Peter of Lichfield

Who was Peter of Lichfield?

Peter was a medieval Bishop of Lichfield. He moved the see from Lichfield to Chester in 1075.

Peter had been a royal chaplain before being nominated to the see of Lichfield. Nothing else is known of his background, although presumably he was a Norman, as were most of King William I of England's episcopal appointments. He may have been a royal clerk of King Edward the Confessor, although one charter of 1065 which lists his name is a forgery. He was the custodian of the see of Lincoln, before his elevation to the episcopate. He was consecrated after May 1072 and died in 1085. It is possible that it was Peter, and not Robert his successor, who pillaged the abbey of Coventry and was censured by Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury. Peter was buried at Chester. The historian Katherine Keats-Rohan suggests that he was the uncle of Regenbald, a royal clerk under King Edward and King William.