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St Paul's Cathedral

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Architecture

          Old St Paul's redirects here, for the church in Wellington, New
          Zealand see Old Saint Paul's
          This article is about the cathedral in London. For other uses of
          the term, see Cathedral of Saint Paul.

   St Paul's Cathedral from the south
   Enlarge
   St Paul's Cathedral from the south

   St Paul's Cathedral is a cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of
   London, England and the seat of the Bishop of London. The present
   building dates from the 17th century, and is generally reckoned to be
   London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, although the number is higher if
   every major medieval reconstruction is counted as a new cathedral. The
   cathedral is one of London's most visited sites.

The previous cathedrals

Pre-Norman

    1. The first, Saxon cathedral was built, in wood, and dedicated to
       Saint Paul, probably by Mellitus or another of the Augustinian
       missionaries on the re-foundation (there had been a late-Roman see
       in the city) of the See of London in AD 604, on Ludgate Hill in the
       western part of the old Roman city (it was these missionaries'
       habit, also done on the continent, to build cathedrals within old
       Roman city-walls) and the eastern part of Lundenwic. This building
       was traditionally said to be on the site of an ancient megalith, or
       stone circle. and a temple dedicated to the goddess Diana, in
       alignment with the Apollo Temple which once stood at Westminster
       (although Christopher Wren found no evidence of this).
       Template:Kruger, 1943. This would have only been a modest chapel at
       first and may well have been destroyed after he was briefly
       expelled from the city by Saeberht's pagan successors. It burned
       down in 675.
    2. The cathedral was rebuilt, in stone, in 685. In it was buried King
       or Saint Sebbi of Essex. It was sacked by the Vikings in 961 as is
       cited by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
    3. The third cathedral was begun in 962, again in stone. In it was
       buried Ethelred the Unready. It burnt, with the whole city, in a
       fire of 1087 (in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

'Old St Paul's'

   Old St Paul's Cathedral from the Thames, between 1630 and 1666

   Old St Paul's Cathedral from the south, between 1630 and 1666

   Old St Paul's Cathedral from the north, between 1630 and 1666

   Old St Paul's Cathedral from the east, between 1630 and 1666

   Old St Paul's Cathedral from the west, between 1630 and 1666

   Old St Paul's Cathedral in flames, 1666

   Old St Paul's Cathedral after the fire, 1666

   Old St. Paul's prior to 1561, with intact spire.

   The fourth St Paul's (known as Old St Paul's, a nineteenth century
   coinage, or the pre-Great Fire St Paul's), was begun by the Normans
   after the 1087 fire. Work took over two hundred years, and a great deal
   was lost in a fire in 1136. Nonetheless the roof was once more built of
   wood, which was ultimately to doom the building. The church was
   consecrated in 1240, but a change of heart soon led to the commencement
   of an enlargement programme in 1256. This 'New Work' was completed in
   1314. The cathedral was however consecrated in 1300. It was the third
   longest church in Europe. Excavations in 1878, by Francis Penrose
   showed it had been at 585 feet long, 100 feet wide (290 feet across the
   transepts and crossing), and had one of Europe's tallest spires at some
   489 feet (149 metres).

   By the 16th century the building was decaying. Under Henry VIII and
   Edward VI, the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Chantries Acts led to
   the destruction of interior ornamentation in the cathedral as well as
   the cloisters, charnels, crypts, chapels, shrines, chantries and
   various other buildings in the churchyard. Many of these former
   religious sites in St Paul's Churchyard, having been seized by the
   crown, were sold as shops and rental properties, especially to printers
   and booksellers who were often evangelical Protestants. Buildings that
   were razed often supplied ready-dressed building material for new
   construction projects, such as the Lord Protector's city palace,
   Somerset House.

   Crowds were drawn to the northeast corner of the Churchyard, St Paul's
   Cross, where open air preaching took place. It was there in the Cross
   Yard in 1549 that radical Protestant preachers incited a mob to destroy
   many of the cathedral's interior decorations. In 1561 the spire was
   destroyed by lightning and it was not replaced; this event was taken by
   Protestants and Catholics alike as a sign of God's displeasure of the
   other faction's actions.

   England's first classical architect Sir Inigo Jones added the
   cathedral's new west front in the 1630s, but there was much defacement
   and mistreatment of the building by Parliamentarian forces during the
   English Civil War, when the old documents and charters were dispersed
   and destroyed (Kelly 2004). "Old St Paul's" was finally gutted in the
   Great Fire of London of 1666. While it might have been salvageable,
   albeit with almost complete reconstruction, a decision was taken to
   build a new cathedral in a modern style instead. Indeed this had been
   contemplated even before the fire.

