Wren's St Paul's

The task of designing a replacement structure was assigned to Christopher Wren in 1668, along with over fifty other churches. His first design (to build a replacement on the foundations of the old cathedral) was rejected in 1669. The second design, in the shape of a Greek cross (circa 1670-1672) was rejected as too radical, as was a revised design which resulted in the 1:24 scale "Great Model", currently on display in the crypt of the cathedral. The 'warrant' design was accepted in 1675 and building work began in June. This design included a smaller dome with a spire on top, however King Charles II had given Wren permission to make "ornamental" changes to the approved design, and Wren took the liberty to radically rework the design to the current form, including the large central dome and the towers at the West end. The cathedral was completed on October 20, 1708, Wren's 76th birthday (although the first service was held on December 2, 1697), and has survived until the present day, despite being targeted during the Blitz (it was struck by a bomb on October 9, 1940, but survived).

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

The cathedral is to the east from the Great West Door. The nave has three small chapels in the two adjoining aisles – All Souls and St Dunstan's in the north aisle and the Chapel of the Order of St Michael and St George in the south aisle. The main space of the cathedral is centred under the Dome, it rises 108.4 metres from the cathedral floor and holds three circular galleries – the internal Whispering Gallery, the external Stone Gallery, and the external Golden Gallery.
The Whispering Gallery runs around the interior of the Dome and is 259 steps up from ground-level. It gets its name from a serendipitious quirk of construction: a whisper against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with their ear held to the point diametrically opposite.

The Quire extends to the east of the Dome and holds the stalls for the clergy and the choir as well as the cathedral's organ. The organ was first commissioned in 1694 and the current instrument is the third biggest in Britain with 7,189 pipes and 138 stops; it is enclosed in an impressive case built by Grinling Gibbons. To the north and south of the dome are the transepts of the North Quire and the South Quire. The cathedral has a very substantial crypt holding over 200 memorials as well as the OBE Chapel and the Treasury; Christopher Wren was the first person to be interred (in 1723). The cathedral has very few treasures: Many have been lost, and in 1810 a major robbery took almost all of the remaining precious artefacts.

Within the cathedral are plaques, carvings, monuments and statues dedicated to a wide range of people. The bulk are related to the British military, including several lists of servicemen who died in action, the most recent being the Gulf War. There are special monuments to Admiral Nelson and to the Duke of Wellington in the south transept and north aisle, respectively. Also remembered are poets, painters, clergy and residents of the local parish. There are also lists of the Bishops and cathedral Deans for the last thousand years. The cathedral has been the site for many famous funerals, including those of Horatio Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Winston Churchill. The British Royal Family hold most of their important marriages, funerals and other religious and celebratory functions at Westminster Abbey, but St Paul's was used for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.

Sir Christopher Wren
Said, "I am going to dine with some men.
If anyone calls,
Say I am designing St Paul's."
—A clerihew by Edmund Clerihew Bentley

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

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

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

It also features specifically in:

•Mary Poppins, where it is the setting of the song Feed the Birds
•Lawrence of Arabia as the venue of Lawrence's funeral.
•Steamboy, seen in scenes with the cathedral.
•101 Dalmatians
•Peter Pan
•H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds
•Team America: World Police
•The Bed-Sitting Room (film version 1970) depicts the post - nuclear wreckage of the dome lying in the middle of a lake.
•The cathedral was prominent in all Thames Television idents from 1968 until 1992 and prominent in its logo until 1997
•The 1966 Doctor Who story The Invasion where Cybermen emerge and walk towards the Thames outside the cathedral.
•The 1971 Hammer Horror film Hands of the Ripper
•The 1994 film The Madness of King George
•Mortal Engines where it is the house of the super weapon MEDUSA when it is mounted upon the great Traction City of London.

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

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

Historical images

Wren's Greek Cross design
Wren's warrant design
Wren's cathedral as built
St Paul's seen across the Thames in the early 19th century

The interior in 1860
St Paul's in 1896

This model of St Paul's Cathedral at Legoland Windsor is made from Lego bricks (as is The London Eye in the background).
Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the Thames, between 1630 and 1675

Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the south, between 1630 and 1666
Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the north, between 1630 and 1666
Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the east, between 1630 and 1666
Old St. Paul's Cathedral from the west, between 1630 and 1666

Old St. Paul's Cathedral in flames, 1666
Old St. Paul's Cathedral after the fire, 1666