St Paul's Cathedral, London

St Paul's Cathedral
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St._Paul%27s_Cathedral#mediaviewer/File:St_Paul%27s_Cathedral_2003.jpg
Author: Olivier Bruchez


St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London. It is one of the best known cathedrals in London, and the seat of the Bishop of London.

The present incarnation of St Paul's Cathedral dates to the 17th century. It is reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, not counting every major reconstruction of the cathedral through the medieval period, and is one of the most visited sites in London.

St Paul's Cathedral, interior
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Interior_of_St._Paul%27s_Cathedral#mediaviewer/File:St_Paul%27s_Cathedral_Choir_looking_north-west,_London,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg
Author: David Iliff


During Roman time, there was already a cathedral in London at the site of St Paul's. The first Saxon cathedral was a wooden structure built on the site of the Roman one in AD604. The site is said to be that of an ancient megalith, a stone circle of pagan origin, and that there was a temple dedicated to the deity Diana, in alignment with the temple to Apollo on the site of present-day Westminster.

The wooden cathedral burnt down in AD 675, and rebuilt in stone in AD 685. The Vikings ransacked and destroyed it in AD 961. It was rebuilt in 962, also in stone. It was burnt down in a great fire that consumed the city in 1087.

St Paul's Cathedral, interior dome
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Interior_of_St._Paul%27s_Cathedral#mediaviewer/File:St_Paul%27s_Cathedral_Interior_Dome_2_crop,_London,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg
Author: David Iliff


The fourth St Paul's Cathedral, also known as the Old St Paul's or the pre-Great Fire St Paul's, according to 19th century documents, was built by the Normans after the 1087 fire. The 4th St Paul's took two hundred years to build, and in between was damaged by another fire of 1136. It was consecrated in 1240 as a church, after which, an enlargement took place in 1256 and completed in 1314. It was consecrated as a cathedral in 1300. This 4th St Paul was 585 feet long - the third longest church in Europe - and had one of the tallest spires in Europe, at some 489 feet.

The fourth St Paul's was in a dilapidated state by the 16th century. The Dissolution of the Monasteries and Chantries Acts under King Henry VIII and King Edward VI emptied it of its decorative ornamentation and the destruction of its cloisters, charnels, crypts, chapels, shrines, chantries and other buildings in the churchyard.

Interior of St Paul's Cathedral
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Interior_of_St._Paul%27s_Cathedral#mediaviewer/File:St_Paul%27s_Cathedral_London02-2.jpg
Author: Peter Morgan


In 1549 radical Protestant preachers incited a mob to destroy many of the fourth St Paul's interior decorations. When lightning destroyed the spire in 1561, both Protestants and Catholics took it as a sign of God's displeasure at the other faction's actions.

The "Old St Paul's" was gutted in the Great Fire of London of 1666. Although it could have been salvaged, there decision was to build a new cathedral, in the modern style.

The new and present St Paul's Cathedral was designed by Christopher Wren in 1668. His first design, to build on the foundation of the old cathedral, was rejected. His second design, in the form of a Greek cross, was also thrown back. A revision of that design, which can be seen on display in the crypt of the cathedral today, was also rejected. Finally the "warrant" design in 1675 was accepted, and construction began in June of that year. This design includes a small dome with a spire on top.

The whispering gallery at St Paul's Cathedral
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:St._Paul%27s_Cathedral_Dome_(interior)#mediaviewer/File:St_Paul%27s_Cathedral_Whispering_Gallery.jpg
Author: Femtoquake


As King Charles II gave Wren permission to make "ornamental" changes to the approved design, Wren reworked the design to the current form seen today, with a large central dome and towers at the west end.

St Paul's Cathedral was completed on 20 October 1708, Wren's 76th birthday.

Visiting St Paul's Cathedral

Address: St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4
Phone: 020 7246 8348
Opening Hours: Mondays-Saturdays: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Admission Fees: £6.00 adult, £3 for children 6-16, for entrance to the Cathedral, Crypt and Galleries
Tours: Mondays to Saturdays, at 11:00 am, 11:30 am, 1:30 pm and 2:00 pm, Adults £2.50, Children under 10: £1; Audiotours £3.50 available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Getting there

Take the London Underground to St Paul's Tube Station or Blackfriars Tube Station, or bus 4, 11, 15 and 17.

List of Churches in London

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