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St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, the seat of the
Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
. The cathedral serves as the
mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...
of the
Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...
in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. It is on
Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. Th ...
at the highest point of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
. Its dedication in honour of
Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. The high-domed present structure, which was completed in 1710, is a
Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
that was designed in the
English Baroque English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...
style by Sir
Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
. The cathedral's reconstruction was part of a major rebuilding programme initiated in the aftermath of the
Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...
. The earlier Gothic cathedral (
Old St Paul's Cathedral Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of London, Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314 and dedicated to Paul of Tarsus, Saint Paul ...
), largely destroyed in the Great Fire, was a central focus for medieval and early modern London, including
Paul's walk Paul's walk in Elizabethan and early Stuart London was the name given to the central nave of Old St Paul's Cathedral, where people walked up and down in search of the latest news. At the time, St. Paul's was the centre of the London grapevin ...
and
St Paul's Churchyard St Paul's Churchyard is an area immediately around St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Historically it included St Paul's Cross and Paternoster Row. It became one of the principal marketplaces in London. St Paul's Cross was an open-air pu ...
, being the site of
St Paul's Cross Paul's Cross (alternatively "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in St Paul's Churchyard, the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart England, ...
. The cathedral is one of the most famous and recognisable sights of London. Its dome, surrounded by the spires of Wren's City churches, has dominated the skyline for more than 300 years. At high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1963. The dome is still one of the highest in the world. St Paul's is the second-largest church building in area in the United Kingdom, after
Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...
. Services held at St Paul's have included the funerals of
Admiral Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, the
Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
and
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
; jubilee celebrations for
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
; an inauguration service for the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund; peace services marking the end of the
First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
and
Second World Wars World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
; the
wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer The wedding of Prince Charles (later King Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was a mem ...
; the launch of the
Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Labour Party cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover; in 1947 he started with the ...
; and the thanksgiving services for the
Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
, Golden,
Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
, and
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...
s and the 80th and 90th birthdays of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
. St Paul's Cathedral is the central subject of much promotional material, as well as of images of the dome surrounded by the smoke and fire of
the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...
. The cathedral is a working church with hourly prayer and daily services. The tourist entry fee at the door is £25 for adults (January 2024) but no charges are made to worshippers attending services, or for private prayer. The nearest
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...
station is
St Paul's St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
, which is away from St Paul's Cathedral.


History


Before the cathedral

The location of
Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...
's original cathedral is unknown, but legend and medieval tradition claim it was
St Peter upon Cornhill St Peter upon Cornhill is an Anglican church on the corner of Cornhill and Gracechurch Street in the City of London of medieval, or possibly Roman origin. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt to the designs of Sir C ...
. St Paul is an unusual attribution for a cathedral and suggests there was another one in the Roman period. Legends of St Lucius link St Peter upon Cornhill as the centre of the Roman Londinium Christian community. It stands upon the highest point in the area of old Londinium, and it was given pre-eminence in medieval procession on account of the legends. There is, however, no other reliable evidence, and the location of the site on the Forum makes it difficult for it to fit the legendary stories. In 1995, a large fifth-century building on
Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
was excavated and has been claimed as a Roman basilica, possibly a cathedral, although this is speculative. The
Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...
antiquarian
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
argued that a
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
to the goddess
Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...
had stood during Roman times on the site occupied by the medieval St Paul's Cathedral. Wren reported that he had found no trace of any such temple during the works to build the new cathedral after the Great Fire, and Camden's hypothesis is no longer accepted by modern archaeologists.


Pre-Norman cathedral

There is evidence for Christianity in London during the Roman period, but no firm evidence for the location of churches or a cathedral. Bishop
Restitutus Restitutus () was a Romano-British bishop, probably from Londinium (London), one of the British delegation who attended the church synod or Council held at Arles (Arelate), in Gaul, in AD 314. The list of those who signed the ''Acta'', the decis ...
is said to have represented London at the
Council of Arles Arles (ancient Arelate) in the south of Roman Gaul (modern France) hosted several councils or synods referred to as ''Concilium Arelatense'' in the history of the early Christian church. Council of Arles in 314 The first council of Arles"Arles, S ...
in 314 AD. A list of the 16 "archbishops" of London was recorded by
Jocelyn of Furness Jocelin of Furness (fl. 1175–1214) was an English Cistercian hagiographer, known for his Lives of Saint Waltheof, Saint Patrick, Saint Kentigern and Saint Helena of Constantinople. He is probably responsible for the popular legendary associa ...
in the 12th century, claiming London's
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
community was founded in the second century under the legendary King Lucius and his missionary saints Fagan,
Deruvian Deruvian (), also known by several other names including Damian, was a possibly legendary 2nd-century bishop and saint, said to have been sent by the pope to answer King Lucius's request for baptism and conversion to Christianity. Together ...
, Elvanus and Medwin. None of that is considered credible by modern historians but, although the surviving text is problematic, either Bishop
Restitutus Restitutus () was a Romano-British bishop, probably from Londinium (London), one of the British delegation who attended the church synod or Council held at Arles (Arelate), in Gaul, in AD 314. The list of those who signed the ''Acta'', the decis ...
or Adelphius at the 314 Council of Arles seems to have come from
Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...
.
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
records that in AD604
Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century in England, 6th century – most likely 26 May 604) was a Christian monk who became the first archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English". Augustine ...
consecrated
Mellitus Mellitus (; died 24 April 624) was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to Christia ...
as the first bishop to the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
kingdom of the
East Saxons The Kingdom of the East Saxons (; ), referred to as the Kingdom of Essex , was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was founded in the 6th century and covered the territory later occupied by the counties of Essex ...
and their king, Sæberht. Sæberht's uncle and overlord, Æthelberht, king of
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, built a church dedicated to St Paul in London, as the seat of the new bishop. It is assumed, although not proved, that this first Anglo-Saxon cathedral stood on the same site as the later medieval and the present cathedrals. On the death of Sæberht in about 616, his pagan sons expelled Mellitus from London, and the East Saxons reverted to paganism. The fate of the first cathedral building is unknown. Christianity was restored among the East Saxons in the late seventh century and it is presumed that either the Anglo-Saxon cathedral was restored or a new building erected as the seat of bishops such as
Cedd Cedd (; 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, a meeting which r ...
,
Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
and
Erkenwald Saint Earconwald or Erkenwald (died 693) was a Saxon prince and Bishop of London between 675 and 693. He is the eponymous subject of one of the most important poems in the foundations of English literature (thought to be by the Sir Gawain and the ...
, the last of whom was buried in the cathedral in 693. Earconwald was consecrated bishop of London in 675, and is said to have bestowed great cost on the fabric, and in later times he almost occupied the place of traditionary, founder: the veneration paid to him is second only to that which was rendered to St. Paul. Erkenwald would become a subject of the important High Medieval poem '' St Erkenwald''. King
Æthelred the Unready Æthelred II (,Different spellings of this king's name most commonly found in modern texts are "Ethelred" and "Æthelred" (or "Aethelred"), the latter being closer to the original Old English form . Compare the modern dialect word . ; ; 966 � ...
was buried in the cathedral on his death in 1016; the tomb is now lost. The cathedral was burnt, with much of the city, in a fire in 1087, as recorded in the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...
''.


