LICHFIELD

city and district, administrative and historic county of Staffordshire, England, on the northern margin of both the West Midlands plateau and the metropolitan complex centred on Birmingham. A nearby site is traditionally held to be the scene of the martyrdom in 286 CE of 1,000 Christians. The present cathedral in the city of Lichfield, one of the smallest cathedrals in England, dates from the 13th and early 14th centuries. The cathedral city was incorporated in 1548, but its municipal history began much earlier. Lichfield is associated with Samuel Johnson, the celebrated lexicographer, who was born there in 1709; the house in which he was born is preserved as a museum. A variety of light industries provide employment. The district covers an area that is partly suburban and residential and partly rural and agricultural. Area district 129 square miles (333 square km). Pop. (1991) city, 28,666; (1998 est.) district, 94,100.