We managed to get a few days away on the boat. I had every intention of getting on with a few jobs when we got there. We left home Monday and travelled the couple of hours down to Kings Bromley. The boat was dry and warm, which was saying more than the weather, which was wet and cold! I have lots of sanding and washing to do on the outside, but with the weather that wasn't possible. We had brought the vacuum cleaner to give the insides a good clean, but I couldn't get enthusiastic about anything to I lit the fire!!!! and flashed up the lap top as I have to construct a talk for a WI about the canals for next month. The TV came on later too.
Today the weather started cold and wet once more. And once more I didn't 'feel' the urge to crack on with jobs. I had decided this is a holiday, so the work camp is postponed. Instead Helen maneuvered the vacuum cleaner, I washed up and did other things until we set off for some sight seeing and shopping in Lichfield. It is only a 10 minute drive away and we found a good parking spot not too far from the centre.
As we wandered around the town there were,of course, some shops, and Helen disclosed that she was looking for a couple of items for her wardrobe. And lo and behold we found both of them, and at sale prices so happy days. It really did feel like a holiday as we had lunch inside a cafe, my first time for ages, and a cup of tea and slice of cake was had in the afternoon too!!!
The Cathedral opened at 13:00 and we entered soon after. When we hade been before the Cathedral was closed to visitors for a wedding or something, so we crossed the close and spent a couple of hours in the Erasmus Darwin house which was very interesting. This time the cathedral was open and at no cost too.
the main entrance to the Cathedral with its triple spires is very ornate, with plenty of statue niches that still have the statues in. The church is dedicated to St. Chad and St. Mary . St Chad was the Bishopof Mercia that moved the centre of the see to Lichfield from Repton. The first church was built here in 700 and mainly to house the remains of St. Chad.
The exterior is pretty ornate and it is so lucky that it has survived as during the civil war the Cathedral Close was under siege three times. The cathedral was desecrated by the troops, bombardment brought down the central tower. The exterior is the finest thing about the Cathedral as the interior is not that glamourous. We did spend a couple of hours looking round so it isn't barren. Maybe we have been spoiled.
Wandering around the town I noticed this new conversion. It is the old Regal Cinema that was opened in 1932 with an Art Deco/Egyptian styling. It was designed by a Birmingham architect and had seating for 1000 in the stalls and 300 in the circle It also housed a cafe. By the Sixties Bingo was offered on some days and by 1974 it showed its last film, Bruce Lee in 'The Big Boss'. From then it was bingo only. Further horrors were bestowed upon the building at the end of the 1970's when it was converted to a Kwik Save supermarket with a snooker hall above. In 2008 it was for sale and various plans were put forward, mainly to demolish the rear and keeping the facade. It finally happened in 2018 when this conversion started. It seems an ideal solution for a new use for a distinctive building in the city centre. 36 1 and 2 bedroom 'apartments' were made. There is no parking which seems a drawback, but I would have thought its location would be good for older folk as the centre of the city is on their doorstep and even commuters, as the train to Brum is only about 5 minutes walk away. They are costing between £138,000 and £272,500.
The Regal Cinema in its hey day.
Further up Tamworth Street is the betting shop of William Hill. Whilst obviously an older building it doesn't really stand out until you see.....
The cockerels by the entrance along with the date stone of 1865
Looking into the building it seems that it has cockerels by the door as this was at one time a poulterer. The business belonged to Henry Welch who was born in 1825 in Rugeley, Staffs. It seems he was a servant to a banker and Magistrate in Lichfield in 1851, and was married to Elizabeth from Harefield in Middlesex By the next census he was a Cheese Factor in Market Street. It looks like his eldest son, also Henry, took over the running of the business in the middle 1870's.
This advert from 1888 shows that Henry Junior was not afraid of expanding the business, both the shop and range.
In this advert from 1899 he has once again expanded, having knocked down the building and rebuilt. All I can assume is that he returned the facade and built behind. The original building seems to have been built in 1865. There are addresses of 19 and 27 Tamworth Street. I think No.27 was where they lived. Henry junior in later life lived in Lombard Street just close by. The shop was well known for its fantastic Christmas window displays.
However in 1902 I have found an entry for the business being in court over debts. It seems that they owed £1525 and had assets of only £465, but had secured payments of £900. It seems that they survived as they were still in business in 1916. Henry died in 1917, aged 66. He had been in the choir at the Cathedral for 55 years. In fact his younger brother, George, sang professionally. Henry junior's eldest son also Henry was running the Board of Trade Employment office in Herefordshire. The second son, John, was running the business and the two younger sons were on active service, William was a Sergeant in the Lichfield Territorials and had been at the front for two years. The youngest, Leonard was a radio operator in the Royal Navy.
The only disappointment of the day was that I didn't get a pint of Joule's Pale as although supposed to open at 4 pm the Angel didn't! All locked up at ten past! There is another Joule's pub in Lichfield, the Duke of York, but this didn't open at all today.
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