64-791: St Paul's Cathedral is a cathedral in London, England. St. Paul's Cathedral or the Cathedral of Saint Paul or the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul or other variations of the name may also refer to: St Paul%27s Cathedral 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
128-517: 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,
192-563: A building in Tudor Street showing the cathedral shrouded in smoke. Lisa Jardine of Queen Mary, University of London , has written: Wreathed in billowing smoke, amidst the chaos and destruction of war, the pale dome stands proud and glorious—indomitable. At the height of that air-raid, Sir Winston Churchill telephoned the Guildhall to insist that all fire-fighting resources be directed at St Paul's. The cathedral must be saved, he said, damage to
256-516: A result of this action, Davies and Sapper George Cameron Wylie were each awarded the George Cross . Davies' George Cross and other medals are on display at the Imperial War Museum , 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
320-402: 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
384-405: 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 detachment of Royal Engineers under the command of Temporary Lieutenant Robert Davies . Had this bomb detonated, it would have totally destroyed the cathedral; it left a 100-foot (30 m) crater when later remotely detonated in a secure location. As
448-563: Is St Paul's , which is 130 yards (120 m) away from St Paul's Cathedral. The location of Londinium 's original cathedral is unknown, but legend and medieval tradition claims it was St Peter upon Cornhill . 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
512-452: Is evidence for Christianity in London during the Roman period, but no firm evidence for the location of churches or a cathedral. Bishop Restitutus is said to have represented London at the Council of Arles in 314 AD. A list of the 16 "archbishops" of London was recorded by Jocelyn of Furness in the 12th century, claiming London's Christian community was founded in the second century under
576-460: 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 was buried in the cathedral on his death in 1016; the tomb is now lost. The cathedral
640-461: Is speculative. The Elizabethan antiquarian William Camden argued that a temple to the goddess Diana 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. There
704-627: Is the fifth-largest in Great Britain, in terms of number of pipes (7,256), with 5 manuals, 136 ranks of pipes and 137 stops , principally enclosed in an impressive case designed in Wren's workshop and decorated by Grinling Gibbons . Details of the organ can be found online at the National Pipe Organ Register . Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in
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#1732885151284768-678: Is the first non-organist to hold the post since the 12th century. 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
832-716: The Duke of Wellington , Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher ; jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria ; an inauguration service for the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund ; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars ; the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer ; the launch of the Festival of Britain ; and the thanksgiving services for the Silver , Golden , Diamond , and Platinum Jubilees and
896-564: The Jacobite Rising and the Gordon Riots of 1780. Lord Lovat's execution for high treason in 1747 was the last judicial beheading in England while the final executions on Tower Hill were hangings in 1780. Some 120 executions are chronicled and they include:- After the abandonment of Tower Hill as a site for public executions, Trinity Square and Gardens were laid out in 1797 by Samuel Wyatt as
960-575: 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 ground north-west of the Tower of London moat is now occupied by Trinity Square Gardens. Tower Hill rises from the north bank of the River Thames to reach a maximum height of 14.5 metres (48 ft) Ordnance Datum . The land
1024-537: The Metropolitan Tabernacle . The cathedral survived the Blitz although 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
1088-619: The mother church of the Diocese of London . It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London . Its dedication in honour of Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. The present structure, which was completed in 1710, is a Grade I listed building that was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren . The cathedral's reconstruction
1152-784: The 16th century, were carried out on Tower Hill (some others were carried out within the confines of the Tower of London itself). The backgrounds to those carried out at Tower Hill ranged from the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 to the Wars of the Roses ; Lollardism ; claims to the throne by Perkin Warbeck and Lambert Simnel ; the English Reformation ; the Pilgrimage of Grace ; the Monmouth Rebellion ;
1216-432: The 1880s and was widened and extended a decade later. Tower Hill is in the London congestion charge zone from its junction with Minories westwards. A pedestrian subway links Tower Hill tube station to the boundary of the Tower of London where the remains of the south tower of the medieval postern gate are visible. Tower Hill Terrace is the pedestrian way that runs south off Tower Hill to Gloucester Court and also
1280-535: The 1982 Falklands War was unveiled on 4 September 2005 by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West . In October 1933, Reverend P B (“Tubby”) Clayton of All Hallows by the Tower and Dr B R Leftwich published “The Pageant of Tower Hill”, which included the outline of a scheme to improve Tower Hill. In December 1933 the inaugural meeting of the Tower Hill Improvement Fund was held. Lord Wakefield
1344-521: The 80th and 90th birthdays of Queen Elizabeth II . 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 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 station
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#17328851512841408-544: 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 , Wine and Erkenwald , the last of whom was buried in the cathedral in 693. Earconwald was consecrated bishop of London in 675, and
