Old St Paul's Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Old St Paul's Cathedral is a name used to refer to the medieval cathedral
of the City of London
which until 1666 stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral
. Built between 1087 and 1314 and dedicated to St Paul
, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate Hill
. Work began during the reign of William the Conqueror following a devastating fire in 1087 which destroyed much of the city. Work took over 200 years, and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The church was consecrated
in 1240 and enlarged again in 1256 and the early 14th century. At its completion in the middle of the 14th century, the cathedral was one of the longest churches in the world, had one of the tallest spires and some of the finest stained glass
.
The presence of the shrine of St Erkenwald made the cathedral a pilgrimage site during the Medieval period. In addition to serving as the seat of the Diocese of London
, the building developed a reputation as a hub of the City of London, with the nave aisle, "Paul's walk
", known as a centre for business and the London grapevine
. Following the Reformation, the open air pulpit in the churchyard, St Paul's Cross
, became the stage for radical evangelical preaching and Protestant bookselling.
Already severely in decline by the 17th century, restoration work by Inigo Jones
in the 1620s was halted by the English Civil War. Sir Christopher Wren
was attempting another restoration in 1666 when the cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of London
. Following demolition of the old structure, the present domed cathedral was erected on the site to an English Baroque
design by Wren.
dedicated to St Paul. A devastating fire in 1087, detailed in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
, destroyed much of the city and the cathedral. King William I donated the stone from the destroyed Palatine Tower on the River Fleet
towards the construction of a new, Romanesque
Norman cathedral, sometimes said to be his last act before his death.
Bishop Maurice oversaw early preparations, although it was primarily under his successor, Richard de Beaumis
, that construction work fully commenced. Beaumis was assisted by King Henry I
, who gave the bishop stone and commanded that all material brought up the River Fleet for the cathedral should be free from toll. To fund the cathedral, Henry gave Beamis rights to all fish caught within the cathedral neighbourhood and tithe
s on venison taken in the County of Essex. Beaumis also gave a site for the original foundation of St Paul's School.
Following Henry I's death, a civil war known as "The Anarchy
" broke out. Henry of Blois
, Bishop of Winchester, was appointed to administer the affairs of St Paul's. Almost immediately, he had to deal with the aftermath of a fire at London Bridge
in 1135. It spread over much of the city, damaging the cathedral and delaying its construction. During this period, the style of the building transitioned from heavy Romanesque
into Early English Gothic
. Although the base Norman columns were left alone, lancet pointed arches were placed over them in the triforium
and some heavy columns were substituted with clustered pillars. The steeple was erected in 1221 and the cathedral was rededicated by Bishop Roger Niger in 1240.
Following a succession of storms, in 1255 Bishop Fulk Basset appealed for funds to repair the damaged roof. The roof was once more rebuilt in wood, which was ultimately to doom the building. At this time, the east end of the cathedral church was lengthened, enclosing the parish church of St Faith
, which was now brought within the cathedral. The eastward addition was always referred to as "The New Work".
Following complaints from the dispossessed parishioners of St Faith's, the east end of the west crypt was allotted to them as their parish church. The congregation were also allowed to keep a detached tower with a peal of bells east of the church which had historically been used to peal the summons to the Cheapside
Folkmote
. The parish later moved to the Jesus chapel during the reign of Edward VI
and was merged with St Augustine Watling Street
following the 1666 fire.
This "New Work" was completed in 1314, although the additions had been consecrated in 1300. Excavations in 1878 by Francis Penrose showed it was 586 feet (178.6 m) long (excluding the porch later added by Inigo Jones) and 100 feet (30.5 m) wide (290 feet (88.4 m) across the transept
s and crossing
). By way of comparison, the current cathedral is 574 feet (175 m) in length including the portico, and 246 feet (75 m) across the transepts, and Winchester Cathedral
, the longest remaining medieval church, is 556 feet (169.5 m) long and 231 feet (70.4 m) across the transepts.
The cathedral had one of Europe's tallest church spires, the height of which is traditionally given as 489 feet (149 m), surpassing all but Lincoln Cathedral
. The King's Surveyor, Christopher Wren
(1632–1723), judged that an overestimate and gave 460 feet (140.2 m). Canon William Benham, rector of St Edmund, King and Martyr, notes that the cathedral probably "resembled in general outline that of Salisbury
, but it was a hundred feet longer, and the spire was sixty or eighty feet higher. The tower was open internally as far as the base of the spire, and was probably more beautiful both inside and out than that of any other English cathedral."
According to the architectural historian John Harvey, the octagonal chapter house
, built circa 1332 by William Ramsey
, was the earliest example of Perpendicular Gothic. This is confirmed by Alec Clifton-Taylor
, who notes that the chapter house and St Stephen's chapel at Westminster Abbey
predate the early Perpendicular work at Gloucester Cathedral
by several years. The foundations of the chapter house were recently made visible in the redeveloped south churchyard of the new cathedral.