Old St Paul's

The fourth St Paul's, generally referred to as ''Old St Paul's'', was begun by the
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
after the 1087 fire. A further fire in 1135 disrupted the work, and the new cathedral was not consecrated until 1240. During the period of construction, the style of architecture had changed from Romanesque to Gothic, and this was reflected in the pointed arches and larger windows of the upper parts and East End of the building. The Gothic ribbed vault was constructed, like that of
York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
, of wood rather than stone, which affected the ultimate fate of the building. An enlargement programme commenced in 1256. This "New Work" was consecrated in 1300 but was not complete until 1314. During the later Medieval period, St Paul's was exceeded in length only by the Abbey Church of Cluny and in the height of its spire only by
Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...
and St. Mary's Church, Stralsund. Excavations by Francis Penrose in 1878 showed that it was long and wide ( across the
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s and crossing). The spire was about in height. By the 16th century, the building was deteriorating. The
English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
under
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
and
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
(accelerated by the
Chantries Acts A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a bu ...
) led to the destruction of elements of the interior ornamentation and the chapels,
shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
s, and
chantries A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a bu ...
. The Reformation would come to include the removal of the cathedral's collection of relics, which by the sixteenth century was understood to include: * the body of St Erkenwald * both arms of St Mellitus * a knife thought to belong to
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
* hair of
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
* blood of
St Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
* milk of the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
* the head of St John * the skull of
Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...
* the head and jaw of King Ethelbert * part of the wood of the cross, * a stone of the
Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...
, * a stone from the spot of the Ascension, and * some bones of the eleven thousand virgins of Cologne. In October 1538, an image of St Erkenwald, probably from the shrine, was delivered to the master of the king's jewels. Other images may have survived, at least for a time. More systematic iconoclasm happened in the reign of Edward VI: the ''Grey Friar's Chronicle'' reports that the rood and other images were destroyed in November 1547; during this activity, a workman died when items fell on him. In late 1549, at the height of the iconoclasm of the
English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
, Sir Rowland Hill altered the route of his Lord Mayor's Day procession and said a '' de profundis'' at the tomb of Erkenwald. Later in Hill's mayoralty of (1550) the high altar of St Paul's was removed overnight to be destroyed, an occurrence that provoked a fight in which a man was killed. Hill had ordered, unusually for the time, that St Barnabas's Day would not be kept as a public holiday ahead of these events. Three years later, by October 1553, "Alle the alteres and chappelles in alle Powlles churche" were taken down. In August 1553, the dean and chapter were cited to appear before Queen Mary's commissioners. Some of the buildings in the St Paul's churchyard were sold as shops and rental properties, especially to printers and booksellers. In 1561, the spire was destroyed by a lightning strike, an event that
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
writers claimed was a sign of God's judgment on England's Protestant rulers. Bishop James Pilkington preached a sermon in response, claiming that the lightning strike was a judgement for the irreverent use of the cathedral building. Immediate steps were taken to repair the damage, with the citizens of London and the clergy offering money to support the rebuilding. However, the cost of repairing the building properly was too great for a country and city recovering from a trade depression. Instead, the roof was repaired, and a timber "roo" was put on the steeple. In the 1630s, a west front was added to the building by England's first classical architect,
Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...
. There was much defacing and mistreatment of the building by Parliamentarian forces during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, and the old documents and charters were dispersed and destroyed. During the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
, those churchyard buildings that were razed supplied ready-dressed building material for construction projects, such as the Lord Protector's city palace,
Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...
. Crowds were drawn to the northeast corner of the churchyard,
St Paul's Cross Paul's Cross (alternatively "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open-air pulpit in St Paul's Churchyard, the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. It was the most important public pulpit in Tudor and early Stuart Englan ...
, where open-air preaching took place. In the Great Fire of London of 1666, Old St Paul's was gutted. While it might have been possible to reconstruct it, a decision was taken to build a new cathedral in a modern style. This course of action had been proposed even before the fire.


St Paul's Theatre

The St Paul's Theatre (1575-1606) was converted by Sebastian Westcott, the cathedral's organist, from the Almoner's Hall of the cathedral. The genesis and layout was similar to
Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child ...
, but smaller. Music for organ was specified in a number of plays. The works were staged at the private St Paul's Theatre by the choristers of the St Paul's Cathedral. A boy company performed plays, without any involvement of adult actors. The boy actors at St Paul's were primarily choristers, playing to paying audiences.The boy companies were viewed as respectable, but played less frequently than the adult companies, and had little crowd trouble. The boy choristers of St Paul's Cathedral used the Almoner's Hall from 1575 until 1584.


Present St Paul's

The task of designing a replacement structure was officially assigned to Sir Christopher Wren on 30 July 1669. He had previously been put in charge of the rebuilding of churches to replace those lost in the Great Fire. More than 50 city churches are attributable to Wren. Concurrent with designing St Paul's, Wren was engaged in the production of his five ''Tracts'' on Architecture. Wren had begun advising on the repair of the Old St Paul's' in 1661, five years before the fire in 1666. The proposed work included renovations to the interior and exterior to complement the classical facade designed by Inigo Jones in 1630. Wren planned to replace the dilapidated tower with a dome, using the existing structure as a scaffold. He produced a drawing of the proposed dome, which shows his idea that it should span the nave and aisles at the crossing. After the Fire, it was at first thought possible to retain a substantial part of the old cathedral, but ultimately the entire structure was demolished in the early 1670s. In July 1668, Dean
William Sancroft William Sancroft (30 January 161724 November 1693) was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury, and was one of the Seven Bishops imprisoned in 1688 for seditious libel against King James II, over his opposition to the king's Declaration of Indulgen ...
wrote to Wren that he was charged by the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, in agreement with the bishops of London and Oxford, to design a new cathedral that was "Handsome and noble to all the ends of it and to the reputation of the City and the nation." The design process took several years, but a design was finally settled and attached to a royal warrant, with the proviso that Wren was permitted to make any further changes that he deemed necessary. The result was the present St Paul's Cathedral, still the second largest church in Britain, with a dome proclaimed as the finest in the world. The building was financed by a tax on coal and was completed within its architect's lifetime, with many of the major contractors engaged for the duration. The "topping out" of the cathedral (when the final stone was placed on the lantern) took place on 26 October 1708, performed by Wren's son Christopher Jr and the son of one of the masons. The cathedral was declared officially complete by Parliament on 25 December 1711 (Christmas Day). In fact, construction continued for several years after that, with the statues on the roof added in the 1720s. In 1716 the total costs amounted to £1,095,556 (£ in ).


Consecration

On 2 December 1697, 31 years and 3 months after the Great Fire destroyed Old St Paul's, the new cathedral was consecrated for use. The Right Reverend
Henry Compton Henry Compton may refer to: * Henry Compton (bishop) (1632–1713), English bishop and nobleman * Henry Compton, 1st Baron Compton (1544–1589), English peer, MP for Old Sarum * Henry Combe Compton (1789–1866), British Conservative Party polit ...
, Bishop of London, preached the sermon. It was based on the text of
Psalm 122 Psalm 122 is the 122nd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I was glad" and in Latin entitled Laetatus sum. It is attributed to King David and one of the fifteen psalms described as A song of ascents ( ...
, "I was glad when they said unto me: Let us go into the house of the Lord." The first regular service was held on the following Sunday. Opinions of Wren's cathedral differed, with some loving it: "Without, within, below, above, the eye / Is filled with unrestrained delight", while others hated it: "There was an air of Popery about the gilded capitals, the heavy arches ... They were unfamiliar, un-English ...".


Since 1900


Suffragette terror attacks

St Paul's was the target of two
suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
bombing attacks in 1913 and 1914 respectively. This was as part of the
suffragette bombing and arson campaign Suffragettes in Great Britain and Ireland orchestrated a bombing and arson campaign between the years 1912 and 1914. The campaign was instigated by the Women's Social and Political Union, Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), and was a part ...
from 1912 and 1914 in which suffragettes from the
Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...
, as part of their campaign for
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
, carried out a series of politically motivated bombings and arson nationwide. Churches were explicitly targeted by the suffragettes as they believed the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
was complicit in reinforcing opposition to women's suffrage. Between 1913 and 1914, 32 churches across Britain were attacked. The first attack on St Paul's occurred on 8 May 1913, at the start of a sermon. A bomb was heard ticking and discovered as people were entering the cathedral. It was made out of
potassium nitrate Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nit ...
. Had it exploded, the bomb likely would have destroyed the historic
bishop's throne A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principal c ...
and other parts of the cathedral. The remains of the device, which was made partly out of a mustard tin, are now on display at the
City of London Police Museum The City of London Police Museum is a museum housed at the Guildhall, City of London. It treats the history of the City of London Police. Exhibits include uniforms, Victorian-era police equipment and artefacts, communication devices, World War II ...
. A second bombing of the cathedral by the suffragettes was attempted on 13 June 1914, but the bomb was again discovered before it could explode. This attempted bombing occurred two days after a bomb had exploded at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
, which damaged the
Coronation Chair The Coronation Chair, also known as St Edward's Chair or King Edward's Chair, is an ancient wooden chair that is used by British monarchs when they are invested with regalia and crowned at their coronation. The chair was commissioned in 1296 b ...
and caused a mass panic for the exits. Several other churches were bombed at this time, such as
St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...
church in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
and the
Metropolitan Tabernacle The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a Reformed Baptist, Reformed Independent Baptist, Independent Baptist Church in the Elephant and Castle area in London. It was the largest Nonconformist (Protestantism), non-conformist church of its day in 1861. ...
.


Great Restoration

Early in the 20th century, concerns were raised about the effects of settlement on the dome and the piers supporting it, confirmed by surveyors' reports in 1913 and 1914. An appeal for £70,000 allowed two of the piers to be reinforced, despite delays caused by the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. A second appeal for £100,000 in 1922 allowed the work to continue, but on Christmas Eve 1924, a Dangerous Structures Notice was served on the cathedral by the City Corporation. Starting in March 1925, concrete and more than 250 steel bars were inserted into the piers, while a great steel chain was embedded around the outside of the dome to stabilise it. The high altar was moved to the nave, and the organ was rebuilt in the north aisle so that worship could continue while work went on behind a screen. When the work was finally completed, a grand rededication service was held on 25 June 1930; it was attended by King George V and Queen Mary and featured a procession of the 220 men who had worked on the restoration. The service was broadcast on
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
, the first time that worship had been broadcast from the cathedral, as it had previously been opposed by the Dean and Chapter.


