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St Paul's Cathedral, London

There has been a St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London since 604AD. The present cathedral is the fourth. It was designed by Christopher Wren, to replace the building destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. Building took place between 1675 and 1710, and resulted ina great piece of theatrical architecture. As you approach St Paul's from Newgate Street - which I suggest you do - there is a dramatic feeling of space opening up. Walking towards Paternoster Square the buildings fall away on each side of you, and there is a sense that something big is approaching. Then you walk into the Square itself and St Paul's towers magnificently above you. It's a great piece of theatrical architecture. Charlotte Bronte visited the cathedral during a trip to London in 1842:

"Above my head, above the house-tops, co-elevate almost with the clouds, I saw a solemn, orbed mass, dark-blue and dim - THE DOME. While I looked, my inner self moved; my spirit shook its always-fetted wings half loose; I had a sudden feeling as if I, who had never truly lived, were at last about to taste life" (Villete P58 - 59).

The cathedral claims that its presence in the City of London is "a constant reminder to the great commercial centre of the importance of the spiritual side of life." Wren's architectural skill certainly gives the sense that St Paul's is about something bigger than day to day business. However, it should not be thought that the commercial City and the wider values claimed by St Paul's are necessarily opposed. The City has a history of being a very proper and religious place. The City's religious properness helped its development as a commercial centre. Business likes stability, and if you ran a bank you would be more likely to locate to the orderly religious City than to raffish, unruly Southwark on the far side of London Bridge. The architecture of St Paul's has the effect of lifting the eye towards wider possibilities, while also giving a sense of solidity and reassurance. The same could be said of the grand financial buildings in the city.

St Paul's has long served as a place for national symbolic events. The funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill took place here. Services at St Paul's marked the end of the First and Second World Wars, and it was here that Prince Charles married Princess Diana.

The poet John Donne was Dean of St Paul's from 1621 until his death in 1631.

St Paul's Cathedral has been used as a location during the making of many films including The Madness of King George, Lawrence of Arabia, Great Expectations, The Long Good Friday, Night and The City and Run, Fatboy Run.

 

 

 

 

Opening Times: The cathedral is open to visitors Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 4pm. St Paul's also provides religious services, a programme of artistic events, and commercial facilities for meetings, dinners and conferences.

 

Directions: St Paul's is in the City of London between Ludgate Hill and Canon Street. Click here for an interactive map centred on St Paul's.

Contact:

telephone: 020 7236 4128 or 020 7246 8357

e-mail: visits@stpaulscathedral.org.uk

web site: www.stpauls.co.uk

Access: Wheelchair access is available via the North side. For visitors with sight problems there is a recorded tour, a guided tour,and a touch tour. For those with hearing problems there is an induction loop underneath the dome.

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