St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral is one of the most famous cathedrals of London. It is an Anglican church rebuilt in the neoclassical style by Sir Christopher Wren from 1677-1708. Situated in the City of London it is an iconic part of the city's skyline. Moreover, St Paul’s is the cathedral of the Diocese of London and therefore is the seat of the Bishop of London.

History

The cathedral we see today is the fourth one at this place. The Romans were the first ones who dedicated a temple to their goddess Diana right there.

Middle Ages

In 604 AD the first cathedral was build by St Ethelbert (552-616 AD), King of Kent who was the first Christian king of England. He introduced St Mellitus as the first Bishop of London. This first cathedral was mainly made of wood and was thus destroyed by a fire some 60-70 years later.

Between 675 and 685 AD the second cathedral was erected which lasted for almost 300 years until the Vikings destroyed it.

After that, Old St Paul's was build by the Normans (starting in 1087 AD). This one was already a gigantic building which was even bigger than today's cathedral. Until it was struck by lightning in 1561, it was not only the biggest building of England but it had also the highest tower of the world.

Reformation and Changes

Following the Reformation the nave was used in various ways, as, for instance, an indoor market hall (selling fish, beer, ale, meat & fruits),or as a market hall to find servants, as a place of assembly for jurists, as well as for horse traders. At that time the tombs and the baptismal font served as counters.

In addition, the foot (1 ft = 30 cm) was defined as a unit of measurement at this place. It is similar to the foot length of the statue of St Algar. The first lottery of Great Britain also took place in Old St Paul's during this time. The tickets were sold at the west entrance. Although a lot of money was earned with this lottery the funds were not used to overhaul the cathedral, but rather to repair ports.

Stuart Age

Only in 1630 it was acknowledged that the cathedral was in need of repair. Thus, Charles I tried to do everything in his power to rebuild it (with the involvement Inigo Jones, the most prestigious architect at the time) but with the outbreak of the Civil War the operations came to a standstill again.

Oliver Cromwell used the cathedral as barracks for his cavalry. The parlamentarian army battered the windows, burned all the woodwork and eliminated the portraits and effigies.

The Great Fire of London 1666

Twenty years later the Great Fire of London levelled the cathedral to the ground in 1666. Its wooden roof was one of the main reasons for its burning down.

Wren's Masterpiece

Two years after the Great Fire Sir Christopher Wren was chosen to design the new structure of the church. Out of different attempts his Greek Cross design was chosen. The influence of the Renaissance is distinctive, but also gothic features are respected. He started to build his masterpiece in 1675. The cathedral's building time lasted 35 years. St Paul's Cathedral was the first church to be built by just one architect and to be finished during his lifetime. In contrast to Old St Paul's the new cathedral is made out of brick and stone. The construction works came to a halt because of an earthquake in Dorset in 1690. Due to this earthquake the break up of the Portland sandstone had to stop and the material's replenishment was interrupted.

During the construction period Wren headquartered across the river. Even today one can see a memorial plaque on a red brick house near New Globe Theatre in Southwark. He usually inspected the building site once a week, drawn up in a basket onto the roof and the cupola. Sir Christopher Wren was one of the first who were laid to rest in the crypt of the cathedral.

Architecture

The triple cupola of St Paul's

The cathedral clearly shows the influences from France and mainly Italy. Wren combined clear symmetry and order with ornamentation which shows his synthesis of baroque and neoclassical styles. This can clearly be seen in the Western facade. The portico is inspired by Greek and Roman temples. The towers on each side of the portico stand for the pomp and elegance of baroque architecture, and give the impression of massive stability. This conjunction projects a dynamic feeling of movement. From the inside the combination of paintings, sculptures and architecture, in case of a mass even music, creates a Gesamtkunstwerk, which according to John Evelyn "strikes the understanding as well as the eye with […] majesty and solemn greatness" (quoted in Briggs 168).

The most extraordinary part of the building is the cupola. The cross on top is 112 metres above the ground. Together with the lantern it weighs approximately 700 tons. The dome is a triple structure: While both the lead-covered outer and the decoratively painted inner dome are very lightweight, the middle structure is built of bricks, holding the weight of the lantern, the golden cross, as well as the domes themselves.

James II called the cathedral:"amusing, awful, and artificial", which meant - at that time - that he was simply delighted by this building.

Trivia

In 1925 a tear could be seen in the cupola. An immediate calling for donations brought about £230 000 - including 5 pence donated by 5 Scots.

Tombs in St Paul's

• Admiral David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (crypt)
• Sir Alexander Fleming (crypt)
• Charles George Gordon
• William Holman Hunt (crypt)
• Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe (crypt)
• John of Gaunt, father of king Henry IV (old cathedral)
• Henry de Laci, 3rd Earl of Lincoln (old cathedral)
• Admiral Lord Nelson (crypt)
• Sir Philip Sidney (crypt)
• Sir Arthur Sullivan (crypt)
• Joseph Mallord William Turner (crypt)
• John Weldon (old cathedral)
• Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (crypt)
• Fieldmarshall Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley (crypt)
• Sir Christopher Wren (crypt)

Not buried in St Paul's are Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale; although both have a memorial in the cathedral's crypt.

References and Further Reading

• Stevenson, Neil. Annotated Guides - Architecture. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2006.
• Lang, Jane. Rebuilding St. Paul's after the Great Fire of London. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956.
• Matthews, Walter Robert. A history of St. Paul's Cathedral and the men associated with it. London: Baker, 1964.
• Michael Maurer. Eine kleine Geschichte Englands.Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007.
• Coward, Barry, ed. A Companion to Stuart Britain. Malden: Blackwell, 2003.
• Briggs, Asa. A Social History of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1999.
• Yapp, Nick and Rupert Tenison. London - Geheimnisse&Glanz einer Weltstadt. Köln: Könemann, 1999.

Links

• St Ethelbert
• St Paul's Cathedral website
• St Paul's Cathedral on archinform.net