The finished cathedral of the Middle Ages was renowned for the beauty of its interior. Canon William Benham wrote in 1902: "It had not a rival in England, perhaps one might say in Europe." The nave's immense length was particularly notable, with a Norman triforium
and vaulted ceiling
. The length earned it the nickname "Paul's walk". The cathedral's stained glass
was reputed to be the best in the country, and the east-end Rose window
was particularly exquisite. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer
uses the windows as a metaphor
in "The Miller's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales
, in the knowledge that other Londoners would understand the comparison:
From the cathedral's construction until its destruction at the Reformation, the shrine of Erkenwald was a popular site for pilgrimage. Under Bishop Maurice, reports of miracles attributed to the shrine increased, with the shrine attracting thousands of pilgrims to the cathedral. The alliterative Middle English poem St. Erkenwald
(sometimes attributed to the "Pearl Poet
", c.14) begins with a description of the construction of the cathedral, referring to the building as the "New Werke". The shrine was adorned with gold, silver and precious stones; in 1339, three London goldsmiths were employed for a whole year to rebuild the shrine to a higher standard. William Dugdale records that the shire was pyramid
al in shape with an altar table placed in front for offerings.
Monarchs and other dignitaries were often in attendance at the cathedral, and the court occasionally held session there. The building was also the scene of several incidents of mediaeval intrigue. In 1191, whilst King Richard I
was in Palestine, his brother John
summoned a council of bishops to St Paul's to denounce William de Longchamp, Bishop of Ely—to whom Richard had entrusted the affairs of government—for treason. Later that year, William Fitz Osbern
gave a fiery speech against the oppression of the poor at Paul's Cross and incited a riot which saw the cathedral invaded, halted only by an appeal for calm by Hubert Walter
, Archbishop of Canterbury. Osbern barricaded himself in nearby St Mary-le-Bow
and was later executed, after which Paul's Cross was silent for many years. Arthur, Prince of Wales
, son of Henry VII
, married Catharine of Aragon in St Paul's on November 14, 1501. Chroniclers are profuse in their descriptions of the decorations of the cathedral and city on that occasion. Arthur died five months later, at the age of 15, and the marriage was later to prove contentious during the subsequent reign of his brother, Henry VIII
.
Several kings of the Middle Ages lay in state in St Paul's before their funerals at Westminster Abbey
, including Richard II
, Henry VI
and Henry VII. In the case of Richard II, the display of his body in such a public place was to counter rumours that he was not deceased. The walls were lined with the tombs of mediaeval bishops and nobility. In addition to the shrine of Erkenwald, two Anglo-Saxon
kings were buried inside: Sebbi
, King of the East Saxons
, and Ethelred the Unready
. A number of figures such as John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
and John Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp de Somerset
had particularly large monuments constructed within the cathedral, and the building later contained the tombs of the Crown minister Nicholas Bacon and the poet and clergyman John Donne
, who was dean of the cathedral between 1621 until his death in 1631. Donne's monument survived the 1666 fire, and is on display in the present building.
. The bishop issued an open letter decrying the use of the building for selling "wares, as if it were a public market" and "others ... by the instigation of the Devil [using] stones and arrows to bring down the birds, jackdaws and pigeons which nestle in the walls and crevises of the building. Others play at ball ... breaking the beautiful and costly painted windows to the amazement of spectators." His decree goes on to threaten perpetrators with excommunication
.
By the 15th century, the cathedral had become the centre of the London grapevine
. "News mongers", as they were called, gathered there to pass on the latest news and gossip. Those who visited the cathedral to keep up with the news were known as "Paul's walkers".
According to Francis Osborne
(1593–1656):
St Paul's became the place to go to hear the latest news of current affairs, war, religion, parliament and the court. In his play Englishmen for my Money, William Haughton
(d. 1605) described Paul's walk as a kind of "open house" filled with a "great store of company that do nothing but go up and down, and go up and down, and make a grumbling together". Infested with beggars and thieves, Paul's walk was also a place to pick up gossip, topical jokes, and even prostitutes. In his Microcosmographie (1628), a series of satirical portraits of contemporary England, John Earle
(1601–1665), described Paul's walk thus:
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 and the cloister
s, charnels, crypt
s, chapel
s, shrine
s, chantries
and 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, such as Thomas Adams
, who were often evangelical
Protestants
. Buildings that were razed often supplied ready-dressed building material for 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 1554, in an attempt to end inappropriate practices taking place in the nave, the Lord Mayor
decreed that church should return to its original purpose as a religious building, issuing a writ stating that the selling of horses, beer and "other gross wares" was "to the great dishonour and displeasure of Almighty God, and the great grief also and offence of all good and well-disposed persons".
In 1561 the spire caught fire and crashed through the nave roof. This is usually attributed to lightning, although in 1753, David Henry (a writer for The Gentleman's Magazine
), recalls in his Historical description of St. Paul's Cathedral a story that the fire was instead caused by the negligence of a plumber who had "confessed on his death bed" that he had "left a pan of coals and other fuel in the tower when he went to dinner." Whatever the cause, the subsequent conflagration was hot enough to melt the cathedral's bells and the lead covering the wooden spire "poured down like lava upon the roof", destroying it. This event was taken by both Protestants and Catholics as a sign of God's displeasure at the other faction's actions. Queen Elizabeth
contributed towards the cost of repairs and the Bishop of London Edmund Grindal
gave £1200, although the spire was never rebuilt. The repair work on the nave roof was sub-standard, however, and only fifty years after the rebuilding was in a dangerous condition.
