:
Old St Paul's redirects here, for the church in
Wellington, New Zealand
see
Old Saint Paul's
:This article is about the cathedral in London. For other uses of the term, see
Cathedral of Saint Paul
.
St Paul's Cathedral from the south
St Paul's Cathedral
, although the number is higher if every major medieval reconstruction is counted as a new cathedral.
The previous cathedrals
Pre-Norman
#The first,
Saxon
cathedral was built, in wood, and dedicated to
Saint Paul
,probably by
Miletus
or another of
the Augustinian missionaries
on the re-foundation (there had been a late-Roman see in the city) of the
See
of London in AD 604, on
Ludgate Hill
in the western part of the old Roman city (it was these missionaries' habit, also done on the continent, to build cathedrals within old Roman city-walls) and the eastern part of
Lundenwic
. This building was traditionally said to be on the site of an ancient
megalith
, or stone circle. and a temple dedicated to the goddess
Diana
, in alignment with the
Apollo Temple
which once stood at
Westminster
(although
Christopher Wren
found no evidence of this). {{Kruger, 1943}}. This would have only been a modest chapel at first and may well have been destroyed after he was briefly expelled from the city by Saeberht's
pagan
successors. It burned down in
675
.
#The cathedral was rebuilt, in stone, in 685. In it was buried King or Saint
Sebbi of Essex
. It was sacked by the
Viking
s in
961
as is cited by the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
.
#The third cathedral was begun in 962, again in stone. In it was buried
Ethelred the Unready
. It burnt, with the whole city, in a fire of
1087
(in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).
'Old St Paul's'
Image:Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the Thames - Project Gutenberg eText 16531.png|Old St Paul's Cathedral from the Thames
, between 1630 and 1666
Image:Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the south - Project Gutenberg eText 16531.png|Old St Paul's Cathedral from the south, between 1630 and 1666
Image:Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the north - Project Gutenberg eText 16531.png|Old St Paul's Cathedral from the north, between 1630 and 1666
Image:Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the east - Project Gutenberg eText 16531.png|Old St Paul's Cathedral from the east, between 1630 and 1666
Image:Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the west - Project Gutenberg eText 16531.png|Old St Paul's Cathedral from the west, between 1630 and 1666
Image:Old St. Paul's Cathedral in flames - Project Gutenberg eText 16531.png|Old St Paul's Cathedral in flames, 1666
Image:Old St. Paul's Cathedral after the fire - Project Gutenberg eText 16531.jpg|Old St Paul's Cathedral after the fire, 1666
image:Vl-early-b.jpg|Old St. Paul's prior to 1561, with intact spire.
The third St Paul's (known as Old St Paul's, a nineteenth century coinage, or the pre-Great Fire St Paul's), was begun by the Normans
after the 1087 fire. Work took over two hundred years, and a great deal was lost in a fire in 1136
. Nonetheless the roof was once more built of wood, which was ultimately to doom the building. The church was consecrated in 1240
, but a change of heart soon led to the commencement of an enlargement programme in 1256. This 'New Work' was completed in 1314. The cathedral was however consecrated in 1300
. It was the third longest church in Europe. Excavations in 1878, by Francis Penrose showed it had been at 585 feet long, 100 feet wide (290 feet across the transept
s and crossing
), and had one of Europe's tallest spires at some 489 feet (149 metres).
By the 16th century
the building was decaying. Under Henry VIII
and Edward VI
, the Dissolution of the Monasteries
and Chantries Acts
led to the destruction of interior ornamentation in the cathedral as well as the cloister
s, charnel
s, crypt
s, chapel
s, shrine
s, chantries
and various other buildings in the churchyard. Many of these former religious sites in St Paul's Churchyard, having been seized by the crown, were sold as shops and rental properties, especially to printers and booksellers who were often evangelical
Protestants
. Buildings that were razed often supplied ready-dressed building material for new construction projects, such as the Lord Protector's city palace, Somerset House
.
