Parliamentarian forces besieged the fortified cathedral close at Lichfield in Staffordshire during April 1643. Commander Lord Brooke was killed before the garrison surrendered, although Royalists soon recovered the position. The struggle demonstrated the military vulnerability of sacred and historic buildings.

Brooke's death on St Chad's Day encouraged opposing claims of providence and divine punishment. The fighting also made the damaged cathedral an emblem of the war's assault upon England's religious heritage.