Concerned at the decaying state of the building, King James I
appointed England's first classical
architect, Inigo Jones
, to restore the building. The poet Henry Farley records the king comparing himself to the building at the commencement of the work in 1621: "I have had more sweeping, brushing and cleaning than in forty years before. My workmen looke like him they call Muldsacke after sweeping of a chimney." In addition to cleaning and rebuilding parts of the Gothic structure, Jones added a classical-style portico to the cathedral's west front in the 1630s, which William Benham notes was "altogether incongruous with the old building...It was no doubt fortunate that Inigo Jones confined his work at St Paul's to some very poor additions to the transepts, and to a portico, very magnificent in its way, at the west end."
Work stopped during the English Civil War
, and there was much defacement and mistreatment of the building by Parliamentarian forces during which old documents and charters were dispersed and destroyed, and the nave used as a stable for cavalry horses. Much of the detailed information historians have of the cathedral is taken from William Dugdale
's 1658 History of St Pauls Cathedral, written hastily during The Protectorate
for fear that "one of the most eminent Structures of that kinde in the Christian World" might be destroyed.
Indeed, a persistent rumour of the time suggested that Cromwell
had considered giving the building to London's returning Jewish community
to become a synagogue
. Dugdale embarked on his project due to discovering hampers full of decaying 14th and 15th century documents from the Cathedral's early archives. In his book's dedicatory epistle, he wrote:
Dugdale's book is also the source for many of the surviving engravings of the building, created by Bohemian
etcher Wenceslaus Hollar. In July 2010, an original sketch for Hollar's engravings was rediscovered when it was submitted to Sotheby's
auction house.
After the Restoration of King Charles II
, Sir Christopher Wren
, the Surveyor to the King's Works, was appointed to restore the cathedral in a style matching Inigo Jones' classical additions of 1630. Wren instead recommended that the building be completely demolished, decrying the "carelessness and want of accuracy in its builders", calling his new design "The Gothic rectified to a better manner of architecture". However, both the clergy and citizens of the city opposed such a move. In response, Wren proposed to restore the body of the gothic building, but replace the existing tower with a dome. He wrote in his 1666 Of the Surveyor's Design for repairing the old ruinous structure of St Paul's:
Wren, whose uncle Matthew Wren
was Bishop of Ely, admired the central lantern of Ely Cathedral
and proposed that his dome design could be constructed over the top of the existing gothic tower, before the old structure was removed from within. This, he reasoned, would prevent the need for extensive scaffolding and would not upset Londoners ("Unbelievers") by demolishing a familiar landmark without being able to see its "hopeful Successor rise in its stead."
The matter was still under discussion when the restoration work on St Paul's finally began in the 1660s but soon after being sheathed in wooden scaffolding, the building was completely gutted in the Great Fire of London
of 1666. The fire, aided by the scaffolding, destroyed the roof and much of the stonework along with masses of stocks and personal belongings that had been placed there for safety. Samuel Pepys
recalls the building in flames in his diary:
John Evelyn
's account paints a similar picture of destruction:
Temporary repairs were made to the building, but 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, a step which had been contemplated even before the fire. Wren declared that it was impossible to restore the old building. The following April, the Dean William Sancroft
wrote to him that he had been right in his judgement: "Our work at the west end," he wrote, "has fallen about our ears." Two pillars had collapsed, and the rest was so unsafe that men were afraid to go near, even to pull it down. He added, "You are so absolutely necessary to us that we can do nothing, resolve on nothing without you."
Following this declaration by the Dean, demolition of the remains of the old cathedral began in 1668. Demolition of the Old Cathedral proved unexpectedly difficult as the stonework had been bonded together by molten lead. Wren initially used the then-new technique of using gunpowder
to bring down the surviving stone walls. Like many experimental techniques, the use of gunpowder was not easy to control; several workers were killed and nearby residents complained about noise and damage. Eventually, Wren resorted to using a battering ram
instead. Building work on the new cathedral
began in June 1675.
Wren's first proposal, the "Greek cross" design, was considered too radical by members of a committee commissioned to rebuild the church. Members of the clergy decried the design as being too dissimilar from churches that already existed in England at the time to suggest any continuity within the Church of England
. Wren's approved "Warrant design" sought to reconcile the Gothic
with his "better manner of architecture", featuring a portico influenced by Inigo Jones' addition to the old cathedral. However, Wren received permission from the king to make "ornamental changes" to the submitted design, and over the course of the construction made significant alterations, including the addition of the famous dome.
The topping out of the new cathedral took place in October 1708 and the cathedral was declared officially complete by Parliament in 1710. The consensus on the finished building was mixed; James Wright (1643–1713) wrote "Without, within, below, above the eye/ Is filled with unrestrained delight." Meanwhile, others were less approving, noting its similarity to St. Peter's Basilica
in Rome: "There was an air of Popery
about the gilded capitals, the heavy arches ... They were unfamiliar, un-English."
