London Road Wharf - Gallows Wharf (Site of)

On the 1884 Ordnance Survey Map, the area is called Gallow's Wharf, but by the 1920s it was known as St John's Wharf.

The wharf is close to the site of the Lichfield Gallows, originally erected in 1532, where on 1st June 1801 the last three men to be hanged in Lichfield met their fate, for uttering forged banknotes. It was also at Gallows Wharf, near the junction of London Road and Tamworth Road, that stained glass windows rescued from a dissolved abbey in Herkenrode, Belgium, were unloaded from canal boats on their way to Lichfield Cathedral in 1803.

Read  "The Lichfield Gallows"  on Lichfield Lore.

Photo: Old map of Gallows Wharf - see Pinterest Old Maps of Lichfield

Restoration of Gallows Wharf in 2018

In May 2018 the trust launched a project to recreate the city’s historic Gallows Wharf, incorporating planting areas in a Garden of Reflection. The garden  became part of Blooming Lichfield’s entry for Britain in Bloom, the nationwide community gardening competition led by the Royal Horticultural Society. 

The Mayor of Lichfield, Councillor Janice Greaves, launched the Garden of Reflection project on Thursday May 10 by unveiling a bench set in a small planted area and planting an oak tree. Cllr. Greaves said: “I hope many people will stop along here, sit here and reflect.”

Judging for Heart of England in Bloom took place on July 25th. Despite suffering weeks of blistering heat and bouts of brainless vandalism, our historic Gallows Wharf site looked a picture on a glorious summer day. Lichfield was awarded a gold medal.

Read more here

Photo: Restored Gallows Wharf  next to the London Road Bridge.

Photo: July 2018 - Nearly ready for judging 'Britain in Bloom'.

Photo: Filming the BBC2 programme 'Britain in Bloom'.  More on the programme here.