Crowds were drawn to the northeast corner of the Churchyard, St Paul's Cross
, where open air preaching took place. It was there in the Cross Yard in 1549
that radical Protestant preachers incited a mob to destroy many of the cathedral's interior decorations. In 1561
the spire was destroyed by lightning and it was not replaced; this event was taken by Protestants and Catholics alike as a sign of God's displeasure of the other faction's actions.
England's first classical
architect Sir Inigo Jones
added the cathedral's new west front in the 1630s
, but there was much defacement and mistreatment of the building by Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War
, when the old documents and charters were dispersed and destroyed (Kelly 2004). "Old St Paul's" was finally gutted in the Great Fire of London
of 1666
. While it might have been salvageable, albeit with almost complete reconstruction, a decision was taken to build a new cathedral in a modern style instead. Indeed this had been contemplated even before the fire..
Wren's St Paul's
Design and construction
Image:St Paul's - the Greek Cross design.jpg|Wren's Greek Cross design
Image:St Paul's - the warrant design.jpg|Wren's warrant design
Image:St Paul's - the final design.jpg|Wren's cathedral as built
The task of designing a replacement structure was assigned to
Christopher Wren
in
1668
, along with over fifty other City churches. His first design (to build a replacement on the foundations of the old cathedral) was rejected in
1669
. The second design, in the shape of a
Greek cross
(circa
1670
-
1672
) was rejected as too radical, as was a revised design which resulted in the 1:24 scale "Great Model", currently on display in the crypt of the cathedral. The 'warrant' design was accepted in
1675
and building work began in June. This design included a smaller dome with a spire on top, however
King Charles II
had given Wren permission to make "ornamental" changes to the approved design, and Wren took the liberty to radically rework the design to the current form, including the large central dome and the towers at the West end. The cathedral was completed on
October 20
1708
, Wren's 76th birthday (although the first service was held on
December 2
1697
).
The clock tower on the west side of the cathedral
:Sir Christopher Wren
:Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
:If anyone calls,
:Say I am designing St Paul's."
::A clerihew
by Edmund Clerihew Bentley
Description
The cathedral is built of
Portland stone
in a late
Renaissance
style that is England's sober
Baroque
. Its impressive dome was inspired by
St Peter's Basilica
in
Rome
. It rises 108 metres (365 feet) to the cross at its summit, making it a famous London landmark. Wren achieved a pleasing appearance by actually building three domes: the tall outer dome is non-structural but impressive to view, the lower inner dome provides an artistically balanced interior, and between the two is a structural cone which supports the apex structure and the outer dome panelling. During the building of its later stages, Wren was said to have been hauled up to the rafters in a basket to inspect the progress of the work.
Plan
The
cathedral
is to the east from the Great West Door. The
nave
has three small chapels in the two adjoining
aisle
s –
All Souls and
St Dunstan's in the north aisle and the
Chapel of the Order of St Michael and St George
in the south aisle. The main space of the cathedral is centred under the Dome; it rises 108.4 metres from the cathedral floor and holds three circular galleries – the internal
Whispering Gallery, the external
Stone Gallery, and the external
Golden Gallery.
The Whispering Gallery
runs around the interior of the Dome and is 259 steps up from ground-level. It gets its name from a serendipitious quirk of dome construction: a whisper against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with their ear held to the point diametrically opposite.
The Quire
extends to the east of the dome and holds the stalls for the clergy
and the choir as well as the cathedral's organ
. The organ was first commissioned in 1694
and the current instrument is the third biggest in Britain with 7,189 pipes and 138 stops; it is enclosed in an impressive case built by Grinling Gibbons
. To the north and south of the dome are the transepts of the North Choir and the South Choir.
The north west tower contains 13 bells, while the south west tower contains 4 bells including Great Paul, which was cast in 1881, and Great Tom (the hour bell), which has been recast twice, after being moved from the old Palace of Westminster
.
