Griffith Higgs's Account of the Sieges of and Iconoclasm at Lichfield Cathedral in 1643

Abstract

While all cathedrals endured bouts of iconoclasm in the English civil wars, and many endured military attack, Lichfield suffered more than others, besieged twice in 1643 and for a third time in 1646. An eyewitness account of the first two sieges, in March and April 1643, written by the dean, Griffith Higgs, has been overlooked by historians because it is written in Latin. Translated for the first time here, it allows more detailed analysis not only of the 1643 the sieges, but also of the iconoclasm that the cathedral endured at the hands of the Parliament's troops after the first siege. Like other eyewitness accounts of attacks on cathedrals in 1642–3, it provides an insight into Royalist attitudes at the beginning of the war, as well as a means of assessing post-Restoration claims about the extent of damage and desecration at the hands of rebellious Parliamentarians.