Lichfield Cathedral is a
Church of England cathedral in
Lichfield, in the English county of
Staffordshire. A cathedral was first built on the site in 700, by Bishop
Headda, to house the bones of
St Chad. The original wooden building was replaced by a
Norman cathedral made from stone, which in turn was replaced by the present
Gothic structure, begun in 1195. The fabric of the cathedral suffered in the
English Civil War, when it was used as a defensive structure. In the 18th century the interior was extensively remodelled, with major structural work organised by
James Wyatt; this involved removing the high altar to make a single worship area consisting of the
choir and
lady chapel, and adding a massive stone screen at the entrance to the choir. This photograph shows the choir of the cathedral, which was built around 1200.
Photograph credit: David Iliff