London’s in-spire-ational cathedral

St Paul’s Cathedral

Can you imagine the London skyline without the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral? Well St Paul’s should not have a dome, it should have a spire, the dome should not be there. Yes this majestic, iconic cathedral should look very different because the ‘Warrant Design’, which was agreed to be built by its commissioners in 1675, is radically different from the cathedral we know today. The reason for the dome? A wilful genius determined to overcome his ‘incompetent’ bosses.

The ground of St Paul’s has been sacred since the Romans founded London. They built a temple dedicated to Diana there and the first St Paul’s was constructed in 604 in the same place. St Paul’s number one was burnt down in 962 after being ransacked by the Vikings. It was rebuilt within the year.

In 1087 the second St Paul’s was burnt down and the Normans began to build a new church from Caen stone, matching the stone of the Tower of London. St Paul’s number three was to become one of the largest buildings in England, far larger than the current cathedral, and had one of the highest spires in the world. However it fell into disrepair and when the spire was hit by lightening in 1561 it was never replaced. The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed the Norman St Paul’s and although it may have been possible to rebuild it it was decided to start afresh.

The design of the new church was given to Christopher Wren who was already overseeing the design of over fifty other churches in the city. Yes most of the churches in the City of London are designed by Christopher Wren which must have kept him pretty busy. However St Paul’s was to be one of the more testing. There were five general plans before a final agreement was reached. Wren favoured his second plan (the Great Model can still be seen in the church today) which was approved by the King but then rejected by the Commission. Wren is said to have cried rather loudly when he got the bad news! It was rejected because it looked far too catholic and because of the lack of a space for mass. At a time when one of the building blocks of the British identity was Protestantism and the Great Fire of London was being blamed on catholic spies (completely untrue) the Church of England were determined to make sure one of their prize symbols looked like an Anglican church.

However Wren was a rather smart man and got the King to give him permission to make “ornamental changes” to the final submitted design. He then proceeded to build a church far more in tune with his own wishes. Many of these changes were made over the course of the next thirty years as the church was constructed, hidden away from prying eyes. The church was finally finished in 1711- with a Dome.

If you visit the cathedral, take a friend because you need to try out the Whispering Gallery. The gallery runs around the inside of the dome and is 99 feet above the cathedral floor. If you whisper against the wall your friend will need to place an ear to the wall at another point around the gallery. A quiet whisper will be heard by your friend.

Of course, as this is London, not all stories of St Paul’s are going to be quite so quaint. Yes there are stories with a little blood on the carpet, or in this case, on the courtyard.  Four of the gunpowder plotters were executed in St Paul’s Churchyard. Another nice one is that the Suffragettes planted a bomb under the Bishop’s throne in the quire in 1913 in their crusade for the vote.

Many major services have also been held at St. Paul’s. These include the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill and the wedding of Charles and Diana.

Finally St Paul’s is also the highest point in the City of London so once you’ve visited the Whispering Gallery carry on up those stairs and see the magnificent view of London from the top of the dome.

Don’t forget the pictures on the site are available on my calendar so you can explain them to your friends!

nice week,