St Chad's Church & Well Virtual Tour

St Chad's Church holds a special place in Lichfield's history as the site where St Chad, the 7th-century Bishop of Mercia, established his monastic retreat. The famous well in the churchyard is where he prayed and baptized the first Christian converts, making it one of England's most significant early Christian pilgrimage sites.

This pro bono project was created to give back to a place that offered calm and reflection during my time in Lichfield. The interactive 360° tour begins at St Chad's Well and takes visitors through the historic church interior, featuring custom information hotspots about the building's notable memorials and architectural features.

St Chad's was a sanctuary for me when I lived in Lichfield—a place of quiet contemplation away from the bustle of daily life. When I had the opportunity to create something meaningful for the church, I jumped at the chance to document this historic space and make it accessible to visitors worldwide.

The church was run by dedicated elderly volunteers who weren't particularly tech-savvy, so I not only created the virtual tour but also helped them host it on their website. Their enthusiasm and gratitude made the project incredibly rewarding, even though their original website is no longer online.

The tour comprises 10 panoramic photographs capturing the essence of both the outdoor pilgrimage site and the church interior. I created a custom skin for the tour that provided simple navigation and linked directly to St Chad's website, maintaining the nostalgic 2000s aesthetic they had—including their distinctive WordArt clip art that appears on the tour's loading screen.

The walkthrough highlights key features including the memorial to Alderman Joseph Richard Deacon (whose widow erected a screen across the tower arch in 1949), the historic stone font, and various architectural details that make St Chad's unique among Lichfield's religious buildings.

The tour includes a playful Easter egg for curious explorers: from the opening panorama at St Chad's Well, if you click on a particular bench, you're transported to a secret garden where you can spot me and my friends. It's a small personal touch that rewards visitors who take the time to really explore the space.

This hidden feature reflects the spirit of discovery that makes virtual tours engaging—encouraging people to click, explore, and find unexpected moments rather than simply following a linear path.

• 10 panoramic photographs covering well and church interior
• Custom navigation skin with intuitive controls
• Information hotspots about J.R. Deacon memorial
• Historical context about the stone font
• Hidden Easter egg feature in secret garden
• Nostalgic 2000s WordArt loading screen
• Starts at famous St Chad's Well pilgrimage site
• Mobile-friendly 360° navigation

The church community was genuinely delighted with the virtual tour. It gave them a way to share their historic space with people who couldn't visit in person, while preserving the building's story for future generations. The tour became a resource for parishioners and history enthusiasts alike.

For me, this project represented more than just technical documentation—it was a way of saying thank you to a place that had given me so much peace and perspective during an important time in my life.