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
which until 1666 stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
. Built between 1087 and 1314 and dedicated to St Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate Hill
Ludgate Hill
Ludgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1780. Ludgate Hill is the site of St Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana. It is one of the three...
. Work began during the reign of William the Conqueror following a devastating fire in 1087 which destroyed much of the city. Work took over 200 years, and construction was delayed by another fire in 1135. The church was consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
in 1240 and enlarged again in 1256 and the early 14th century. At its completion in the middle of the 14th century, the cathedral was one of the longest churches in the world, had one of the tallest spires and some of the finest stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
.
The presence of the shrine of St Erkenwald made the cathedral a pilgrimage site during the Medieval period. In addition to serving as the seat of the Diocese of London
Diocese of London
The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...
, the building developed a reputation as a hub of the City of London, with the nave aisle, "Paul's walk
Paul's walk
Paul's walk in Elizabethan and early Stuart London was the middle aisle of Old St. Paul's Cathedral, where people walked up and down in search of the latest news. At the time, St. Paul's was the centre of the London grapevine. "News-mongers", as they were called,gathered there to pass on the...
", known as a centre for business and the London grapevine
Grapevine (gossip)
To hear something through the grapevine is to learn of something informally and unofficially by means of gossip and rumor.The usual implication is that the information was passed person to person by word of mouth, perhaps in a confidential manner among friends or colleagues. It can also imply an...
. Following the Reformation, the open air pulpit in the churchyard, St Paul's Cross
St Paul's Cross
St Paul's Cross was a preaching cross and open air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London.-History:...
, became the stage for radical evangelical preaching and Protestant bookselling.
Already severely in decline by the 17th century, restoration work by Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
in the 1620s was halted by the English Civil War. Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
was attempting another restoration in 1666 when the cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
. Following demolition of the old structure, the present domed cathedral was erected on the site to an English Baroque
English Baroque
English Baroque is a term sometimes used to refer to the developments in English architecture that were parallel to the evolution of Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London and the Treaty of Utrecht ....
design by Wren.
Construction
The cathedral was the fourth church on the site at Ludgate HillLudgate Hill
Ludgate Hill is a hill in the City of London, near the old Ludgate, a gate to the City that was taken down, with its attached gaol, in 1780. Ludgate Hill is the site of St Paul's Cathedral, traditionally said to have been the site of a Roman temple of the goddess Diana. It is one of the three...
dedicated to St Paul. A devastating fire in 1087, detailed in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, destroyed much of the city and the cathedral. King William I donated the stone from the destroyed Palatine Tower on the River Fleet
River Fleet
The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers. Its two headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath; each is now dammed into a series of ponds made in the 18th century, the Hampstead Ponds and the Highgate Ponds. At the south edge of Hampstead Heath these two streams flow...
towards the construction of a new, Romanesque
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
Norman cathedral, sometimes said to be his last act before his death.
Bishop Maurice oversaw early preparations, although it was primarily under his successor, Richard de Beaumis
Richard de Beaumis
Richard de Beaumis was a medieval Bishop of London.-Life:Beaumis' family came from Beaumais-sur-Dive in the Calvados region of Normandy. He was elected to the see of London on 24 May 1108. His ordination as a priest took place on 14 June 1108, a little over a month before he was consecrated as a...
, that construction work fully commenced. Beaumis was assisted by King Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, who gave the bishop stone and commanded that all material brought up the River Fleet for the cathedral should be free from toll. To fund the cathedral, Henry gave Beamis rights to all fish caught within the cathedral neighbourhood and tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s on venison taken in the County of Essex. Beaumis also gave a site for the original foundation of St Paul's School.
Following Henry I's death, a civil war known as "The Anarchy
The Anarchy
The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter was a period of English history during the reign of King Stephen, which was characterised by civil war and unsettled government...
" broke out. Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois
Henry of Blois , often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.-Early life and education:...
, Bishop of Winchester, was appointed to administer the affairs of St Paul's. Almost immediately, he had to deal with the aftermath of a fire at London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
in 1135. It spread over much of the city, damaging the cathedral and delaying its construction. During this period, the style of the building transitioned from heavy Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
into Early English Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
. Although the base Norman columns were left alone, lancet pointed arches were placed over them in the triforium
Triforium
A triforium is a shallow arched gallery within the thickness of inner wall, which stands above the nave of a church or cathedral. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than...
and some heavy columns were substituted with clustered pillars. The steeple was erected in 1221 and the cathedral was rededicated by Bishop Roger Niger in 1240.
Following a succession of storms, in 1255 Bishop Fulk Basset appealed for funds to repair the damaged roof. The roof was once more rebuilt in wood, which was ultimately to doom the building. At this time, the east end of the cathedral church was lengthened, enclosing the parish church of St Faith
St Faith under St Paul's
St Faith under St Paul’s in Castle Baynard Ward was an unusual parish within the City of London . It had been physically removed in 1256 to allow for the eastern expansion of the Old St Paul's Cathedral . Until the reign of Edward VI the parishioners worshipped at the end of the west crypt under...