1472-583: The Grade II* building is now a Four Seasons hotel which opened as such on 26 January 2017. The Merchant Navy Memorial, First World War section, Grade I-listed , was unveiled by Queen Mary (deputising for her husband, King George V ) on 12 December 1928. To avoid overshadowing this, the Grade II* Second World War section is In the form of a sunken garden and was unveiled by The Queen on 5 December 1955 while that commemorating merchant seamen killed in
1536-463: The Lord Protector's city palace, Somerset House . Crowds were drawn to the north-east corner of the churchyard, St Paul's Cross , 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
1600-599: The Tower of London. The large brick bastion commissioned by Edward IV extended part way up Tower Hill from Tower Dock , but was demolished in 1668. Tower Subway is a tunnel under the Thames running from Tower Hill to Vine Lane in Southwark . The round brick-built entrance building near the Tower of London's ticket office was constructed in 1926 by the London Hydraulic Power Company . The year of 1868 visible on
1664-518: The adjoining paved public space, redeveloped in 2019, atop the Tower Vaults shopping complex. A floor plaque in Tower Vaults commemorates its re-opening in 1991 as the surviving part of the 1864 George Myers built Mazawattee Tea Warehouse, extensively bomb-damaged in Second World War air raids and later demolished. No. 7 of the original 31 Tower Liberty boundary markers is sited at the bottom of
1728-618: The anti-capitalist activists would constitute violence in the name of the Church". The Dean of St Paul's , 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 . On 10 October 2019, Safiyya Amira Shaikh , a Muslim convert , was arrested following an MI5 and Metropolitan Police investigation. In September 2019, she had taken photos of
1792-510: The building was deteriorating. The English Reformation under Henry VIII and Edward VI (accelerated by the Chantries Acts ) led to the destruction of elements of the interior ornamentation and the chapels, shrines , and chantries . The Reformation would come to include the removal of the cathedral's collection of relics, which by the sixteenth century was understood to include: In October 1538, an image of St Erkenwald, probably from
1856-556: The buildings demolished was the giant Myer's tea warehouse, which stood next to All Hallows and blocked the view of the Tower from the west. During 2001-2003 the Trust part-financed the refurbishment of Trinity Square Gardens. In June 2006 the Trust's name was shortened to Tower Hill Trust. The street of Tower Hill, within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , adjoins the City of London at Byward Street and runs eastwards to Minories and Tower Bridge Approach. It replaced Postern Row in
1920-528: The cathedral by the suffragettes was attempted on 13 June 1914, however the bomb was again discovered before it could explode. This attempted bombing occurred two days after a bomb had exploded at Westminster Abbey , which damaged the Coronation Chair and caused a mass panic for the exits. Several other churches were bombed at this time, such as St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square and
1984-505: 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 explosives . Shaikh pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment . 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
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2048-556: 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 wrote to Wren that he was charged by the Archbishop of Canterbury , in agreement with the Bishops of London and Oxford, to design a new cathedral that was "Handsome and noble to all
2112-457: 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 writers claimed was a sign of God's judgment on England's Protestant rulers. Bishop James Pilkington preached
2176-470: 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: The Director of Music is Andrew Carwood . Carwood was appointed to succeed Malcolm Archer as Director of Music, taking up the post in September 2007. He
2240-460: 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 , wrote: No description in words can convey an adequate idea of
2304-520: 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
2368-480: The fabric would sap the morale of the country. On 29 July 1981, the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was held at the cathedral. The couple selected St Paul's over Westminster Abbey , 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
2432-426: The fire. 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
2496-581: The first bishop to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Saxons and their king, Sæberht . Sæberht's uncle and overlord, Æthelberht , king of Kent , 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
2560-468: 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 was excavated, and has been claimed as a Roman basilica, possibly a cathedral, although this
2624-524: 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 ...". St. Paul's was the target of two suffragette bombing attacks in 1913 and 1914 respectively. This
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2688-591: The largest ever undertaken in the UK—was completed on 15 June 2011. In October 2011 an anti-capitalism Occupy London encampment was established in front of the cathedral, after failing to gain access to the London Stock Exchange at Paternoster Square nearby. 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 resigned, asserting his view that "evicting
2752-404: The legendary King Lucius and his missionary saints Fagan , Deruvian , Elvanus and Medwin. None of that is considered credible by modern historians but, although the surviving text is problematic, either Bishop Restitutus or Adelphius at the 314 Council of Arles seems to have come from Londinium . Bede records that in AD 604 Augustine of Canterbury consecrated Mellitus as
2816-411: The majestic beauty of a solemn national religious ceremony in St Paul's. It is hard to believe that there is any other building in the world that is so well adapted to be the setting of such symbolical acts of communal worship. National events attended by the royal family, government ministers and officers of state include national services of thanksgiving , state funerals and a royal wedding . Some of
2880-406: The most notable examples are: St Paul's Cathedral is a busy church with four or five services every day, including Matins , Eucharist 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