War damage

The cathedral survived
the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...
although it was struck by bombs on 10 October 1940 and 17 April 1941. The first strike destroyed the high altar, while the second strike on the north transept left a hole in the floor above the crypt. The latter bomb is believed to have detonated in the upper interior above the north transept, and the force was sufficient to shift the entire dome laterally by a small amount. On 12 September 1940, a time-delayed bomb that had struck the cathedral was successfully defused and removed by a
bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...
detachment of
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
under the command of Temporary Lieutenant Robert Davies. Had this bomb detonated, it would have totally destroyed the cathedral; it left a crater when later remotely detonated in a secure location. As a result of this action, Davies and
Sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...
George Cameron Wylie were each awarded the
George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...
. Davies' George Cross and other medals are on display at the
Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...
, London. One of the best known images of London during the war was a photograph of St Paul's taken on 29 December 1940 during the " Second Great Fire of London" by photographer Herbert Mason, from the roof of a building in Tudor Street showing the cathedral shrouded in smoke.
Lisa Jardine Lisa Anne Jardine (née Bronowski; 12 April 1944 – 25 October 2015) was a British historian of the early modern period. From 1990 to 2011, she was Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies and director of the Centre for Editing Lives and L ...
of
Queen Mary, University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...
, has written:


Post-war

A considerable amount of rebuilding and restoration of war damage was undertaken in the 1950s and 1960s; including the high altar and American Memorial Chapel completed in 1958, the damaged North Transept in 1962, the cleaning of the west front in 1961-1963, the repair of damage to the dome from anti-aircraft fire completed in 1967 and the building of a new choir school building in 1967. On 29 July 1981, the
wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer The wedding of Prince Charles (later King Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was a mem ...
was held at the cathedral. The couple selected St Paul's over
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
, the traditional site of royal weddings, because the cathedral offered more seating. Extensive copper, lead, and slate renovation work was carried out on the Dome in 1996 by John B. Chambers. A 15-year restoration project—one of the largest ever undertaken in the UK—was completed on 15 June 2011.


Occupy London

In October 2011, an
Occupy London Occupy London was a political movement in London, England, and part of the international Occupy movement. While some media described it as an "anti-capitalist" movement, in the statement written and endorsed by consensus by the Occupy assembly i ...
encampment was established in front of the cathedral. The cathedral's finances were affected by the ensuing closure. It was claimed that the cathedral was losing revenue of £20,000 per day. Canon Chancellor
Giles Fraser Giles Anthony Fraser (born 27 November 1964)Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also '' ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of th ...
, the Right Revd Graeme Knowles, then resigned too. The encampment was evicted at the end of February 2012, by court order and without violence, as a result of legal action by the
City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
.


2019 terrorist plot

On 10 October 2019,
Safiyya Amira Shaikh Safiyya Amira Shaikh, formerly Michelle Ramsden, is a British woman convicted of St Paul's Cathedral bomb plot, plotting to bomb St Paul's Cathedral in London. She is thought to be the first lone female suicide bomber, female Islamic State of Ira ...
, a Muslim convert, was arrested following an
MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
and Metropolitan Police investigation. In September 2019, she had taken photographs of the cathedral's interior. While trying to radicalise others using the Telegram messaging software, she planned to attack the cathedral and other targets such as a hotel and a train station using
explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...
s. Shaikh
plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...
ded guilty and was
sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. Lead guitarist Miika Tenkula was the band's vocalist for the first album, but du ...
to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
.


National events

The size and location of St Paul's has made it an ideal setting for Christian services marking great national events. The opportunity for long processions culminating in the dramatic approach up Ludgate Hill, the open area and steps at the west front, the great nave, and the space under the dome are all well-suited for ceremonial occasions. St Paul's can seat many more people than any other church in London, and in past centuries, the erection of temporary wooden galleries inside allowed for congregations exceeding 10,000. In 1935, the dean,
Walter Matthews Walter Matthews may refer to: * Walter Matthews (politician) (1900–1986), member of the Canadian House of Commons * Walter Matthews (priest) (1881–1973), British Anglican priest, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral * Walt Matthews (1934–2014), basebal ...
, wrote: National events attended by the royal family, government ministers, and officers of state include national services of thanksgiving, state funerals and a
royal wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess ...
. Some of the most notable examples are: * Thanksgiving service for the
Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...
, 1 May 1707 * State funeral of Horatio Nelson, 9 January 1806 * State funeral of the Duke of Wellington, 18 November 1852 *
Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...
, 22 June 1897 * Thanksgiving service for the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
, 6 July 1919 *
Silver Jubilee of George V The Silver Jubilee of George V on 6 May 1935 marked 25 years of George V as the King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India.Harold Nicolson, ''King George V'' (1953) pp 510–532online/ref> The Jubilee was marked ...
, 6 May 1935 * Thanksgiving services for
VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...
and
VJ Day Victory over Japan Day (also known as V-J Day, Victory in the Pacific Day, or V-P Day) is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on wh ...
, 13 May and 19 August 1945 *
State funeral of Winston Churchill Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War, died on 24 January 1965, aged 90. His was the first state funeral in the United Kingdom for a non-member of the royal family since Edward Carson's in 1935. T ...
, 30 January 1965 *
Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the Silver jubilee, 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth ...
, 7 June 1977 *
Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer The wedding of Prince Charles (later King Charles III) and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was a mem ...
, 29 July 1981 *
Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...
, 4 June 2002 *
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for Queen Victo ...
, 5 June 2012 * Ceremonial funeral of Margaret Thatcher, 17 April 2013 * Thanksgiving service for the Queen's 90th birthday, 10 June 2016 * Platinum Jubilee National Service of Thanksgiving, 3 June 2022


Ministry and functions

St Paul's Cathedral is a busy church with four or five services every day, including
Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...
,
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
and Evening Prayer or Choral Evensong. In addition, the cathedral has many special services associated with the City of London, its corporation, guilds and institutions. The cathedral, as the largest church in London, also has a role in many state functions such as the service celebrating the
Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...
of Queen Elizabeth II. The cathedral is generally open daily to tourists and has a regular programme of organ recitals and other performances. The
Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
is
Sarah Mullally Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally (; born 26 March 1962) is a British Anglican prelate and former nurse. Bishop of London since 2018,
, whose appointment was announced in December 2017 and whose enthronement took place in May 2018.


Dean and chapter

The
cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...
is currently composed of seven individuals: the dean, three residentiary canons (one of whom is, exceptionally, lay), one "additional member of chapter and canon non-residentiary" (ordained) and two lay canons. Each has a different responsibility in the running of the cathedral. As of October 2022: * Dean: Andrew Tremlett (since 25 September 2022) * Precentor: vacant * Treasurer: vacant * Chancellor: Paula Gooder (since 9 May 2019;
lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain Church service, services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral ...
since 23 February 2019) * Steward: Neil Evans (since June 2022) * Additional member of chapter and canon non-residentiary: Sheila Watson (since January 2017). * Lay canon: Pamela (Pim) Jane Baxter (since March 2014). Deputy Director at the
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...
, with experience in opera, theatre and the visual arts. * Lay canon: Sheila Nicoll (since October 2018). She is Head of Public Policy at Schroder Investment Management. * Lay canon: Clement Hutton-Mills (since March 2021). He is also a managing director at
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
. * Lay canon: Gillian Bowen (since June 2022). She is chief executive officer of
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
London City and North and is a magistrate.


Minor canons and priest vicar


Director of music

The director of music is
Andrew Carwood Andrew Carwood (born 30 April 1965) is the Director of Music at St Paul's Cathedral in London and director of his own group, The Cardinall's Musick. Biography He was educated at The John Lyon School, Harrow and was a choral scholar in the Choi ...
. Carwood was appointed to succeed Malcolm Archer, taking up the post in September 2007. He is the first non-organist to hold the post since the 12th century.