, which was now brought within the cathedral. The eastward addition was always referred to as "The New Work".
Following complaints from the dispossessed parishioners of St Faith's, the east end of the west crypt was allotted to them as their parish church. The congregation were also allowed to keep a detached tower with a peal of bells east of the church which had historically been used to peal the summons to the Cheapside
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street and Mansion House Street. To the east is Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the major road junction above Bank tube station. To the west is St. Paul's Cathedral, St...
Folkmote
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
. The parish later moved to the Jesus chapel during the reign of Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
and was merged with St Augustine Watling Street
St Augustine Watling Street
St Augustine, Watling Street was an Anglican church formerly located just to the east of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. It was destroyed in the Second World War but its remains now form part of St Paul's Cathedral Choir School.- History :...
following the 1666 fire.
This "New Work" was completed in 1314, although the additions had been consecrated in 1300. Excavations in 1878 by Francis Penrose showed it was 586 feet (178.6 m) long (excluding the porch later added by Inigo Jones) and 100 feet (30.5 m) wide (290 feet (88.4 m) across the transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s and crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
). By way of comparison, the current cathedral is 574 feet (175 m) in length including the portico, and 246 feet (75 m) across the transepts, and Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
, the longest remaining medieval church, is 556 feet (169.5 m) long and 231 feet (70.4 m) across the transepts.
The cathedral had one of Europe's tallest church spires, the height of which is traditionally given as 489 feet (149 m), surpassing all but Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
. The King's Surveyor, Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
(1632–1723), judged that an overestimate and gave 460 feet (140.2 m). Canon William Benham, rector of St Edmund, King and Martyr, notes that the cathedral probably "resembled in general outline that of Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
, but it was a hundred feet longer, and the spire was sixty or eighty feet higher. The tower was open internally as far as the base of the spire, and was probably more beautiful both inside and out than that of any other English cathedral."
According to the architectural historian John Harvey, the octagonal chapter house
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
, built circa 1332 by William Ramsey
William Ramsey (architect)
William Ramsey was an English Gothic architect, descended from the De Ramsey family of master masons whose work can be found at Ramsey Abbey, Norwich Cathedral, Ely Cathedral, and possibly also in Paris, according to John Harvey...
, was the earliest example of Perpendicular Gothic. This is confirmed by Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor
Alec Clifton-Taylor OBE was an English architectural historian, writer and TV broadcaster.-Biography and works:...
, who notes that the chapter house and St Stephen's chapel at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
predate the early Perpendicular work at Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to Saint Peter .-Foundations:The foundations of the present...
by several years. The foundations of the chapter house were recently made visible in the redeveloped south churchyard of the new cathedral.
Interior
Triforium
A triforium is a shallow arched gallery within the thickness of inner wall, which stands above the nave of a church or cathedral. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than...
and vaulted ceiling
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
. The length earned it the nickname "Paul's walk". The cathedral's stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
was reputed to be the best in the country, and the east-end Rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
was particularly exquisite. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
uses the windows as a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
in "The Miller's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
, in the knowledge that other Londoners would understand the comparison:
From the cathedral's construction until its destruction at the Reformation, the shrine of Erkenwald was a popular site for pilgrimage. Under Bishop Maurice, reports of miracles attributed to the shrine increased, with the shrine attracting thousands of pilgrims to the cathedral. The alliterative Middle English poem St. Erkenwald
St. Erkenwald (poem)
St. Erkenwald is an alliterative poem of the fourteenth century, thought to have been composed in 1386. It has sometimes been attributed to the Pearl poet . It takes as its subject Erkenwald, the bishop of London between 675 and 693....
(sometimes attributed to the "Pearl Poet
Pearl Poet
The "Pearl Poet", or the "Gawain Poet", is the name given to the author of Pearl, an alliterative poem written in 14th-century Middle English. Its author appears also to have written the poems Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, and Cleanness; some scholars suggest the author may also have...
", c.14) begins with a description of the construction of the cathedral, referring to the building as the "New Werke". The shrine was adorned with gold, silver and precious stones; in 1339, three London goldsmiths were employed for a whole year to rebuild the shrine to a higher standard. William Dugdale records that the shire was pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
al in shape with an altar table placed in front for offerings.
Monarchs and other dignitaries were often in attendance at the cathedral, and the court occasionally held session there. The building was also the scene of several incidents of mediaeval intrigue. In 1191, whilst King Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
was in Palestine, his brother John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
summoned a council of bishops to St Paul's to denounce William de Longchamp, Bishop of Ely—to whom Richard had entrusted the affairs of government—for treason. Later that year, William Fitz Osbern
William Fitz Osbern (1196)
William Fitz Osbert or William with the long beard was a citizen of London who took up the role of the advocate of the poor in a popular uprising in the spring of 1196. The events are significant in that they illustrate how rare popular revolt by the poor and peasants in England was in the 12th...
gave a fiery speech against the oppression of the poor at Paul's Cross and incited a riot which saw the cathedral invaded, halted only by an appeal for calm by Hubert Walter
Hubert Walter
Hubert Walter was an influential royal adviser in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries in the positions of Chief Justiciar of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor. As chancellor, Walter began the keeping of the Charter Roll, a record of all charters issued by the...
