What the doctor ordered

Lichfield's most famous son, Dr Samuel Johnson, told of how he turned his visiting London-based friend loose in his home city so that the man might "for once see real civility".

Fast forward 260 years and the sentiment of the man with the most wonderful way with words still has plenty of truth in it. It's Saturday afternoon, and Lichfield's cobbled Market Square, where people were once burned at the stake for such 'crimes' as heresy, is brimming with stalls.

Around the corner, Bore Street displays an impressive, though eclectic, mix of medieval Tudor, Stuart, Georgian and Victorian buildings, including the half-timbered Lichfield House, dating from 1510. The Gothic-style Guildhall, which has been a jail, courthouse, fire and police station in its time, is hosting charity stalls.

Tiny alleyways between timber-framed houses lead to lots of quirky little shops and, for a change, there are plenty of individual family businesses in the city centre. This is a city which has also managed to hang on to its many streets of beautiful red brick Georgian buildings, once home to fashionable families.

From the viewing platform in the spire of St Mary's Church above the Market Square – now the Lichfield Heritage Centre – we can clearly see the grid pattern of streets from medieval times. Dominating the scene is the glorious three-spired cathedral which took 150 years to build, but a lot less time for Cromwell's army to wreck. In the 19th century, the cathedral was restored at a cost equivalent to 30m in today's money.

Just in front of the cathedral is the grand Spite House, so named because a woman embittered by her sisters' behaviour, built an extra storey on her property to obscure her siblings' view of the cathedral from their own homes. Not much in the way of civilised behaviour there, of course, but there's plenty of evidence of it elsewhere.

A row of tall chimneys rises above the almshouses of St John's Hospital. Each of these tiny houses would have had a fireplace, a rare feature in the 15th century. This hospital, where pilgrims once found refuge, still offers homes to the elderly.

Later, we found St John's 12th-century chapel well worth a visit for its magnificent stained glass window designed by John Piper, noted

for the Baptistry window at Coventry Cathedral.

In Beacon Park, we came across the handsome statue of John Smith, the Staffordshire-born captain of the ill-fated Titanic. The plaque beneath extols Smith's virtues of a great heart and bravery.

Dr Johnson called Lichfield "a city of philosophers", saying: "We work with our heads and make the boobies of Birmingham work with their hands".

No wonder that, in his day Lichfield was regarded as a place of high society. It was home to some of the most influential pioneers in Britain, including Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles, and esteemed doctor, scientist, inventor and David Garrick, the actor and playwright, for whom the city's modern theatre is named.

A tour of the city's museums is certainly better than any number of history lessons. The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum, in one corner of the Market Square, is set above a bookshop, just as it was in Dr Johnson's boyhood. There are five floors showing the life and achievements of the man.

Opposite the cathedral, another tiny alleyway off the beautifully preserved close leads us to pretty, flower-filled courtyards of small houses with alarmingly saggy rooflines and even more alarmingly bulging walls.

This is the Vicars' Close, built for the lay men who sang the many services at the cathedral.

We follow the path round this higgledly-piggledly arrangement of houses to the herb garden of Erasmus Darwin House, the Georgian home of the man described as "before his time". In the 18th century, members of the Lunar Society, the so-called fathers of the industrial revolution, met here on the night of the full moon. Among his other inventions, Darwin would have had a weather vane on the roof with a spindle in his study so he could see if the wind changed. He had to weigh up the risks of going out and getting stuck in the mud against those of his patients dying.

We are beginning to flake a little from overload on Johnson and Darwin and the city's other luminaries, but certainly don't expect to be so instantly uplifted as we are by the cathedral. Gazing up at the faade makes my mind boggle as to how it could have been built in the 12th century with no river close enough to transport the stone – just the strength of horses and men.

I've also never seen so many stone carvings in my life. Around the main entrance are 113 intricately detailed statues. Only three of them are the originals, but it's quite hard to spot them among those restored in the 19th century.

Inside there are even more; 766 carved heads in all, many of which clearly bear the sword cuts from being defaced by Roundheads during the sieges of the Civil War. One of the guides later tells us: "What time did not erode, Oliver Cromwell took care of."

As if all this is not stunning enough, the cathedral displays the eighth-century Lichfield Angel, believed to be part of a shrine to the Anglo-Saxon missionary, St Chad. The well-preserved angel was uncovered a few years ago during building work.

A few yards away is Sir Francis Chantrey's beautiful sculpture, The Sleeping Children, and the Skidmore screen and pulpit, rare surviving examples of Victorian decorative art.

Lichfield may be one of England's smallest cities, but it is very obviously proud of its heritage and bound by many traditions.

It still holds an ancient court in the Guildhall to inspect its men-at-arms and a well-dressing ceremony at St Chad's well. Each September, it stages the annual riding of the bounds – the city limits – on horseback to maintain its city status.

What else to see and do

Wall Roman Site, to the south of Lichfield. It was known as Letocetum, a centre of business and probably why St Chad came to the area. It has the remains of a bath house and mansion, the most substantial to be found in the UK. There is also a small museum. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Lichfield Heritage Centre, Market Place, is where the stunning Staffordshire Millennium Embroideries, depicting 1,000 years of the county's history, are displayed. They took Sylvia Everitt more than five years to complete as a gift to the people of Staffordshire. There is also a fascinating exhibition on local history, including the sieges of the Civil War. www.lichfieldheritage.org.uk

The Staffordshire Regiment Museum in nearby Whittington, includes stories of soldiers, weaponry and memorabilia dating over 300 years. http://x.staffordshireregimentmuseum.com/

The National Memorial Arboretum, at Alrewas, five miles from Lichfield, is home to the Armed Forces Memorial, which commemorates every member of the UK armed forces killed on duty or as a result of terrorist action since the Second World War. www.thenma.org.uk

Fradley Junction, four miles from Lichfield, is where the Trent and Mersey Canal joins the Coventry Canal. There is a pub and cafs. At the adjacent Fradley Pool Nature Reserve, you can watch out for a variety of birds and wildlife.

WHERE TO EAT

Chandlers is an award-winning restaurant with some well-recommended fish and seafood choices in the splendid, galleried setting of the old Corn Exchange, near the Market Square. www.chandlersrestaurant.co.uk

WHERE TO STAY

The George Hotel, Bird Street, is an elegant and comfortable 18th-century coaching inn minutes away from the cathedral and museums. www.thegeorgelichfield.co.uk

www.visitlichfield.co.uk

www.enjoystaffordshire.com

YP MAG 18/9/10