The Franciscan Friary was once a large estate located on the west side of Lichfield city centre in Staffordshire.

At one time the estate consisted of a large church, a cloister, dormitory lodge and a refectory building as well as many other domestic dwellings.

In 1237 King Henry III gave them oak trees from local forests for building and grants of money.

Henry Champanar, son of Michael de Lichfield, granted the Friars free water supply for their use from his springs at Aldershawe.

[2] The Friars live a simple existence of poverty, chastity and obedience and spent most of their time preaching and caring for the poor and sick of Lichfield.

With this wealth the simple timber structures of the Friary became large sandstone buildings within a site covering 12 acres.

In 1535, the Kings minister Thomas Cromwell ordered a valuation of all church property, following this with visitation to ascertain the rigour with which the monks were obeying the monastic rules.

With this evidence, in 1536 he went to Parliament and secured an act that dissolved all monastic houses worth under £200 a year, all their properties to revert to the crown.

[1] In 1920 the 11-acre estate was sold to Sir Richard Ashmole Cooper (MP for Walsall), who gave it to the city for the purpose of developing the area and laying out a new road.

Some of the remains from the demolition of the west range were used to build the public convenience located on the north east entrance to Beacon Park.

[2] In 1933 when the former church site of the Friary was threatened with development, Councillor Thomas Moseley secured permission to carry out an archaeological excavation.