, Archbishop of Canterbury. Osbern barricaded himself in nearby St Mary-le-Bow
St Mary-le-Bow
St Mary-le-Bow is an historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside. According to tradition, a true Cockney must be born within earshot of the sound of the church's bells.-Bells:...
and was later executed, after which Paul's Cross was silent for many years. Arthur, Prince of Wales
Arthur, Prince of Wales
Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and therefore, heir to the throne of England. As he predeceased his father, Arthur never became king...
, son of Henry VII
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, married Catharine of Aragon in St Paul's on November 14, 1501. Chroniclers are profuse in their descriptions of the decorations of the cathedral and city on that occasion. Arthur died five months later, at the age of 15, and the marriage was later to prove contentious during the subsequent reign of his brother, Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
.
Several kings of the Middle Ages lay in state in St Paul's before their funerals at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
, including Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
and Henry VII. In the case of Richard II, the display of his body in such a public place was to counter rumours that he was not deceased. The walls were lined with the tombs of mediaeval bishops and nobility. In addition to the shrine of Erkenwald, two Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
kings were buried inside: Sebbi
Sebbi of Essex
Sebbi was the joint King of Essex from 664 to 683 along with his brother, Sighere. After Sighere died, Sebbi became sole ruler of Essex until 694....
, King of the East Saxons
Kingdom of Essex
The Kingdom of Essex or Kingdom of the East Saxons was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was founded in the 6th century and covered the territory later occupied by the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex and Kent. Kings of Essex were...
, and Ethelred the Unready
Ethelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
. A number of figures such as John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
and John Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp de Somerset
John Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp de Somerset
John de Beauchamp, 3rd Baron Beauchamp de Somerset was born at Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Somersetshire, England to John de Beauchamp, 2nd Baron Beauchamp of Somerset and Lady Margaret St. John...
had particularly large monuments constructed within the cathedral, and the building later contained the tombs of the Crown minister Nicholas Bacon and the poet and clergyman John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
, who was dean of the cathedral between 1621 until his death in 1631. Donne's monument survived the 1666 fire, and is on display in the present building.
Paul's Walk
The first historical reference to the nave, "Paul's walk", being used as a marketplace and general meeting area is recorded during the 1381–1404 tenure of Bishop BraybrookeRobert Braybrooke
Robert Braybrooke was a medieval Dean of Salisbury and Bishop of London.Braybrooke was the son of Sir Gerard Braybrooke of Horsenden, Buckinghamshire & Colmworth, Bedfordshire and his wife, Isabella, the daughter of Sir Roger Dakney of Clophill...
. The bishop issued an open letter decrying the use of the building for selling "wares, as if it were a public market" and "others ... by the instigation of the Devil [using] stones and arrows to bring down the birds, jackdaws and pigeons which nestle in the walls and crevises of the building. Others play at ball ... breaking the beautiful and costly painted windows to the amazement of spectators." His decree goes on to threaten perpetrators with excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
.
By the 15th century, the cathedral had become the centre of the London grapevine
Grapevine (gossip)
To hear something through the grapevine is to learn of something informally and unofficially by means of gossip and rumor.The usual implication is that the information was passed person to person by word of mouth, perhaps in a confidential manner among friends or colleagues. It can also imply an...
. "News mongers", as they were called, gathered there to pass on the latest news and gossip. Those who visited the cathedral to keep up with the news were known as "Paul's walkers".
According to Francis Osborne
Francis Osborne
Francis Osborne was an English essayist, known for his Advice to a Son, which became a very popular book soon after the English Restoration.-Life:He was born, according to his epitaph, on 26 Sept...
(1593–1656):
It was the fashion of those times ... for the principal gentry, lords, courtiers, and men of all professions not merely mechanic, to meet in Paul's Church by eleven and walk in the middle aisle till twelve, and after dinner from three to six, during which times some discoursed on business, others of news. Now in regard of the universal there happened little that did not first or last arrive here ... And those news-mongers, as they called them, did not only take the boldness to weigh the public but most intrinsic actions of the state, which some courtier or other did betray to this society.
St Paul's became the place to go to hear the latest news of current affairs, war, religion, parliament and the court. In his play Englishmen for my Money, William Haughton
William Haughton
William Haughton was an English playwright in the age of English Renaissance theatre. During the years 1597 to 1602 he collaborated in many plays with Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker, John Day, Richard Hathwaye and Wentworth Smith....
(d. 1605) described Paul's walk as a kind of "open house" filled with a "great store of company that do nothing but go up and down, and go up and down, and make a grumbling together". Infested with beggars and thieves, Paul's walk was also a place to pick up gossip, topical jokes, and even prostitutes. In his Microcosmographie (1628), a series of satirical portraits of contemporary England, John Earle
John Earle (bishop)
John Earle was an English bishop.-Life:He was born at York, but the exact date is unknown. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, but moved to Merton, where he obtained a fellowship...