Organs

An organ was commissioned from Bernard Smith in 1694. In 1862, the organ from the Panopticon of Science and Art (the Panopticon Organ) was installed in a gallery over the south transept door. The Grand Organ was completed in 1872, and the Panopticon Organ moved to the Victoria Rooms in Clifton in 1873. The Grand Organ is the fifth-largest in Great Britain, in terms of number of
pipes Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circu ...
(7,256), with 5 manuals, 136 ranks of pipes and 137 stops, principally enclosed in a case designed in Wren's workshop and decorated by
Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London church ...
. Details of the organ can be found online at the
National Pipe Organ Register The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS) is a British organisation and registered charity which aims to promote study and appreciation of all aspects of the pipe organ. Further, it acts as a lobbying body to raise awareness of organ issue ...
.


Choir

St Paul's Cathedral has a full professional choir which sings regularly at services. The earliest records of the choir date from 1127. The choir historically consisted of up to 30 boy choristers, eight probationers, and vicars choral of 12 professional male singers. In February 2017, the cathedral announced the appointment of the first female vicar choral, Carris Jones (a mezzo-soprano), to take up the role in September 2017. During 2022, St Paul's Cathedral announced that it would admit girls to its choir, breaking a tradition stretching back 900 years. On 30 June 2024, when two girls formally joined the cathedral choir as full choristers, having undertaken specialist training in preparation, the Sunday Choral Evensong service officially marked this historic event. During school terms, the choir sings
Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...
six times per week, the service on Mondays being sung by a visiting choir (or occasionally said) and that on Thursdays being sung by the vicars choral alone. On Sundays, the choir also sings at Mattins and the 11:30 am Eucharist. Many notable musicians have been organists, choir masters and choristers at St Paul's Cathedral, including the composers John Redford,
Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, music theory, theorist, singer and organist of late Renaissance music. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian inf ...
,
John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,Jeremiah Clarke Jeremiah Clarke (c. 1674 – 1 December 1707) was an English baroque composer and organist, best known for his ''Trumpet Voluntary,'' a popular piece often played at wedding ceremonies or commencement ceremonies. Biography The exact date of Cla ...
, Maurice Greene and
John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion (Stainer), The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some Angli ...
, while well-known performers have included
Alfred Deller Alfred George Deller, CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th century. He is sometimes referr ...
,
John Shirley-Quirk John Stanton Shirley-Quirk CBE (28 August 19317 April 2014) was an English bass-baritone. A member of the English Opera Group from 1964 to 1976, he gave premiere performances of several operatic and vocal works by Benjamin Britten, recording th ...
and Anthony Way as well as the conductors
Charles Groves Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE (10 March 191520 June 1992) was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors. After accompanying positions and conducting ...
and
Paul Hillier Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-founder o ...
and the poet
Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fi ...
.


Wren's cathedral


Development of the design

In designing St Paul's, Christopher Wren had to meet many challenges. He had to create a fitting cathedral to replace Old St Paul's as a place of worship and as a landmark within the City of London. He had to satisfy the requirements of the church and the tastes of a royal patron, as well as respecting the essentially medieval tradition of English church building, which developed to accommodate the liturgy. Wren was familiar with contemporary Renaissance and Baroque trends in Italian architecture and had visited France, where he studied the work of
François Mansart François Mansart (; 23 January 1598 – 23 September 1666) was a French architect credited with introducing classicism into the Baroque architecture of France. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' identifies him as the most accomplished of 17th-c ...
. Wren's design developed through five general stages. The first survives only as a single drawing and part of a model. The scheme (usually called the ''First Model Design'') appears to have consisted of a circular domed vestibule (possibly based on the Pantheon in Rome) and a rectangular church of
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
form. The plan may have been influenced by the
Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...
. It was rejected because it was not thought "stately enough". Wren's second design was a Greek cross, which was thought by the clerics not to fulfil the requirements of Anglican liturgy. Wren's third design is embodied in the "Great Model" of 1673. The model, made of oak and plaster, cost more than £500 (approximately £32,000 today) and is more than tall and long. This design retained the form of the Greek-Cross design but extended it with a nave. His critics, members of a committee commissioned to rebuild the church, and clergy decried the design as too dissimilar to other English churches to suggest any continuity within the Church of England. Another problem was that the entire design would have to be completed all at once because of the eight central piers that supported the dome, instead of being completed in stages and opened for use before construction finished, as was customary. The Great Model was Wren's favourite design; he thought it a reflection of
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
beauty. After the Great Model, Wren resolved not to make further models and not to expose his drawings publicly, which he found did nothing but "lose time, and subject isbusiness many times, to incompetent judges". The Great Model survives and is housed within the cathedral itself. Wren's fourth design is known as the ''Warrant design'' because it received a royal warrant for the rebuilding. In this design, Wren sought to reconcile Gothic, the predominant style of English churches, to a "better manner of architecture". It has the longitudinal Latin Cross plan of a medieval cathedral. It is of storeys and has classical porticos at the west and transept ends, influenced by Inigo Jones's addition to Old St Paul's. It is roofed at the crossing by a wide shallow dome supporting a drum with a second cupola, from which rises a spire of seven diminishing stages. Vaughan Hart has suggested that some influence in the design of the spire may have been drawn from the oriental
pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...
. Not used at St Paul's, the concept was applied in the spire of
St Bride's, Fleet Street St Bride's Church is a Church of England church in Fleet Street in the City of London. Likely dedicated to Bridget of Kildare, Saint Bridget perhaps as early as the 6th century, the building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christo ...
. This plan was rotated slightly on its site so that it aligned, not with true east, but with sunrise on Easter of the year construction began. This small change in configuration was informed by Wren's knowledge of astronomy.


Final design

The final design as built differs substantially from the official Warrant design. Wren received permission from the king to make "ornamental changes" to the submitted design, and Wren took great advantage of this. Many of these changes were made over the thirty years as the church was constructed, and the most significant was to the dome: "He raised another structure over the first cupola, a cone of brick, to support a stone lantern of an elegant figure ... And he covered and hid out of sight the brick cone with another cupola of timber and lead; and between this and the cone are easy stairs that ascend to the lantern" (Christopher Wren, son of Sir Christopher Wren). The final design was strongly rooted in
St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...
in Rome. The saucer domes over the nave were inspired by François Mansart's Church of the Val-de-Grâce, which Wren had seen during a trip to Paris in 1665. The date of the laying of the first stone of the cathedral is disputed. One contemporary account says it was 21 June 1675, another 25 June and a third on 28 June. There is, however, general agreement that it was laid in June 1675. Edward Strong later claimed it was laid by his elder brother, Thomas Strong, one of the two master stonemasons appointed by Wren at the beginning of the work.


Structural engineering

Wren's challenge was to construct a large cathedral on the relatively weak clay soil of London. St Paul's is unusual among cathedrals in that there is a crypt, the largest in Europe, under the entire building rather than just under the eastern end. The crypt serves a structural purpose. Although it is extensive, half the space of the crypt is taken up by massive piers, which spread the weight of the much slimmer piers of the church above. While the towers and domes of most cathedrals are supported on four piers, Wren designed the dome of St Paul's to be supported on eight, achieving a broader distribution of weight at the level of the foundations. The foundations settled as the building progressed, and Wren made structural changes in response. One of the design problems that confronted Wren was to create a landmark dome, tall enough to visually replace the lost tower of St Paul's, while at the same time appearing visually satisfying when viewed from inside the building. Wren planned a double-shelled dome, as at St Peter's Basilica. His solution to the visual problem was to separate the heights of the inner and outer dome to a much greater extent than had been done by
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
at St Peter's, drafting both as
catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...
curves, rather than as hemispheres. Between the inner and outer domes, Wren inserted a brick cone that supports both the timbers of the outer, lead-covered dome and the weight of the ornate stone lantern that rises above it. Both the cone and the inner dome are 18 inches thick and are supported by wrought iron chains at intervals in the brick cone and around the cornice of the peristyle of the inner dome to prevent spreading and cracking. The Warrant Design showed external buttresses on the ground floor level. These were not a classical feature and were one of the first elements Wren changed. Instead, he made the walls of the cathedral particularly thick to avoid the need for external buttresses altogether. The clerestory and vault are reinforced with flying buttresses, which were added at a relatively late stage in the design to give extra strength. These are concealed behind the screen wall of the upper story, which was added to keep the building's classical style intact, to add sufficient visual mass to balance the appearance of the dome and which, by its weight, counters the thrust of the buttresses on the lower walls.


