AN ETERNAL LEGACY

This new statue welcoming pilgrims and visitors to Lichfield will provide inspiration across the Diocese and further afield as we are all invited to follow Christ in the footsteps of St Chad. Your donations will help to renew the living legacy of our own Saint Chad, the first Bishop of Lichfield in twenty-first century Mercia.

The Rt Revd Dr Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield
Patron of the St Chad Statue Appeal

Lichfield Cathedral is one of the oldest places of Christian worship in the country. It was founded as the burial place of the great Anglo-Saxon missionary and the first Bishop of Lichfield, St Chad, to whom the Cathedral is dedicated.

A new public artwork for Lichfield

Lichfield Cathedral has commissioned artist-in-residence Peter Walker to create a major new public sculpture of our patron saint. The statue of St Chad will be cast in bronze and situated in The Close facing Dam Street. It will be a lasting monument to this central figure in Lichfield’s history.

Who was Chad?

A holy man, of modest character, well read in the Scripture, and diligently practising those things which he had learned therein.

The Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People (completed around 731)

Chad is the saint and bishop to whom Lichfield Cathedral is dedicated. Born to a noble family around 634, he was educated on Lindisfarne, and spent time as Bishop of York and Abbot of Lastingham. When he was appointed Bishop of Mercia, one of the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Chad chose to centre his administration in Lichfield. He founded a church and a community here in 669 which became the religious heart of the kingdom. 

Chad died in 672, much loved and revered. Bishop Hedda, his successor, consecrated the first cathedral in Lichfield on his burial site on Christmas Day 700. The shrine of St Chad grew quickly in importance, and became one of the three most important centres of mediaeval pilgrimage in the country.

Chad was central to the development of Lichfield as a city: his choice to centre his mission at Lichfield shaped the whole of central England and is the reason the city grew up as it did. This major new artwork will help tell an important part of Lichfield’s story.

The Statue
    

Made of bronze and standing 3m tall in The Close facing Dam Street to welcome visitors and pilgrims to the Cathedral, he will hold a representation of the Cathedral’s famous 8th century St Chad Gospels in one hand with his other hand raised in blessing. Famous for his holiness and humility, Chad maintained a life of poverty and simplicity and preferred to walk to all parts of his huge diocese than to ride. In the sculpture he is seen almost in motion, about to set out from the Cathedral behind him to draw people in to its community.

The Artist

Peter Walker is Lichfield Cathedral’s Artist-in-Residence. His work consists of large-scale sculpture as well as paintings, drawings, film, sound and light installations. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. He has created 16 major public works around the UK alongside solo exhibitions in the UK and Europe. 

Peter undertook extensive research before creating over 100 drawings and studies in order to develop the design for the statue of St Chad. These drawings were then used to produce a maquette (scale model) of the statue, first in clay and then cast in resin, which is currently on public display inside the Cathedral. Peter will make the full-size sculpture on site in his studio in the Cathedral Close, which will be open for the public to see the work in progress. 

St Chad was the founding Bishop of Lichfield and his shrine
drew, and still draws, thousands of pilgrims and visitors to
Lichfield. Having a statue of him welcoming us to the Cathedral, the building that his successor founded, will be a very special
experience indeed.  

How can you help?

This major new sculpture will cost £300,000. This includes commissioning the artwork, casting it in bronze, re-landscaping of the Cathedral grounds at the site, and all professional fees for architecture, archaeology and structural engineering. Please consider making a donation to help create this lasting legacy for the Cathedral and the city.

Cheques payable to Lichfield Cathedral can be sent to St Chad Statue Appeal, Chapter Office, 19a The Close, Lichfield, WS13 7LD 

You can also donate by text message:
To give £10, text CHAD to 70191
To give £5, text CHAD to 70970

Donations by BACS should be made to Lichfield Cathedral and include the reference CHAD:
Lichfield Cathedral
Acc No: 03803252
Sort Code: 53 70 15

Thank you for your support.