(1601–1665), described Paul's walk thus:
Is the land's epitome, or you may call it the lesser isle of Great Britain. It is more than this, the whole world's map, which you may here discern in its perfectest motion, justling and turning. It is a heap of stones and men, with a vast confusion of languages; and were the steeple not sanctified, nothing liker Babel. The noise in it is like that of bees, a strange humming or buzz mixed of walking tongues and feet: it is a kind of still roar or loud whisper...It is the great exchange of all discourse, and no business whatsoever but is here stirring and a-foot...It is the general mint of all famous lies, which are here like the legends of popery, first coined and stamped in the church.
Decline
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
and Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
and Chantries Acts led to the destruction of interior ornamentation and the cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
s, charnels, crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
s, chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
s, shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
s, chantries
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...
and 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, such as Thomas Adams
Thomas Adams (publisher)
Thomas Adams was an English publisher. Born into a yeoman's family, he became an apprentice to Oliver Wilkes, a member of the Stationers' Company, on 29 September 1582; he was transferred to a new master, George Bishop, on 14 October 1583. Adams himself was admitted to the Company on 15 October 1583...
, who were often evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
. Buildings that were razed often supplied ready-dressed building material for construction projects, such as the Lord Protector's city palace, Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
.
Crowds were drawn to the northeast corner of the Churchyard, St Paul's Cross
St Paul's Cross
St Paul's Cross was a preaching cross and open air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London.-History:...
, 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 1554, in an attempt to end inappropriate practices taking place in the nave, the Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
decreed that church should return to its original purpose as a religious building, issuing a writ stating that the selling of horses, beer and "other gross wares" was "to the great dishonour and displeasure of Almighty God, and the great grief also and offence of all good and well-disposed persons".
In 1561 the spire caught fire and crashed through the nave roof. This is usually attributed to lightning, although in 1753, David Henry (a writer for The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
), recalls in his Historical description of St. Paul's Cathedral a story that the fire was instead caused by the negligence of a plumber who had "confessed on his death bed" that he had "left a pan of coals and other fuel in the tower when he went to dinner." Whatever the cause, the subsequent conflagration was hot enough to melt the cathedral's bells and the lead covering the wooden spire "poured down like lava upon the roof", destroying it. This event was taken by both Protestants and Catholics as a sign of God's displeasure at the other faction's actions. Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
contributed towards the cost of repairs and the Bishop of London Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal
Edmund Grindal was an English church leader who successively held the posts of Bishop of London, Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of Elizabeth I of England.-Early life to the death of Edward VI:...
gave £1200, although the spire was never rebuilt. The repair work on the nave roof was sub-standard, however, and only fifty years after the rebuilding was in a dangerous condition.
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
appointed England's first classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
architect, Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
, to restore the building. The poet Henry Farley records the king comparing himself to the building at the commencement of the work in 1621: "I have had more sweeping, brushing and cleaning than in forty years before. My workmen looke like him they call Muldsacke after sweeping of a chimney." In addition to cleaning and rebuilding parts of the Gothic structure, Jones added a classical-style portico to the cathedral's west front in the 1630s, which William Benham notes was "altogether incongruous with the old building...It was no doubt fortunate that Inigo Jones confined his work at St Paul's to some very poor additions to the transepts, and to a portico, very magnificent in its way, at the west end."
Work stopped during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and there was much defacement and mistreatment of the building by Parliamentarian forces during which old documents and charters were dispersed and destroyed, and the nave used as a stable for cavalry horses. Much of the detailed information historians have of the cathedral is taken from William Dugdale
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.-Life:...
's 1658 History of St Pauls Cathedral, written hastily during The Protectorate
The Protectorate
In British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653–1659 during which the Commonwealth of England was governed by a Lord Protector.-Background:...
for fear that "one of the most eminent Structures of that kinde in the Christian World" might be destroyed.
Indeed, a persistent rumour of the time suggested that Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
had considered giving the building to London's returning Jewish community
Resettlement of the Jews in England
The resettlement of the Jews in England was a historic commercial policy dealing with Jews in England in the 17th century, and forms a prominent part of the history of the Jews in England.-Background:...
to become a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. Dugdale embarked on his project due to discovering hampers full of decaying 14th and 15th century documents from the Cathedral's early archives. In his book's dedicatory epistle, he wrote:
...so great was your foresight of what we have since by wofull experience seen and felt, and specially in the Church, (through the Presbyterian contagion, which then began violently to breake out) that you often and earnestly incited me to a speedy view of what Monuments I could, especially in the principall Churches of this Realme; to the end, that by Inke and paper, the Shadows of them, with their Inscriptions might be preserved for posteritie, forasmuch as the things themselves were so neer unto ruine.
Dugdale's book is also the source for many of the surviving engravings of the building, created by Bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
etcher Wenceslaus Hollar. In July 2010, an original sketch for Hollar's engravings was rediscovered when it was submitted to Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
auction house.
