In May 1776, celebrated man of letters and pugnacious patron saint of the dictionary Dr Samuel Johnson was introduced to the radical journalist and MP John Wilkes. During their ensuing conversation, Johnson told the notorious rake and hellraiser: “I lately took my friend Boswell and showed him genuine civilised life in an English provincial town. I turned him loose at Lichfield, my native city…”
Johnson may have spent much of his adult life in London, but he remains one of Staffordshire’s most famous sons, immortalised in a statue which looks down over the square to one side of the house where he was born more than 300 years ago.
The building was first opened to the public in 1901, making it one of the oldest museums dedicated to a historic figure, and its four-storey interior overflows with fascinating artefacts, from punch bowls to portraits, rare manuscripts and books.
Lichfield, Saxon village turned cathedral city, has a compact historic centre. From the birthplace museum it’s a short