Designers, builders and craftsmen

During the extensive period of design and rationalisation, Wren employed
Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...
from 1684 as his principal assistant. Between 1696 and 1711 William Dickinson was measuring clerk. Joshua Marshall (until his early death in 1678) and Thomas and his brother Edward Strong were master masons, the latter two working on the construction for its entirety. John Langland was the master carpenter for more than thirty years. Grinling Gibbons was the chief sculptor, working in both stone on the building itself, including the pediment of the north portal, and wood on the internal fittings. The sculptor
Caius Gabriel Cibber Caius Gabriel Cibber (1630–1700) was a Danish sculptor, who enjoyed great success in England, and was the father of the actor, author and poet laureate Colley Cibber. He was appointed "carver to the king's closet" by William III. Biograp ...
created the pediment of the south transept while
Francis Bird Francis Bird (1667–1731) was one of the leading English sculptors of his time. He is mainly remembered for sculptures in Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. He carved a tomb for the dramatist William Congreve in Westminster Abbey and s ...
was responsible for the relief in the west pediment depicting the Conversion of St Paul, as well as the seven large statues on the west front. The floor was paved by William Dickinson in black and white marble in 1709–10
Jean Tijou Jean Tijou () was a French Huguenot ironworker. He is known solely through his work in England, where he worked on several of the key English Baroque buildings. Very little is known of his biography. He arrived in England in c. 1689 and enjoyed ...
was responsible for the decorative wrought ironwork of gates and balustrades. The ball and cross on the dome were provided by an armorer, Andrew Niblett. Following the war damage mentioned above, many craftsmen were employed to restore the wood carvings and stone work that had been destroyed by the bomb impact. One of particular note is Master Carver, Gino Masero who was commissioned to carve the replacement figure of Christ, an eight-foot sculpture in lime which currently stands on the High Altar.


Description

St Paul's Cathedral is built in a restrained
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style which represents Wren's rationalisation of the traditions of English medieval cathedrals with the inspiration of
Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one ...
, the classical style of Inigo Jones, the baroque style of 17th century Rome, and the buildings by Mansart and others that he had seen in France. It is particularly in its plan that St Paul's reveals medieval influences. Like the great medieval cathedrals of
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, St Paul's is comparatively long for its width and has strongly projecting transepts. It has much emphasis on its facade, which has been designed to define rather than conceal the form of the building behind it. In plan, the towers jut beyond the width of the aisles as they do at
Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...
. Wren's uncle
Matthew Wren Matthew Wren (23 December 1585 – 24 April 1667) was an influential English clergyman, bishop and scholar. Life Wren was the eldest son of Francis Wren, citizen and mercer of London. Matthew Wren's mother was Susan, daughter of John Wigg ...
was the
Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...
, and, having worked for his uncle, Wren was familiar with the unique octagonal lantern tower over the crossing of
Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...
, which spans the aisles as well as the central nave, unlike the central towers and domes of most churches. Wren adapted this characteristic in designing the dome of St Paul's. In section St Paul's also maintains a medieval form, having the aisles much lower than the nave, and a defined clerestory.


Exterior

The most renowned exterior feature is the dome, which rises to the cross at its summit, and dominates views of the city. The height of 365 feet is explained by Wren's interest in astronomy. Until the late 20th century, St Paul's was the tallest building on the City skyline, designed to be seen surrounded by the delicate spires of Wren's other city churches. The dome is described by Sir
Banister Fletcher Sir Banister Flight Fletcher (15 February 1866 – 17 August 1953) was an English architect and architectural historian, as was his father, also named Banister Fletcher. They wrote the standard textbook ''A History of Architecture'' ...
as "probably the finest in Europe", by Helen Gardner as "majestic", and by Sir
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
as "one of the most perfect in the world". Sir
John Summerson Sir John Newenham Summerson (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century. Early life John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington. His grandfather wo ...
said that Englishmen and "even some foreigners" consider it to be without equal.


Dome

Wren drew inspiration from Michelangelo's dome of St Peter's Basilica and that of Mansart's Church of the Val-de-Grâce, which he had visited. Unlike those of St Peter's and Val-de-Grâce, the dome of St Paul's rises in two clearly defined storeys of masonry, which, together with a lower unadorned footing, equal a height of about 95 feet. From the time of the ''Greek Cross Design'' it is clear that Wren favoured a continuous colonnade (''
peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...
'') around the drum of the dome, rather than the arrangement of alternating windows and projecting columns that Michelangelo had used and which had also been employed by Mansart. Summerson suggests that he was influenced by Bramante's "Tempietto" in the courtyard of
San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (English: "Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain") is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative ''martyrium'' ('martyry') built by Donato Bramante. History The Church o ...
. In the finished structure, Wren creates a diversity and appearance of strength by placing niches between the columns in every fourth opening. The peristyle serves to buttress both the inner dome and the brick cone, which rises internally to support the lantern. Above the peristyle rises the second stage, surrounded by a balustraded balcony called the "Stone Gallery". This attic stage is ornamented with alternating pilasters and rectangular windows, which are set just below the cornice, creating a sense of lightness. Above this attic rises the dome, covered with lead and ribbed in accordance with the spacing of the pilasters. It is pierced by eight light wells just below the lantern, but these are barely visible. They allow light to penetrate through openings in the brick cone, which illuminates the interior apex of this shell, partly visible from within the cathedral through the ocular opening of the lower dome. The lantern, like the visible masonry of the dome, rises in stages. The most unusual characteristic of this structure is that it is of a square plan, rather than circular or octagonal. The tallest stage takes the form of a ''tempietto'' with four columned porticos facing the cardinal points. Its lowest level is surrounded by the "Golden Gallery" and its upper level supports a small dome from which rises a cross on a golden ball. The total weight of the lantern is about 850 tons.


West front

For the Renaissance architect designing the west front of a large church or cathedral, the universal problem was how to use a facade to unite the high central nave with the lower aisles in a visually harmonious whole. Since Alberti's additions to
Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The ch ...
in Florence, this was usually achieved by the simple expedient of linking the sides to the centre with large brackets. This is the solution that Wren saw employed by Mansart at Val-de-Grâce. Another feature employed by Mansart was a boldly projecting Classical portico with paired columns. Wren faced the additional challenge of incorporating towers into the design, as had been planned at St Peter's Basilica. At St Peter's,
Carlo Maderno Carlo Maderno or Maderna (1556 – 31 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, Switzerland, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica, and Sant ...
had solved this problem by constructing a
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...
and stretching a huge screen facade across it, differentiated at the centre by a pediment. The towers at St Peter's were not built above the parapet. Wren's solution was to employ a Classical portico, as at Val-de-Grâce, but rising through two storeys and supported on paired columns. The remarkable feature here is that the lower story of this portico extends to the full width of the aisles, while the upper section defines the nave behind it. The gaps between the upper stage of the portico and the towers on either side are bridged by a narrow section of wall with an arch-topped window. The towers stand outside the width of the aisles but screen two chapels located immediately behind them. The lower parts of the towers continue the theme of the outer walls but are differentiated from them to create an appearance of strength. The windows of the lower story are smaller than those of the side walls and are deeply recessed, a visual indication of the thickness of the wall. The paired pilasters at each corner project boldly. Above the main
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
, which unites the towers with the portico and the outer walls, the details are boldly scaled in order to read well from the street below and from a distance. The towers rise above the cornice from a square block plinth, which is plain apart from large oculi, that on the south being filled by the clock, while that on the north is void. The towers are composed of two complementary elements, a central cylinder rising through the tiers in a series of stacked drums, and paired
Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...
at the corners, with
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...
es above them, which serve to unify the drum shape with the square plinth on which it stands. The entablature above the columns breaks forward over them to express both elements, tying them together in a single horizontal band. The cap, an ogee-shaped dome, supports a gilded finial in the form of a pineapple. The transepts each have a semi-circular entrance portico. Wren was inspired in the design by studying engravings of
Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...
's Baroque facade of
Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholi ...
in Rome. These projecting arcs echo the shape of the apse at the eastern end of the building.


Walls

The building is of two storeys of ashlar masonry, above a basement, and surrounded by a balustrade above the upper cornice. The balustrade was added, against Wren's wishes, in 1718. The internal bays are marked externally by paired pilasters with Corinthian capitals at the lower level and Composite at the upper level. Where the building behind is of only one story (at the aisles of both nave and choir), the upper story of the exterior wall is a sham. It serves a dual purpose of supporting the buttresses of the vault and providing a satisfying appearance when viewed rising above buildings at the height of the 17th-century city. This appearance may still be seen from across the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
. Between the pilasters on both levels are windows. Those of the lower storey have semi-circular heads and are surrounded by continuous mouldings of a Roman style, rising to decorative keystones. Beneath each window is a floral swag by Grinling Gibbons, constituting the finest stone carving on the building and some of the greatest architectural sculpture in England. A frieze with similar swags runs in a band below the cornice, tying the arches of the windows and the capitals. The upper windows are of a restrained Classical form, with pediments set on columns, but are blind and contain niches. Beneath these niches, and on the basement level, are small windows with segmental tops, the glazing of which catches the light and visually links them to the large windows of the aisles. The height from ground level to the top of the parapet is approximately 110 feet.