2944-518: The name Tower Hill informally applies to those parts of the Tower Liberty that are outside the Tower of London and its moat. Great Tower Hill is the land lying inside (or west) of the line of the London Wall whereas Little Tower Hill is the land outside (or east) of the wall. Public executions of high-profile traitors and criminals, often attainted peers , as well as innocent Catholics in
3008-473: The repair of the Old St Paul's in 1661, five years before the fire in 1666. The proposed work included renovations to 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 nave and aisles at
3072-553: The service celebrating the Diamond Jubilee 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 is Sarah Mullally , whose appointment was announced in December 2017 and whose enthronement took place in May 2018. The cathedral chapter is currently composed of seven individuals:
3136-650: The setting for Trinity House , completed a year earlier as headquarters of the Corporation of Trinity House . In the 1880s, a section of the London Underground Circle Line was constructed beneath Trinity Square Gardens. In the first decade of the 20th century small buildings, courts and yards bordering Trinity Square were cleared to make way for the construction of the Port of London Authority headquarters at 10 Trinity Square . Begun in 1912 and completed in 1922,
3200-530: 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. In late 1549, at the height of the iconoclasm of the reformation, Sir Rowland Hill altered the route of his Lord Mayor's day procession and said
3264-472: The spires of Wren's City churches, has dominated the skyline for over 300 years. At 365 ft (111 m) 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 . Services held at St Paul's have included the funerals of Admiral Lord Nelson ,
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#17328851512843328-416: 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 . Had it exploded, the bomb likely would have destroyed the historic bishop's throne 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 . A second bombing of
3392-421: The statues on the roof added in the 1720s. In 1716 the total costs amounted to £1,095,556 (£207 million in 2023). 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 , Bishop of London, preached the sermon. It was based on the text of Psalm 122 , "I was glad when they said unto me: Let us go into
3456-406: The steps linking Gloucester Court to Tower Hill Terrace and no. 8 is positioned at the base of the circular concrete air duct adjoining Tower Hill. Immediately east of the Tower of London Welcome Centre on Great Tower Hill are the buried structural remains of the medieval Bulwark Gate and bastion . The lower half of Tower Hill was enclosed in the late 15th century to protect the western entrance to
3520-475: The structure refers to the Tower Subway Act of 1868 which authorised the construction of the tunnel. The grade II listed former pump house (Tower of London shop) was built in 1863 and designed by the architect Anthony Salvin . London Buses route 15 east to Blackwall and west to Trafalgar Square runs along Tower Hill. Tower Hill tube station is adjacent and Tower Gateway DLR station close by as
3584-657: Was as part of the suffragette bombing and arson campaign between 1912 and 1914, in which suffragettes from the Women's Social and Political Union , as part of their campaign for women's suffrage , 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 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
3648-535: Was burnt, with much of the city, in a fire in 1087 , as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . The fourth St Paul's, generally referred to as Old St Paul's , was begun by the Normans 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
3712-466: Was elected president and launched an appeal at the Guildhall in January 1934. One of the Trust's first actions was to create a beach on the north bank of the Thames between St Katherine's Steps and the Tower for families from the East End . In 1937 the Fund became the Tower Hill Improvement Trust and set about purchasing a number of buildings it considered eyesores . These were demolished in order to provide gardens and open public spaces. Among
3776-406: Was exceeded in length only by the Abbey Church of Cluny and in the height of its spire only by Lincoln Cathedral and St. Mary's Church, Stralsund . Excavations by Francis Penrose in 1878 showed that it was 585 feet (178 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide (290 feet (88 m) across the transepts and crossing ). The spire was about 489 feet (149 m) in height. By the 16th century
3840-498: 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
3904-415: Was historically part of the Liberties of the Tower of London , an area the Tower authorities controlled to keep clear of any development which would reduce the defensibility of the Tower. Building has encroached to a degree, but a legacy of this control is that much of the hill is still open. The hill includes land on either side of the London Wall , a large remnant of which is visible. Generally speaking,
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#17328851512843968-447: Was part of a major rebuilding programme initiated in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London . The earlier Gothic cathedral ( Old St Paul's Cathedral ), largely destroyed in the Great Fire, was a central focus for medieval and early modern London, including Paul's walk and St Paul's Churchyard , being the site of St Paul's Cross . The cathedral is one of the most famous and recognisable sights of London. Its dome, surrounded by
4032-409: 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 , 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 not complete until 1314. During the later Medieval period St Paul's
4096-486: Was repaired and a timber "roo"’ put on the steeple. In the 1630s a west front was added to the building by England's first classical architect, Inigo Jones . There was much defacing and mistreatment of the building by Parliamentarian forces during the Civil War , and the old documents and charters were dispersed and destroyed. During the Commonwealth , those churchyard buildings that were razed supplied ready-dressed building material for construction projects, such as
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