Wren's St Paul's

Design and construction

   Wren's Greek Cross design

                            Wren's warrant design

                                                 Wren's cathedral as built

   The task of designing a replacement structure was assigned to
   Christopher Wren in 1668, along with over fifty other City churches.
   His first design (to build a replacement on the foundations of the old
   cathedral) was rejected in 1669. The second design, in the shape of a
   Greek cross (circa 1670- 1672) was rejected as too radical, as was a
   revised design which resulted in the 1:24 scale "Great Model",
   currently on display in the crypt of the cathedral. The 'warrant'
   design was accepted in 1675 and building work began in June. This
   design included a smaller dome with a spire on top, however King
   Charles II had given Wren permission to make "ornamental" changes to
   the approved design, and Wren took the liberty to radically rework the
   design to the current form, including the large central dome and the
   towers at the West end. The cathedral was completed on October 20,
   1708, Wren's 76th birthday (although the first service was held on
   December 2, 1697).
   The clock tower on the west side of the cathedral
   Enlarge
   The clock tower on the west side of the cathedral

          Sir Christopher Wren
          Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
          If anyone calls,
          Say I am designing St Paul's."

                A clerihew by Edmund Clerihew Bentley

Description

   The cathedral is built of Portland stone in a late Renaissance style
   that is England's sober Baroque. Its impressive dome was inspired by St
   Peter's Basilica in Rome. It rises 108 metres (365 feet) to the cross
   at its summit, making it a famous London landmark. Wren achieved a
   pleasing appearance by actually building three domes: the tall outer
   dome is non-structural but impressive to view, the lower inner dome
   provides an artistically balanced interior, and between the two is a
   structural cone which supports the apex structure and the outer dome
   panelling. During the building of its later stages, Wren was said to
   have been hauled up to the rafters in a basket to inspect the progress
   of the work.
   Plan
   Enlarge
   Plan

   The cathedral is to the east from the Great West Door. The nave has
   three small chapels in the two adjoining aisles – All Souls and St
   Dunstan's in the north aisle and the Chapel of the Order of St Michael
   and St George in the south aisle. The main space of the cathedral is
   centred under the Dome; it rises 108.4 metres from the cathedral floor
   and holds three circular galleries – the internal Whispering Gallery,
   the external Stone Gallery, and the external Golden Gallery.

   The Whispering Gallery runs around the interior of the Dome and is 259
   steps up from ground-level. It gets its name from a serendipitious
   quirk of dome construction: a whisper against its wall at any point is
   audible to a listener with their ear held to the point diametrically
   opposite.

   The Quire extends to the east of the dome and holds the stalls for the
   clergy and the choir as well as the cathedral's organ. The organ was
   first commissioned in 1694 and the current instrument is the third
   biggest in Britain with 7,189 pipes and 138 stops; it is enclosed in an
   impressive case built by Grinling Gibbons. To the north and south of
   the dome are the transepts of the North Choir and the South Choir.

   The north west tower contains 13 bells, while the south west tower
   contains 4 bells including Great Paul, which was cast in 1881, and
   Great Tom (the hour bell), which has been recast twice, after being
   moved from the old Palace of Westminster.

Post-Wren history

   This cathedral has survived until the present day, despite being
   targeted during the Blitz (it was struck by bombs on October 10, 1940
   and April 17, 1941 but survived) On September 12, 1940 a time delayed
   bomb which had struck the Cathedral was successfully defused and
   removed by a Bomb Disposal detachment of Royal Engineers under the
   command of Temporary Lieutenant Robert Davies. Had this bomb detonated
   it would have totally destroyed the Cathedral, as it left a 100 foot
   crater when it was later remotely detonated in a secure location. As a
   result of this action Robert Davies was awarded the George Cross (
   Gazetted September 30, 1940). His George Cross and other medals are now
   on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.

Memorials

   The cathedral has a very substantial crypt holding over 200 memorials
   as well as the Order of the British Empire Chapel and the Treasury (the
   cathedral has very few treasures: Many have been lost, and in 1810 a
   major robbery took almost all of the remaining precious artefacts).
   Christopher Wren was the first person to be interred (in 1723): on the
   wall above his tomb in the crypt is simply written, "Lector, si
   monumentum requiris, circumspice" (Reader, if you seek a monument, look
   around you).

   St Paul's is home to other plaques, carvings, statues, memorials and
   tombs of famous British figures including:
     * General Sir Isaac Brock
     * Sir Edwin Lutyens
     * John Donne, whose funeral effigy (portraying him in a shroud), but
       not tomb, survives from Old St Paul's.
     * Lord Kitchener
     * The Duke of Wellington
     * Admiral Nelson
     * Henry Moore
     * Sir Winston Churchill
     * T.E. Lawrence whose bust faces Nelson's sarcophagus
     * Sir Alexander Fleming
     * Sir Arthur Sullivan
     * Florence Nightingale
     * J.M.W. Turner
     * Sir Joshua Reynolds.