Fencing

The original fencing, designed by Wren, was dismantled in the 1870s. The surveyor for the government of Toronto had it shipped to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, where it has since adorned
High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...
.


Interior

Internally, St Paul's has a nave and choir in each of its three bays. The entrance from the west portico is through a square domed narthex, flanked by chapels: the Chapel of St Dunstan to the north and the Chapel of the Order of St Michael and St George to the south. The nave is in height and is separated from the aisles by an arcade of piers with attached Corinthian pilasters rising to an entablature. The bays, and therefore the vault compartments, are rectangular, but Wren roofed these spaces with saucer-shaped domes and surrounded the
clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...
windows with lunettes. The vaults of the choir are decorated with mosaics by Sir
William Blake Richmond Sir William Blake Richmond (29 November 184211 February 1921) was a British painter, sculptor and a designer of stained glass and mosaic. He is best known for his portrait work and decorative mosaics in St Paul's Cathedral in London. Richmon ...
. The dome and the apse of the choir are all approached through wide arches with coffered vaults, which contrast with the smooth surface of the domes and punctuate the division between the main spaces. The transepts extend to the north and south of the dome and are called (in this instance) the North Choir and the South Choir. The
choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
holds the stalls for the clergy, cathedral officers, and the choir, and the organ. These wooden fittings, including the pulpit and Bishop's throne, were designed in Wren's office and built by joiners. The carvings are the work of
Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle, the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London church ...
whom Summerson describes as having "astonishing facility", suggesting that Gibbons' aim was to reproduce popular Dutch flower painting in wood.
Jean Tijou Jean Tijou () was a French Huguenot ironworker. He is known solely through his work in England, where he worked on several of the key English Baroque buildings. Very little is known of his biography. He arrived in England in c. 1689 and enjoyed ...
, a French metalworker, provided various wrought iron and gilt grilles, gates, and balustrades of elaborate design, of which many pieces have now been combined into the gates near the sanctuary. The cathedral is some in length (including the portico of the Great West Door), of which is the nave and is the choir. The width of the nave is and across the transepts is . The cathedral is slightly shorter but somewhat wider than Old St Paul's.


Dome

The main internal space of the cathedral is under the central dome, which extends the full width of the nave and aisles. The dome is supported on
pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...
s rising between eight arches spanning the nave, choir, transepts, and aisles. The eight piers that carry them are not evenly spaced. Wren has maintained an appearance of eight equal spans by inserting segmental arches to carry galleries across the ends of the aisles and has extended the mouldings of the upper arch to appear equal to the wider arches. Above the keystones of the arches, at above the floor and wide, runs a cornice which supports the '' Whispering Gallery'' so called because of its acoustic properties: a whisper or low murmur against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the wall at any other point around the gallery. It is reached by 259 steps from ground level. The dome is raised on a tall drum surrounded by pilasters and pierced with windows in groups of three, separated by eight gilded niches containing statues and repeating the pattern of the peristyle on the exterior. The dome rises above a gilded cornice at to a height of . Its painted decoration by Sir James Thornhill shows eight scenes from the life of
St Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
set in illusionistic architecture which continues the forms of the eight niches of the drum. At the apex of the dome is an oculus inspired by that of the Pantheon in Rome. Through this hole can be seen the decorated inner surface of the cone, which supports the lantern. This upper space is lit by the light wells in the outer dome and openings in the brick cone. Engravings of Thornhill's paintings were published in 1720.


Apse

The eastern
apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
extends the width of the choir and is the full height of the main arches across the choir and nave. It is decorated with mosaics, in keeping with the choir vaults. The original reredos and high altar were destroyed by bombing in 1940. The present high altar and baldacchino are the work of W. Godfrey Allen and
Stephen Dykes Bower Stephen Ernest Dykes Bower (18 April 1903 – 11 November 1994) was a British church architect and Gothic Revival designer best known for his work at Westminster Abbey, Bury St Edmunds Cathedral and the Chapel at Lancing College. As an architec ...
. The apse was dedicated in 1958 as the American Memorial Chapel. It was paid for entirely by donations from British people. The Roll of Honour contains the names of more than 28,000 Americans who gave their lives while on their way to, or stationed in, the United Kingdom during the Second World War. It is in front of the chapel's altar. The three windows of the apse date from 1960 and depict themes of service and sacrifice, while the insignia around the edges represent the American states and the
US armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except ...
. The limewood panelling incorporates a rocket—a tribute to America's achievements in space.


Artworks, tombs and memorials

St Paul's, at the time of its completion, was adorned by sculpture in stone and wood: most notably that of Grinling Gibbons, by the paintings in the dome by Thornhill, and by Jean Tijou's elaborate metalwork. It has been further enhanced by Sir William Richmond's mosaics and the fittings by Dykes Bower and Godfrey Allen. Other artworks in the cathedral include, in the south aisle,
William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...
's copy of his painting '' The Light of the World'', the original of which hangs in
Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...
, Oxford. The St Paul's version was completed with significant input from
Edward Robert Hughes Edward Robert Hughes (5 November 1851 – 23 April 1914) was a British painter, who primarily worked in watercolours, but also produced a number of oil paintings. He was influenced by his uncle and artist, Arthur Hughes who was associated ...
as Hunt was now suffering from glaucoma. In the north choir aisle is a limestone sculpture of the ''Madonna and Child'' by
Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...
, carved in 1943. The crypt contains more than 200 memorials and numerous burials. Christopher Wren was the first person to be interred, in 1723. On the wall above his tomb in the crypt is written in Latin: ''Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice'' ("Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you"). The largest monument in the cathedral is that to the
Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
by Alfred Stevens. It stands on the north side of the nave and has on top a statue of Wellington astride his horse "Copenhagen". Although the equestrian figure was planned at the outset, objections to the notion of having a horse in the church prevented its installation until 1912. The horse and rider are by
John Tweed John Tweed (21 January 1869 – 12 November 1933) was a Scottish sculptor. Early life Tweed was born on January 21, 1869, at 16 Great Portland Street, Glasgow, and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. He then trained with Hamo Thornycroft ...
. The Duke is buried in the crypt. The tomb of Horatio, Lord Nelson is located in the crypt, next to that of Wellington. The marble
sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...
which holds Nelson's remains was made for
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...
but not used as the cardinal had fallen from favour. At the eastern end of the crypt is the Chapel of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
, instigated in 1917, and designed by John Seely, Lord Mottistone. There are many other memorials commemorating the British military, including several lists of servicemen who died in action, the most recent being the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. Also remembered are
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...
,
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...
,
Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
,
Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...
,
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
, Lawrence of Arabia,
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
, William Jones and Sir
Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of wha ...
as well as clergy and residents of the local parish. There are lists of the bishops and cathedral deans for the last thousand years. One of the most remarkable sculptures is that of the Dean and poet,
John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
. Before his death, Donne posed for his own memorial statue and was depicted by
Nicholas Stone Nicholas Stone (1586/87 – 24 August 1647) was an England, English sculpture, sculptor and architect. In 1619 he was appointed master-mason to James I of England, James I, and in 1626 to Charles I of England, Charles I. During his ca ...
as wrapped in a burial shroud and standing on a funeral urn. The sculpture, carved around 1630, is the only one to have survived the conflagration of 1666 intact. The treasury is also in the crypt, but the cathedral has very few treasures as many have been lost and, on 22 December 1810, a major robbery took almost all of the remaining precious artefacts. The funerals of many notable figures have been held in the cathedral, including those of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
,
George Mallory George Herbert Leigh-Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English Mountaineering, mountaineer who participated in the first three British Mount Everest expeditions from the early to mid-1920s. He and climbing partner An ...
and
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
. ;The East India Company Trail at St Paul's Cathedral In 2023, following nationwide discussions over the status and value of memorial statues celebrating the lives of individuals involved with the British Empire, including slavery, St Paul's Cathedral initiated a partnership with Stepney Community Trust, a community-led charity based out of the East End of London. A group of volunteers was recruited to help historically situate the many memorial statues inside St Paul's Cathedral whose careers, actions and views were associated with historic harm done to communities in South Asia. The project entailed writing explanatory texts that situated the highly eulogistic statues in their wider historical context. (These texts are available on the website of St Paul's Cathedral on webpages titled "The East India Company at St. Paul's".) Memorials thus contextualised include th
statue of Charles George Gordon
th
statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
th
statue of Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo
th
statue of Bishop Thomas Fanshaw Middleton
th
statue of Granville Gower Loch
th
statue of William Jones
th
statue of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
th
statue of Henry Montgomery Lawrence
th
statue of Henry Bartle Frere
th
statue of Robert Cornelius Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala
th
statue of Charles James Napier
th
statue of Charles Metcalfe Macgregor
th
statue of Samuel James Browne
th
statue of Harry Smith Parkes
and th
memorial to Indian Army Volunteers
The trail has a printed guide that visitors may use, and the statues on the trail are identifiable by a graphic and a QR code, which leads to the relevant webpage upon scanning. The graphic is original artwork produced by graphic design artist Sonal Agarwal and represents a cluster of statues of South Asian persons, men and women, who currently serve as decorative or supportive features of the main statues.


