The Cathedral of St Chad, Lichfield (2009)

The Cathedral is unusual in having not one, not two, but three spires - apparently unique in England. The history of worship on this spot goes back a long way. The first church belonged to the Saxons pre-700, and was dedicated to St Mary. The first church to be called a cathedral was built as a shrine to St Chad, and this is known to date from 700. In 1085, the Normans replaced it with their own cathedral, although they kept the dedication, but this in turn was replaced by the gothic cathedral we see today. It has remained substaintially unchanged since its completion about 1340, but sadly some of the original relics have been lost - the original shrine of St Chad was destroyed in 1541 during the Reformation, and the tombs of the medieval Bishops, with other statues and monuments, were destroyed during the Civil War.

(Information provided by Rosemary Lockie)