   Most of the memorials commemorate the British military, including
   several lists of servicemen who died in action, the most recent being
   the Gulf War. There are special monuments to Admiral Nelson in the
   south transept and to the Duke of Wellington in the north aisle; both
   are buried here. Also remembered are poets, painters, clergy and
   residents of the local parish. There are also lists of the Bishops and
   cathedral Deans for the last thousand years.

   The cathedral has been the site for many famous funerals, including
   those of Nelson, Wellington and Winston Churchill.

Modern-day

   The British Royal Family hold most of their important marriages,
   christenings and funerals at Westminster Abbey, but St Paul's was used
   for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
   St Paul's from across the Thames, over the top of surrounding postwar
   construction.
   Enlarge
   St Paul's from across the Thames, over the top of surrounding postwar
   construction.

   In 2001, Britain's memorial service to honour the victims of the
   September 11, 2001 attacks was held at St Paul's Cathedral, which the
   British Royal Family and then-U.S. ambassador William Farish attended.
   He spoke, as did Prince Philip. Farish said just before he resigned as
   ambassador in 2004 in The Times that this service showed the strong
   relationship between the US and Britain. It also held, on November 1st
   2005, a memorial service for the July 7th bombings.

   The cathedral is open to the public, though there is a charge for
   non-worshipping visitors. In 2000, the cathedral began a major
   restoration programme, scheduled for completion in 2008, to celebrate
   the 300th anniversary of its opening. A ceremony to celebrate the
   anniversary was directed by Patrick Garland. The restoration programme
   is expected to cost £40 million, and involves not only repair and
   cleaning of the building, but also improvement of visitor facilities -
   such as accessibility for the disabled, and provision of additional
   educational facilities.

In popular culture

   Model at LEGOLAND Windsor
   Enlarge
   Model at LEGOLAND Windsor

   Because of its prominent and recognizable form on the skyline, a view
   which is protected from many vantage points, St Paul's is often used in
   movies as part of an establishing shot to place the viewers in London.

   It also features specifically in:
     * Mary Poppins, where it is the setting of the song Feed the Birds
     * Lawrence of Arabia as the venue of Lawrence's funeral.
     * Steamboy, seen in scenes with the cathedral.
     * 101 Dalmatians
     * Peter Pan
     * The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells
     * Team America: World Police
     * The Bed-Sitting Room (film version 1970) depicts the post - nuclear
       wreckage of the dome lying in the middle of a lake.
     * The cathedral was prominent in all Thames Television idents from
       1968 until 1992 and prominent in its logo until 1997
     * The established opening titles of Mr. Bean began with a shot of Mr.
       Bean falling from the sky with St. Paul's in the background.
     * The 1966 Doctor Who story The Invasion where Cybermen emerge and
       walk towards the Thames outside the cathedral.
     * The 1966 film, Georgy Girl. As Joss and Georgy sail down the
       Thames, there is a captain who points out the house where
       Christopher Wren lived whilst the dome was being originally
       constructed. The dome appears in the background and seems to be
       undergoing some kind of renovation, as the dome is covered in
       scaffolding.
     * The 1971 Hammer Horror film Hands of the Ripper
     * The Cathedral became the lair of Giant Black Rats in James Herberts
       1993 graphic novel, The City.
     * The 1994 film The Madness of King George
     * Mortal Engines where it is the house of the super weapon MEDUSA
       when it is mounted upon the great Traction City of London.
     * From Hell - in the graphic novel version by Alan Moore, the
       cathedral is seen with an ominous look during a cloudy day in the
       opening panel.
     * In the 2005 Doctor Who story The Empty Child, the cathedral can be
       seen in numerous background shots during the Blitz.
     * In the 2006 Doctor Who story Rise of the Cybermen, the cathedral is
       seen briefly in a background shot as the Doctor and Rose walk
       through a parallel universe London.

   Fire Watch by Connie Willis, a Hugo and Nebula winning short story, is
   set mostly in and around the cathedral during the final months of 1940,
   when it was targeted in the Blitz.

   The idiom "rob Peter to pay Paul" has a folk etymology of using the
   funds of Westminster Abbey for the cathedral.

   There is a scale model of the cathedral at LEGOLAND Windsor.

Images

Present day

   The cathedral dome from Paternoster Square

   St Paul's, North-East side.

   St Paul's, West Side.

   Visitors view London from the cathedral’s Golden Gallery

   A view of central London and the river Thames from the cathedral

   The west front at night

   St Paul's Cathedral from Ludgate Hill during cleaning in 2004

   From the London Millennium Bridge

Historical

   St Paul's seen across the Thames in the early 19th century

   The interior in 1860

   St Paul's in 1896
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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