Steeped in history, Lichfield's brand of charm comes from a narrative that dates back to 669 AD. Named after 'Lyccidfeld', Old English for 'open country', this quaint settlement now houses more than 34,000 people, each carrying a bit of the town's history. Lichfield's heritage is filled with tales of fires, plague outbreaks, bitter civil wars, and the destruction of sacred sites during the Reformation.

In Lichfield’s early years, Roger de Clinton moulded the city’s landscape in the 12th century, fortifying the Cathedral Close and laying out the city with its distinctive ladder-shaped street plan. Despite its share of trials, the city thrived, becoming a hub of intellectual activity in the 18th century and a common stopping point for coaches.

The city’s rich history is also held in its many buildings, with over 230 listed edifices in the city centre that capture different eras in the city's past. Its three-spired medieval cathedral looms large in Lichfield's landscape, an unrivalled testament to the city's ecclesiastical historical significance. Evidence of Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements are also found in the area dating back to the Roman era.

Apart from being famous as the birthplace of Samuel Johnson, the author of the first authoritative Dictionary of the English Language, Lichfield is also known as the discovery site of the 2009 Staffordshire Hoard, the largest ever find of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork. Today, Lichfield strikes an intriguing blend of heritage and development, with modern housing estates juxtaposed against historic architecture, and its own City Council comprising 28 members elected every four years.