Post-Wren history
This cathedral has survived until the present day, despite being targeted during
the Blitz
(it was struck by bombs on
October 10
1940
and
April 17
1941
but survived).
Memorials
The cathedral has a very substantial crypt holding over 200 memorials as well as the
Order of the British Empire
Chapel and the Treasury (the cathedral has very few treasures: Many have been lost, and in
1810
a major robbery took almost all of the remaining precious artefacts).
Christopher Wren
was the first person to be interred (in
1723
): on the wall above his tomb in the crypt is simply written, "Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice" (
Reader, if you seek a monument, look around you).
St Paul's is home to other plaques, carvings, statues, memorials
and tombs of famous British
figures including:
General Sir Isaac Brock
Sir Edwin Lutyens
John Donne
, whose funeral effigy (portraying him in a shroud), but not tomb, survives from Old St Paul's.
Lord Kitchener
The Duke of Wellington
Admiral Nelson
Henry Moore
Sir Winston Churchill
Most of the memorials commemorate the British military, including several lists of servicemen who died in action, the most recent being the Gulf War
. There are special monuments to Admiral Nelson
in the south transept and to the Duke of Wellington
in the north aisle; both are buried here. Also remembered are poets, painters, clergy and residents of the local parish. There are also lists of the Bishops
and cathedral Deans for the last thousand years.
The cathedral has been the site for many famous funerals, including those of Nelson, Wellington and Winston Churchill
.
Modern-day
The British Royal Family hold most of their important marriages, christenings and funerals at
Westminster Abbey
, but St Paul's was used for the marriage of
Charles, Prince of Wales
and
Lady Diana Spencer
.
St Paul's from across the Thames, over the top of surrounding postwar construction.
In
2001
, Britain's memorial service to honour the victims of the
September 11, 2001 attacks
was held at St Paul's Cathedral, which the British Royal Family and then-U.S. ambassador William Farish attended. He spoke, as did
Prince Philip
. Farish said just before he resigned as ambassador in
2004
in
The Times
that this service showed the strong relationship between the US and Britain. It also held, on November 1st 2005, a memorial service for
the July 7th bombings
.
The cathedral is open to the public, though there is a charge for non-worshipping visitors. In 2000
, the cathedral began a major restoration programme
, scheduled for completion in 2008
, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of its opening. A ceremony to celebrate the anniversary was directed by Patrick Garland
. The restoration programme is expected to cost £40 million, and involves not only repair and cleaning of the building, but also improvement of visitor facilities - such as accessibility for the disabled, and provision of additional educational facilities.
In popular culture
Because of its prominent and recognizable form on the skyline, a view which is
protected
from many vantage points, St Paul's is often used in movies as part of an establishing shot to place the viewers in London.
It also features specifically in:
Mary Poppins
, where it is the setting of the song Feed the Birds
Lawrence of Arabia
as the venue of Lawrence's funeral.
Steamboy
, seen in scenes with the cathedral.
101 Dalmatians
Peter Pan
The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells
Team America: World Police
The Bed-Sitting Room
(film version 1970
) depicts the post - nuclear
wreckage of the dome lying in the middle of a lake.
The cathedral was prominent in all Thames Television
idents from 1968
until 1992
and prominent in its logo until 1997
The established opening titles of Mr. Bean
began with a shot of Mr. Bean falling from the sky with St. Paul's in the background.
The 1966
Doctor Who
story The Invasion
where Cybermen
emerge and walk towards the Thames
outside the cathedral.
The 1966
film, Georgy Girl
. As Joss and Georgy sail down the Thames, there is a captain who points out the house where Christopher Wren lived whilst the dome was being originally constructed. The dome appears in the background and seems to be undergoing some kind of renovation, as the dome is covered in scaffolding.