The Great Fire
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
, the Surveyor to the King's Works, was appointed to restore the cathedral in a style matching Inigo Jones' classical additions of 1630. Wren instead recommended that the building be completely demolished, decrying the "carelessness and want of accuracy in its builders", calling his new design "The Gothic rectified to a better manner of architecture". However, both the clergy and citizens of the city opposed such a move. In response, Wren proposed to restore the body of the gothic building, but replace the existing tower with a dome. He wrote in his 1666 Of the Surveyor's Design for repairing the old ruinous structure of St Paul's:
It must be concluded that the Tower from Top to Bottom and the adjacent parts are such a heap of deformaties that no Judicious Architect will think it corrigible by any Expense that can be laid out upon new dressing it.
Wren, whose uncle Matthew Wren
Matthew Wren
"Matthew Wren" is also a British actor who appeared in BBC children's show Trapped!.Matthew Wren was an influential English clergyman and scholar.-Life:...
was Bishop of Ely, admired the central lantern of Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
and proposed that his dome design could be constructed over the top of the existing gothic tower, before the old structure was removed from within. This, he reasoned, would prevent the need for extensive scaffolding and would not upset Londoners ("Unbelievers") by demolishing a familiar landmark without being able to see its "hopeful Successor rise in its stead."
The matter was still under discussion when the restoration work on St Paul's finally began in the 1660s but soon after being sheathed in wooden scaffolding, the building was completely gutted in the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
of 1666. The fire, aided by the scaffolding, destroyed the roof and much of the stonework along with masses of stocks and personal belongings that had been placed there for safety. Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
recalls the building in flames in his diary:
John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
's account paints a similar picture of destruction:
September 3rd – I went and saw the whole south part of the City burning from Cheapeside to the Thames, and ... was now taking hold of St. Paule's Church, to which the scaffolds contributed exceedingly.
September 7th – I went this morning on foote from White-hall as far as London Bridge, thro' the late Fleete-streete, Ludgate Hill, by St. Paules ... At my returne I was infinitely concern'd to find that goodly Church St. Paules now a sad ruine, and that beautiful portico ... now rent in pieces, flakes of vast stone split asunder, and nothing now remaining intire but the inscription in the architrave, shewing by whom it was built, which had not one letter of it defac'd. It was astonishing to see what immense stones the heate had in a manner calcin'd, so that all the ornaments, columns, freezes, capitals, and projectures of massie Portland-stone flew off, even to the very roofe, where a sheet of lead covering a great space (no less than six akers by measure) was totally mealted; the ruines of the vaulted roofe falling broke into St. Faith's, which being fill'd with the magazines of bookes belonging to the Stationers, and carried thither for safety, they were all consum'd, burning for a weeke following. It is also observable that the lead over the altar at the East end was untouch'd, and among the divers monuments, the body of one Bishop remain'd intire. Thus lay in ashes that most venerable Church, one of the most antient pieces of early piety in the Christian world.
Temporary repairs were made to the building, but 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, a step which had been contemplated even before the fire. Wren declared that it was impossible to restore the old building. The following April, the Dean William Sancroft
William Sancroft
William Sancroft was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury.- Life :Sancroft was born at Ufford Hall in Fressingfield, Suffolk, son of Francis Sandcroft and Margaret Sandcroft née Butcher...
wrote to him that he had been right in his judgement: "Our work at the west end," he wrote, "has fallen about our ears." Two pillars had collapsed, and the rest was so unsafe that men were afraid to go near, even to pull it down. He added, "You are so absolutely necessary to us that we can do nothing, resolve on nothing without you."
Following this declaration by the Dean, demolition of the remains of the old cathedral began in 1668. Demolition of the Old Cathedral proved unexpectedly difficult as the stonework had been bonded together by molten lead. Wren initially used the then-new technique of using gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
to bring down the surviving stone walls. Like many experimental techniques, the use of gunpowder was not easy to control; several workers were killed and nearby residents complained about noise and damage. Eventually, Wren resorted to using a battering ram
Battering ram
A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times and designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates...
instead. Building work on the new cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
began in June 1675.
Wren's first proposal, the "Greek cross" design, was considered too radical by members of a committee commissioned to rebuild the church. Members of the clergy decried the design as being too dissimilar from churches that already existed in England at the time to suggest any continuity within the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. Wren's approved "Warrant design" sought to reconcile the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
with his "better manner of architecture", featuring a portico influenced by Inigo Jones' addition to the old cathedral. However, Wren received permission from the king to make "ornamental changes" to the submitted design, and over the course of the construction made significant alterations, including the addition of the famous dome.
The topping out of the new cathedral took place in October 1708 and the cathedral was declared officially complete by Parliament in 1710. The consensus on the finished building was mixed; James Wright (1643–1713) wrote "Without, within, below, above the eye/ Is filled with unrestrained delight." Meanwhile, others were less approving, noting its similarity to St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in Rome: "There was an air of Popery
Papist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
about the gilded capitals, the heavy arches ... They were unfamiliar, un-English."
External links
- Official website, with history of Old St. Paul's