contribute ‘to our work to improve our high streets and will be an important contribution to our vibrant economy.’
Councillor Janice Silvester-Hall, Cabinet Member for Visitor Economy, Ecology and Climate Change, said: ‘This mural should represent everything that makes Lichfield the place it is; the people that live here, landmarks that shape our streets and famous figures that represent our heritage.’
Residents, communities and businesses were asked for their views on themes, colour schemes and key elements to bring the mural together. Alongside this, Nacho held workshops with students from Lichfield College in street art and involving them to create the final artwork.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), often called Dr Johnson, was born in Lichfield. He was a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor, and compiler of one of the most important lexicographer. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says he is ‘arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history’.
Sandfields Pumping Station, a disused pumping station in Lichfield, was built in 1873 to supply clean water from Minster Pool and Stowe Pool to towns in the Black Country, and is a Grade II* listed building. The historian, photographer and filmmaker David Moore, former chair of Lichfield Waterworks Trust, worked for several years to save this site, which he describes as a ‘magnificent cathedral to the industrial revolution’. He made four short video interviews with me in Saint John’s Hospital 10 years ago (2015), talking with me about my links with Lichfield.
Sophie Ellen Capewell was born in Lichfield and is a British professional racing cyclist. She won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the team sprint, and has won numerous national, Commonwealth, European and world medals. She was one of the patrons of the Sheriff’s Ride in Lichfield this year.
Anna Seward (1742-1809), a Romantic poet known as the ‘Swan of Lichfield’, was the daughter of Thomas Seward, a prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral. She lived in the Bishop’s Palace in the Cathedral Close and was part of the literary circle that included Erasmus Darwin, Samuel Johnson and James Boswell. She is buried under the choir stalls in Lichfield Cathedral.
Priscilla Pointon (1740-1801) was born in Lichfield and lost her eyesight at the age of 13. She published Poems on Several Occasions’ in 1770. She married James Pickering in 1780, and after his death she published a second volume, Poems by Mrs Pickering (1794). Her name may have been suggested for inclusion in the mural by the local historian Katie Cardigan of Lichfield Discovered.
Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), a doctor, natural historian, inventor and poet, and a founding member of the Lunar Society, lived in Lichfield for much of his life. He was one of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment and the grandfather of Charles Darwin.
Francis Barber (1742-1801) was the Jamaican-born manservant and assistant of Samuel Johnson from 1752 until Johnson died 1784. Johnson left him a generous income, his books and papers, and a gold watch on the condition that Barber move to Lichfield. Barber, who had married a local woman, moved to Lichfield, opened a draper’s shop, and was an important source for James Boswell when he was writing about Johnson. Some of Barber’s descendants still live near Lichfield.
David Garrick (1716-1779) was an actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer, and was a pupil and friend of Samuel Johnson. He built his career on his appearance in the title role of Shakespeare’s Richard III. He gives his name to the Garrick theatre in Lichfield.
Meanwhile, a new city sign spelling out the name of Lichfield in giant white block letters is becoming a popular photo opportunity and a location for ‘selfies’ for visitors and residents alike, and is often used as a backdrop for local presentations.
The sign in Beacon Park was unveiled in April and sits against the backdrop of Lichfield Cathedral. It was crafted by Staffordshire Signs, a Burntwood-based company, for Lichfield District Council and it too was funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as part of a broader High Street Vibrancy initiative.
It is interesting to notice how 3D city signs have become popular features around the world – in recent months, I have noticed them in places as far apart and as diverse as Kuching in Sarawak, Rethymnon in Crete, and Watford in Hertfordshire – and in the age of social media they offer branding opportunities for small cities.
Lichfield District Council has invested almost £100,000 in enhancing public spaces in Lichfield and Burntwood. Additional improvements under the scheme include colourful new planters, festive bunting, decorative bollard covers and enhanced street cleaning.
In Anglo-Saxon times, I suppose we could say Lichfield was a capital of sorts, with Tamworth the political capital of Mercia and Lichfield the ecclesiastical capital. But the capital letters in Nacho Welles’s street art in the centre of the city and the large block letters in Beacon Park are making Lichfield a ‘capital’ city this summer.