The 1971
Hammer Horror
film Hands of the Ripper
The 1994
film The Madness of King George
Mortal Engines
where it is the house of the super weapon MEDUSA when it is mounted upon the great Traction City
of London
.
From Hell
- in the graphic novel version by Alan Moore
, the cathedral is seen with an ominous look during a cloudy day in the opening panel.
In the 2005
Doctor Who
story The Empty Child
, the cathedral can be seen in numerous background shots during the Blitz
.
In the 2006
Doctor Who
story Rise of the Cybermen
, the cathedral is seen briefly in a background shot as the Doctor and Rose walk through a parallel universe
London.
Fire Watch by Connie Willis
, a Hugo and Nebula winning short story, is set mostly in and around the cathedral during the final months of 1940, when it was targeted in the Blitz
.
The idiom
"rob Peter to pay Paul" has a folk etymology
of using the funds of Westminster Abbey
for the cathedral.
There is a scale model
of the cathedral at LEGOLAND Windsor
.
Images
Present day
Image:St Paul's Cathedral dome from Paternoster Square - London - 240404.jpg|The cathedral dome from Paternoster Square
Image:St Pauls and The eye leo london.jpg|St Paul's, North-East side.
Image:St Pauls and The eye 017.jpg|St Paul's, West Side.
Image:saint.pauls.cathedral.verytop.arp.jpg|Visitors view London from the cathedral’s Golden Gallery
Image:London from St Paul's.jpg|A view of central London and the river Thames
from the cathedral
Image:StPauls-Night.jpg|The west front at night
image:saint.pauls.from.ludgate.hill.arp.750pix.jpg|St Paul's Cathedral from Ludgate Hill
during cleaning in 2004
Image:City.of.london.st.pauls.arp.500pix.jpg|From the London Millennium Bridge
Image:St P 9-11-05.jpg|Racial Justice Sunday
, September 11
, 2005
featuring Dale Farm
, Peace and Progress
and Azelle Rodney
banners.
Historical
Image:St Paul's by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (early 19th century).jpg|St Paul's seen across the Thames in the early 19th century
Image:St Paul's interior ILN 1860.jpg|The interior in 1860
Image:St Paul's Cathedral in 1896.JPG|St Paul's in 1896
References
See also
{{commons|St Paul's Cathedral}}
List of churches and cathedrals of London
Paternoster Square
Tall buildings in London
College of Minor Canons
External links
[
St Paul's Cathedral homepage ]
- Official site.
[
Explore St Paul's Cathedral ]
- online virtual tour including 360° panoramas, narrated slideshows, maps, and full text for the hearing-impaired
[
Wren's various designs ]
[
The lowest BASE Jump in the world from the Whispering Gallery inside St Paul's Cathedral 1992 ]
[
St. Paul's Cathedral Photo Gallery ]
- 125 photos
[
Composition of St Paul's Cathedral ]
[
St Paul's Cathedral tourist guide ]
[
Old St Paul's Cathedral ]
by William Benham - eText from
Project Gutenberg
S.E. Kelly, editor, 2004.
Charters of St Paul's, London in series Anglo-Saxon Charters
(Oxford Universty Press) [ * ]
[ Google Local ]
Arial view of St. Paul's Cathedral
[ Quicktime VR of St Paul's and the Millennium Bridge ]
- British Tours Ltd
[ BBC News account of the bombing ]
[ Bells of St. Paul's ]
[ A history of the choristers of St Paul's Cathedral ]
360° view near the High Altar at St Pauls Cathedral.
{{Anglican Cathedrals in the United Kingdom}}
<1300s architecture>
<1708 architecture>
<Anglican cathedrals|London>
<Baroque architecture>
<Cathedrals in England>
<Churches in London>
<City of London>
<Tall buildings and structures in London>
<Visitor attractions in London>
<Grade I listed buildings in London>
cs:Katedrála svatého Pavla (Londýn)
sl:Katedrala sv. Pavla, London
St Pauls Cathedral
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