Geometric Staircase

The Geometric Staircase, a helical cantilevered staircase rising 50 feet with 88 stone stairs, designed by Christopher Wren, was built by William Kempster in the southwest tower of the cathedral and completed in 1710. The steps are only embedded about 150mm into the walls since they are mainly supported by the steps below. The staircase has been featured in several major films.


Clock

A clock was installed in the southwest tower by Langley Bradley in 1709 but was worn out by the end of the 19th century. The present mechanism was built in 1893 by Smith of Derby incorporating a design of escapement by Edmund Denison Beckett similar to that used by Edward Dent on
Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...
's mechanism in 1895. The clock mechanism is long and is the most recent of the clocks introduced to St Paul's Cathedral over the centuries. Since 1969, the clock has been electrically wound with equipment designed and installed by Smith of Derby, relieving the clock custodian from the work of cranking up the heavy drive weights.


Great Paul

The southwest tower also contains four bells, of which Great Paul, cast in 1881 by J. W. Taylor of Taylor's bell foundry of
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
, at was the largest bell in the
British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
until the casting of the
Olympic Bell The Olympic Bell was commissioned and cast for the 2012 London Olympic Games, and is the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world. Cast in bronze bell metal, it is high with a diameter of , and weighs . The bell is now displayed in the Ol ...
for the 2012 London Olympics. Although the bell is traditionally sounded at 1 pm each day, Great Paul had not been rung for several years because of a broken chiming mechanism. In the 1970s, the fastening mechanism that secured the clapper had fractured, sending both through the clock mechanism below and causing damage that cost £30,000 to repair. In about 1989 the clapper fractured completely, although less damage was sustained. On 31 July 2021, during the London Festival of the Bells, Great Paul rang for the first time in two decades, being hand swung by the bell ringers.


Great Tom

The clock bells include Great Tom, which was moved from
St Stephen's Chapel St Stephen's Chapel, sometimes called the Royal Chapel of St Stephen, was a chapel completed around 1297 in the old Palace of Westminster. After the death of Henry VIII until 1834, the building served as the chamber of the House of Commons of E ...
at the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
and has been recast several times, the last time by Richard Phelps. It chimes the hour and is traditionally tolled on occasions of a death in the royal family, the Bishop of London, or the
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
, although an exception was made at the death of the US president
James Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 1881 until Assassination of James A. Garfield, his death in September that year after being shot two months ea ...
. It was last tolled for the death of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
in 2022, ringing once every minute along with other bells across the country in honour of the 96 years of her life.E! News, ''Hear Bells Around the World Ring for Queen Elizabeth II After Her Death'', Kisha Forde, September 9, 2022
, Retrieved 19 September 2022.


Quarter-jacks

In 1717, Richard Phelps cast two more bells that were added as "quarter jacks" that ring on the quarter hour. Still in use today, the first weighs , is in diameter and is tuned to A; the second weighs , is in diameter and is tuned to E. They are sometimes known as Ding and Dong due to the way they sound.


Bells

The northwest tower contains 13 bells. A
ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
of 12 bells by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough hung for
change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in ...
, and the single communion bell. In January 2018, the bells were removed for refurbishment and were rehung in September that year, being rung again for the first time on
All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are know ...
. The original service or "Communion" bell dating from 1700 and known as "the Banger" is rung before 8 a.m. services.


Education, tourism, and the arts


Interpretation Project

The Interpretation Project was a long-term project concerned with bringing St Paul's to life for all its visitors. In 2010, the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's opened St Paul's Oculus, a 270° film experience that brings 1400 years of history to life. It was located in the former Treasury in the crypt, the film took visitors on a journey through the history and daily life of St Paul's Cathedral. Oculus was funded by American Express Company in partnership with the
World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training ...
, J. P. Morgan, the Garfield Weston Trust for St Paul's Cathedral, the City of London Endowment Trust and AIG. It was closed by 2020. The Treasury space is now used for changing exhibitions. In 2010, touchscreen multimedia guides were launched. These guides are included in the price of admission. Visitors can discover the cathedral's history and architecture, and learn about the daily life of a busy working church with these new multimedia guides. They are available in 12 different languages: English, French,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, Portuguese,
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
,
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...
and
British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the Deafness in the United Kingdom, deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a f ...
(BSL). The guides have fly-through videos of the dome galleries and zoomable close-ups of the ceiling mosaics, painting, and photography. Interviews and commentary from experts include the
Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also '' ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of th ...
, the conservation team, and the Director of Music. Archive film footage includes major services and events from the cathedral's history.


Charges for sightseers

St Paul's charges an entrance fee for sightseers; admission to worship services is free. The entrance ticket is £25 for adults (June 2024). Outside service times, people seeking a quiet place to pray or worship are admitted to St Dunstan's Chapel free of charge. On Sundays people are admitted only for services and concerts and there is no sightseeing. The charge to sightseers is made because St Paul's receives little regular or significant funding from the Crown, the Church of England or the state and relies on the income generated by tourism to allow the building to continue to function as a centre for Christian worship, as well as to cover general maintenance and repair work.


St Paul's Cathedral Arts Project

The St Paul's Cathedral Arts Project explores art and
faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...
. Projects have included installations by Gerry Judah,
Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pl ...
,
Rebecca Horn Rebecca Horn (24 March 1944 – 6 September 2024) was a German visual artist best known for her installation art, film directing and body modifications such as ''Einhorn'' (Unicorn), a body-suit with a very large horn projecting vertically from ...
,
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...
and Martin Firrell. In 2014, St Paul's commissioned Gerry Judah to create an artwork in the nave to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Two spectacular sculptures consisting of three-dimensional white cruciforms reflect the meticulously maintained war graves of northern France and further afield. Each sculpture is also embellished with miniaturised destroyed residential blocks depicting contemporary war zones in the Middle East—
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
—thus connecting 100 years of warfare.
Bill Viola William John Viola Jr. ( , ; January 25, 1951 – July 12, 2024) was an American video artist whose artistic expression depended upon electronic, sound, and image technology in new media. His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human ...
has created two altarpieces for permanent display in St Paul's Cathedral. The project commenced production in mid-2009. Following the extensive programme of cleaning and repair of the interior of St Paul's, completed in 2005, Viola was commissioned to create two altarpieces on the themes of Mary and Martyrs. These two multi-screen video installations are permanently located at the end of the Quire aisles, flanking the High Altar of the cathedral and the American Memorial Chapel. Each work employs an arrangement of multiple plasma screen panels configured in a manner similar to historic altarpieces. In summer 2010, St Paul's chose two new works by the British artist Mark Alexander to be hung on either side of the nave. Both entitled Red Mannheim, Alexander's large red silkscreens are inspired by the
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
Cathedral altarpiece (1739–41), which was damaged by bombing in the Second World War. The original sculpture depicts Christ on the cross, surrounded by a familiar retinue of mourners. Rendered in splendid giltwood, with Christ's wracked body sculpted in relief and the flourishes of flora and incandescent rays from heaven, this masterpiece of the German Rococo is an object of ravishing beauty and intense piety. In March 2010, Flare II, a sculpture by
Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pl ...
, was installed in the Geometric Staircase. In 2007, the Dean and Chapter commissioned Martin Firrell to create a major public artwork to mark the 300th anniversary of the topping-out of Wren's building. The Question Mark Inside consisted of digital text projections to the cathedral dome, West Front, and inside onto the Whispering Gallery. The text was based on blog contributions by the general public as well as interviews conducted by the artist and on the artist's own views. The project presented a stream of possible answers to the question: "What makes life meaningful and purposeful, and what does St Paul's mean in that contemporary context?" The Question Mark Inside opened on 8 November 2008 and ran for eight nights.


