| Lichfield | |
|---|---|
| City and civil parish | |
 From top left: Lichfield Cathedral; Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum; Quonians Lane; Garrick Theatre and skyline of the city. | |
  Lichfield Location within Staffordshire | |
| Area | 14.02 km2 (5.41 sq mi) [1] |
| Population | 34,738 |
| • Density | 2,478/km2 (6,420/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Lichfieldian |
| OS grid reference | SK115097 |
| • London | 121 miles (195 km) NNW |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the city | |
| Post town | LICHFIELD |
| Postcode district | WS13, WS14 |
| Dialling code | 01543 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www.lichfield.gov.uk |
Lichfield (/ˈlɪtʃfiːld/) is a cathedral city and civil parish[2] in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated 18 miles (29 km) south-east of the county town of Stafford, 9 miles (14 km) north-east of Walsall, 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Tamworth and 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Burton upon Trent. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population was 34,738 and the population of the wider Lichfield District was 106,400.[3]
Notable for its three-spired medieval cathedral, Lichfield was the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the writer of the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language. The city's recorded history began when Chad of Mercia arrived to establish his Bishopric in 669 AD and the settlement grew as the ecclesiastical centre of Mercia. In 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, was found 4 mi (6.4 km) south-west of Lichfield.
The development of the city was consolidated in the 12th century under Roger de Clinton, who fortified the Cathedral Close and also laid out the town with the ladder-shaped street pattern that survives to this day. Lichfield's heyday was in the 18th century, when it developed into a thriving coaching city. This was a period of great intellectual activity; the city was the home of many famous people including Samuel Johnson, David Garrick, Erasmus Darwin and Anna Seward, prompting Johnson's remark that Lichfield was "a city of philosophers".
Today, the city still retains its old importance as an ecclesiastical centre, and its industrial and commercial development has been limited. The centre of the city has over 230 listed buildings (including many examples of Georgian architecture) and preserves much of its historic character.
- ^ "Lichfield City Council - Statistics". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
- ^ "Names and codes for Administrative Geography". Office for National Statistics. 31 December 2008. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
- ^ "Statistics - Lichfield City Council". www.lichfield.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2023.