The irrepressible David Evans seems to be out and about having fun with his new camera. Intriguingly today, he sent me this. I have no idea what it is, what he’s talking about, or who I am anymore. Please help. This may be one for top Lichfeldian cardigan fangirl Kate from Lichfield Lore, or perhaps the boys from Lichfield Live (formerly The Lichfield Blog).
David came over all enigmatic, and said only this:
Hi Bob
Yes, I just had to go to Lichfield again, to see how many people were counting bootscrapers and to enjoy some of the other interesting little nooks and crannies there. This little gem, for example.
I wonder how many of today’s first-generation Lichfeldians will recognise it?
cheers
David
I have no idea what David is talking about. Can anyone toss me a bone, please?
In a separate mail, David also asked me to pass on the following to Kate on the subject of the Lombard Street Forge and other bits and pieces concerning Ye Olde City:
Hi Bob
From cousin John, this evening:
He understands that there were two spas in Stowe Street long ago! I wonder if the locals mean wells?
Beacon Street was known as Bacon Street originally, and was the red light district of the town! So close to The Close, too!
I realise this is drifting a little out of the normal Northern Wastes territory, but I think most of us know and love La-di-dah Lichfield, and anything that pushes folk to the wonderful local history work of Lichfield Lore has to be a good thing…
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Well David, I was looking for something to do while the football was on so thank you. Mystery stone work, spas in Stowe St, and another of Lichfield’s old trades on Beacon St.
Thanks as ever Bob for all the support. And yes I am always looking for them, you got me good & proper 😉
Cheers,
Kate
Mi and mummu an daddi had din-dins dere today, wot a luvly spot Chapters is! 🙂
HI Bob
Floreat Lichfeldia !
Presumably the arched thingy in the wall is the mystery. If it isn’t I would like to know what it is anyway.
It’s the old wall to The Close, and a bricked up access point to Minster Pool.
Hi Ian
spot on..and the Chapters IS a good little bistrot…I wonder how high the wall was originally, before ” the troubles ” of the Civil War began ! Does anyone have more info, please?
kind regards
David
This one has got me really intrigued. We were talking about it on twitter last night. Roger said the Chapters website describes it as a ’13th century walled garden’. I was thinking along the lines that the stone may have been reused, taken from the ruins of the Cathedral. I think from the listed building description, this is what the Old Stables next door were built from. http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-382781-cathedral-visitors-study-centre-and-atta
I hadn’t realised until looking this up that this was the site of Bishop Hacket’s ‘palace’ which he built because the original one was apparently in no fit state (he used some of the stone from it though).
Basically this is a very long winded way of saying I don’t know, but I’d like to!
HI Bob
In Beacon park there is now an assembly of stones, mounted in a display wall, which appear to show a medieval battle near the cathedral.. I wonder what this battle was? Civil war? It is by the rose gardens.
cheers
David
and a big thankyou to Kate and her colleagues,please
Hello! This one I do know – I think it’s called the Martyrs Plaque. Taken from wikipedia:
The plaque came into being as the seal for the city of Lichfield. The plaque depicts the disputed* story of 999 Christian martyrs who were killed by the Romans under pagan Emperor Diocletian in Lichfield in 288 CE. The plaque was set in front of the Guildhall in 1744. During the Victorian restoration of the Guildhall, the plaque was moved to a rockery on the eastern side of the Museum Gardens when it opened in 1864. It lay in the rockery falling into a state of disrepair until, in 2010 during restoration works the plaque was relocated onto a plinth in the Recreation Grounds. The seal can also be seen on the railway bridge at St John’s Street.
*I think this also has something to do with the City of the Dead theory for where the name Lichfield came from.
Cheers,
Kate
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