Lichfield District

Lichfield District
Non-metropolitan district

Seal

Shown within Staffordshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region West Midlands
Ceremonial county Staffordshire
Admin HQ Lichfield
Created 1 April 1974
Government
  Type Non-metropolitan district
  Leader Mike Wilcox
  Council Conservative
  MPs:

Michael Fabricant C

Christopher Pincher C
Area
  Total 127.9 sq mi (331.3 km2)
Population (mid-2014 est.)
  Total 102,093 (Ranked 230th)
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
  Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Post Code WS7, 13-14
Area code(s) 01543
Website http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/

Lichfield (UK /ˈlɪtʃˌfld/[1]) is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield.

The dignity and privileges of the City of Lichfield are vested in the parish council of the 14 km² Lichfield civil parish. The non-metropolitan district of Lichfield covers nearly 25 times this area and its local authority is Lichfield District Council.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the existing City of Lichfield with most of the Lichfield Rural District.

The town of Burntwood also makes up a major part of the Lichfield district.

Etymology

Legend has it that a thousand Christians were martyred in Lichfield around AD 300, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and that the name 'Lichfield' actually means 'field of the dead' (see Lich). There is however, no evidence to support this legend.[2] At Wall, 3 miles (5 km) to the south of the present city, there was a Romano-British village called Letocetum from the British (Celtic) for "grey wood", from which the first half of the name Lichfield is derived.[3] The second part of the name is derived from the Old English "feld", meaning 'open country'. In that sense 'Lichfield' would be 'common pasture in grey wood', 'grey' perhaps referring to varieties of tree prominent in the landscape, such as ash and elm.[4]

Politics

Elections to the borough council are held every four years, with all of the 56 seats on the council being elected. After being under Labour from the 1995 election, the Conservative party gained a majority at the 1999 election and have retained control ever since.

Following the United Kingdom local elections, 2011 and subsequent by-elections,[5] the political composition of Lichfield council is as follows:

Year Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat
2014 45 10 1

Demographics

According to 2008 estimates, the population of Lichfield district is 97,900. At the time of the 2001 UK Census, Lichfield district’s population was 93,232. The figures below are also from the 2001 UK Census.

50.89% of the population was female, leaving 49.11% of the population being male.[6]

Christians made up 80.44% of the population, with 11.95% of the population having no religion, 1.05% being from other religions and 6.56% who didn’t state a religion.[6]

96.57% of the population was White British, 0.70% White Irish, 0.87% White Other, 0.53% Mixed Race, 0.78% Asian, 0.25% Black and 0.29% Chinese. 2.84% of the population was born outside of the United Kingdom.[7]

Settlements within the district

Places of interest

A path in Beacon Park
Minster Pool with Lichfield Cathedral in the background

Adventure and excitement

Arts and entertainment

History and heritage

Parks and the great outdoors

Shopping and retail

Plans have been approved for Friarsgate, a new £100 million shopping and leisure complex opposite Lichfield City Station. The police station, bus station, Ford garage and multi-storey car park will be demolished to make way for new retail space and leisure facilities consisting of a flagship department store, six-screen cinema, hotel, 37 individual shops, 56 apartments and over 700 car parking spaces.

Staffordshire Hoard Discovery

A selection of 'star items' from the Staffordshire Hoard

Discovered in a field near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield City, in Staffordshire, on 5 July 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found. It consists of nearly 4,000 items that are nearly all martial in character.[8] The artefacts have tentatively been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of the Kingdom of Mercia.

The hoard was valued at £3.285 million, and was purchased by the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery where items from the hoard are displayed.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lichfield (district).

References

  1. "Lichfield". Collins Dictionary. n.d. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  2. "Explaining the origin of the 'field of the dead' legend". British History Online. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  3. "Lichfield". Key to English Place Names. Institude for Name Studies, University of Nottingham. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  4. [From: 'Lichfield: The place and street names, population and boundaries ', A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14: Lichfield (1990), pp. 37-42. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42340 Date accessed: 20 July 2009.]
  5. http://www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/info/100004/council_and_democracy/1751/councillor_vacancy_in_chadsmead_ward
  6. 1 2 "Lichfield District Area Statistics". 2001 UK Census.
  7. "Lichfield District Ethnic Group Statistics". 2001 UK Census.
  8. "The Find". Staffordshire Hoard. Retrieved 14 June 2011.

Coordinates: 52°40′51″N 1°49′39″W / 52.6809°N 1.8276°W / 52.6809; -1.8276

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