Depictions of St Paul's

St Paul's Cathedral has been depicted many times in paintings, prints, and drawings. Among the well-known artists to have painted it are Canaletto, Turner, Daubigny,
Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( ; ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...
, Signac, Derain, and Lloyd Rees. File:Giovanni Antonio Canal - The River Thames, detail.jpg,
Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of cityscapes or ...
: ''The River Thames with St. Paul's Cathedral on Lord Mayor's Day'' (1746; Lobkowicz Collections, Prague) File:St Paul's by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (early 19th century).jpg, 19th-century coloured engraving from the southwest by Thomas Hosmer Shepherd File:Edward Angelo Goodall04.jpg, Romantic 19th-century engraving of St Paul's in the evening after rain by
Edward Angelo Goodall Edward Angelo Goodall (8 June 1819 – 16 April 1908) was a British landscape and orientalist painter, a member of the Goodall family of artists. Early life Goodall was the son of Edward Goodall, the engraver of J. M. W. Turner's works, ...
File:John O'Connor - Ludgate, Evening - 1887.jpg, Oil painting, John O'Connor, ''Evening on Ludgate Hill'' (1887) St Paul's looms beyond St Martin's File:Canaletto london.jpg, ''St Paul's from Richmond House'' in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
by the Venetian painter Canaletto (1747) File:Antonio Joli Prospect of London.jpg, ''St Paul's viewed from a loggia'', a '' capriccio'' () by
Antonio Joli Antonio Francesco Lodovico Joli (13 March 1700 – 29 April 1777) was an Italian painter of ''vedute'' and ''capricci''. Biography Born in Modena, he first was apprenticed to Rafaello Rinaldi. He then studied in Rome under Giovanni Paolo P ...
who also worked in Venice File:Ernest Dade - St Paul's from the River.jpg, An Impressionist view of ''St Paul's from the River'' by
Ernest Dade Ernest Frederick Dade (1868–1935),Sources vary; others give 1864–1936England & Wales, National Probate Calendar, 1936. "DADE Ernest of 16 Langford-place St. John's Wood Middlesex died 3 November 1935 Administration York 13 November to Hele ...
(before 1936) File:Frederick Edward Joseph Goff St Paul's from Bankside.jpg, ''St Paul's from Bankside'', a watercolour by Frederick E. J. Goff (before 1931)


Photography and portrayal in fiction

St Paul's Cathedral has been the subject of many photographs, including the iconic image of the dome surrounded by smoke during the Blitz. It has also been used in games, films and TV programmes (including
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
's most recognised ident), either as the focus of the film, as in the episode of ''
Climbing Great Buildings ''Climbing Great Buildings'' is a British television series made for the BBC by ITN Productions. The series, first broadcast on BBC Two from 6 to 28 September 2010, consists of fifteen half-hour programmes each featuring one famous British struct ...
''; as a feature of the film, as in ''
Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...
''; as an incidental location such as Wren's Geometric Staircase in the southwest tower which has appeared in several films including ''
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ( ; also ) is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the third installment in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The novel follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third yea ...
'', or as a playable location in the 1998 video game ''
Tomb Raider III ''Tomb Raider III'' (also known as ''Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft'') is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows platform ...
''. Films in which St Paul's has been depicted include: * ''St. Paul's Cathedral'' (1942), a wartime documentary film for the
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...
, the final part of which shows bomb damage in and around St Paul's. * '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) shows the exterior of the building and the bust of T. E. Lawrence. * ''
Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...
'' (1964) shows the steps and west front of the cathedral, the main setting for the song '" Feed the Birds'". * St Paul's Cathedral has appeared as a filming location twice in ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', in the 1968 serial '' The Invasion'', and in the 2014 two-part story " Dark Water"/" Death in Heaven". In both, the
Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...
are shown descending steps outside the cathedral. * St Paul's is seen briefly in the '' Goodies'' episode " Kitten Kong" (1971). During his rampage through London, Twinkle damages London landmarks, including St Paul's Cathedral, the dome of which is knocked off. * In the BBC educational programme " A Guide to Armageddon" (1982), a one-megaton nuclear weapon is detonated over London, with St Paul's used as
ground zero A hypocenter or hypocentre (), also called ground zero or surface zero, is the point on the Earth's surface directly below a nuclear explosion, meteor air burst, or other mid-air explosion. In seismology, the hypocenter of an earthquake is its p ...
. * '' Lifeforce'' (1985): The cathedral's interior is the setting for the climax of the film. * ''
The Madness of King George ''The Madness of King George'' is a 1994 British biographical comedy drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own 1991 play '' The Madness of George III''. It tells the true story of George III of Great Brita ...
'' (1994) shows the Geometric Staircase in the southwest bell tower. * ''
Tomb Raider III ''Tomb Raider III'' (also known as ''Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft'') is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows platform ...
'' (1998) features St Paul's as the centerpiece of the playable London chapter, which
Lara Croft Lara Croft is a character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British adventurer and archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins arou ...
explores on the hunt for the Eye of Isis. Notably, this version of St Paul's is missing the iconic dome, which appears to be destroyed. However, the ''
Tomb Raider I–III Remastered ''Tomb Raider I–III Remastered'' is a 2024 collection of action-adventure games developed and published by Aspyr. It is a remastered compilation of the first three games in the ''Tomb Raider'' series originally developed by Core Design: ''Tom ...
'' collection (2024) fixed this and depicts St Paul's complete with its iconic dome. In addition to this, St Paul's dome is prominently displayed on the cover of the 1998 game. * ''
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' ( ; also ) is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the third installment in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The novel follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third yea ...
'' (2004) shows the Geometric Staircase in the southwest bell tower, representing the staircase towards the Divination classroom. * ''
Star Trek Into Darkness ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' is a 2013 American science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. It is the 12th installment in the ''Star Trek'' franchise ...
'' (2013) depicts St Paul's in 23rd century London along with other notable modern-day London buildings. * St Paul's is the only building of ancient London that survived the "Sixty Minute War" in the film '' Mortal Engines'' (2018) and the
books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...
it is based on.


See also

* :Burials at St Paul's Cathedral *
History of early modern period domes Domes built in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries relied primarily on empirical techniques and oral traditions rather than the architectural treatises of the time, but the study of dome structures changed radically due to developments in mathemat ...
*
List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom This is a list of cathedrals in the United Kingdom. NK = Not known See also * List of Anglican churches in the United Kingdom * List of Catholic churches in the United Kingdom *List of cathedrals in England *List of cathedrals in Northern Ir ...
*
List of churches and cathedrals of London This is a list of cathedrals, Church (building), churches and chapels in Greater London, England, which is divided into 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The list focuses on the more permanent churches and buildings which identify the ...
*
List of tallest domes This is a list of the tallest domes in the world. The dome can be measured by various criteria. There are different types of domes. Many of the tallest domes have a lantern. Strictly speaking, the lantern is not part of the dome, but often the o ...
*
List of tallest structures built before the 20th century List of pre-twentieth century structures by height See also *History of the world's tallest buildings *List of tallest buildings and structures References

{{Tallest buildings and structures Lists of tallest structures, Ancient structur ...
* Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for St Paul's Cathedral *
Paternoster Square Paternoster Square is a former historic square, renamed from Newgate Market c. 1872, and now a post-war urban redevelopment, owned by the Mitsubishi Estate, next to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. The area was previously named Patern ...
*
Cyril Raikes Cyril Probyn Napier Raikes (1875–1963) was a British Army officer who was awarded the Military Cross in the World War I Mesopotamian campaign flying in the British army's Royal Engineers monitoring the oil pipelines there. He had previously fou ...
(fire watching on the dome of St Paul's Cathedral in the Second World War) *
Tall buildings in London At , St Paul's Cathedral was the tallest building in London from 1710 until it was eventually surpassed by the 118 metre (387 ft) Millbank Tower in 1963. This in turn was overtaken by the BT Tower at tall in 1964. Throughout the 1960s and ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * 2016e * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * *


External links


The Sound of Bells—Great Paul
from William Hibbert (self-published)
St. Paul's Cathedral
from
Google Arts and Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google. It utilizes high-re ...

Wren's various designs

The 'Registrum Statutorum..' of St Paul's
��Collected charters and other documents from the earliest years until the nineteenth century. Published by the cathedral in 1873, Latin and English.





at the Ship of Fools website
The Chapel of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire—OBE Chapel

St Paul's lithographs c. 1647–1817

The giant 350-year-old model of St Paul's Cathedral
��Short
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
video on the Saint Paul's Cathedral model built by Christopher Wren {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls Cathedral 1708 establishments in England 18th-century Church of England church buildings 604 establishments Saint Paul's Christopher Wren church buildings in London Church buildings with domes Churches completed in 1708 Churches completed in the 600s Churches in the City of London Diocese of London English Baroque church buildings Grade I listed cathedrals Grade I listed churches in the City of London Nicholas Hawksmoor buildings Rebuilt churches in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in the City of London