Midsummer Music
Lichfield
About Lichfield where our live musicians perform
String Quartets, Ceilidh and Barn Dance Bands, Jazz Bands, Party Bands and more…
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Towns, cities and regions, such as Lichfield have an influence on the style of music, whether it is the 'English Countryside' feel of Vaughan Williams, the strength of Elgar's Victorian Malvern, or the skirl of Northumbrian Pipe tune.
About Lichfield
Lichfield began as a Saxon village. The name Lichfield may be a corruption of Letocetum meaning grey wood. Or it may a corruption of Lece feld meaning small stream (lece) by the open land (feld). In the year 669 the Bishop of Mercia (roughly the Midlands of England) chose to make his seat at Lichfield. After his death the Bishop was canonised (declared a saint) and his remains were kept in Lichfield. Many pilgrims came to see them. (In those days many people went on long journeys called pilgrimages to visit things like the shrines of saints). However in 1075 the reigning bishop moved his seat to Chester. The Bishops of Chester owned the village of Lichfield. Bishop Clinton (1129-48) decided to create a new town there. The Bishop laid out some new streets. On one side of the town was a street where John Street and Bird Street now stand. On the other side was a street where Dam Street, Conduit Street and Bakers Lane are today. Linking the two were Frog Lane, Wade Street, Bore Street and Market Street. Lichfield did not have stone walls but it did have a ditch and an earth embankment probably with a wooden stockade on top. By the 13th century little 'suburbs' had grown up outside the ditch. In 1291 the town was severely damaged by a fire, which destroyed many buildings. Fire was a constant threat in the Middle Ages because most buildings were of wood with thatched roofs. On the other hand if they did burn they could easily be replaced. Lichfield prospered. It had a mint and in 1228 the Bishop moved back from Chester. By 1208 there was a 'hospital' (actually an almshouse) outside the town opposite the end of St John Street. From about 1237 there were Franciscan friars on the site of the street called The Friary. (Friars were like monks but instead of withdrawing from the world they went out to preach and help the poor). The population of Lichfield at that time is not known for certain but it was probably about 1,500. That may seem tiny but towns and villages were very small in those days.
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