Chapter XV: Part 15

the pale blue of the drapery, and the rich, warm green of the
background in the two outside windows, is most harmonious and
striking. The detail in this window is very elaborate, and every
part of it bears traces of care and thought.”--(P. D.)

The =Choir= consists of four bays, with the presbytery beyond. Perpendicular alterations are noticeable in the upper part. The triforium is late Norman. The pillars are larger than those in the nave and their capitals are very fine specimens of stone carving. Some critics go so far as to say they are Saxon.

The most striking feature of the whole Cathedral is the pendant =ceiling= of the Choir.

“Fergusson considers this work to be the most satisfactory attempt
ever made to surmount the great difficulty presented in all
fan-tracery by the awkward, flat, central space which is left in
each bay by the four cones of the vault. At Gloucester, King’s
College Chapel, Cambridge, Henry VII.’s Chapel, Westminster, and
other places, various attempts were made to deceive the eye, and
hide the unmanageable space; in Henry VII.’s Chapel the well-known
pendants were boldly introduced with this object. None were wholly
satisfactory, but, says Fergusson:--

“‘Strange as it may appear from its date, the most satisfactory
roof of this class is that erected by Cardinal Wolsey over the
choir of Oxford Cathedral. In this instance the pendants are thrust
so far forward, and made so important, that the central part of the
roof is practically quadripartite. The remaining difficulty was
obviated by abandoning the circular, horizontal outline of true
fan-tracery, and adopting a polygonal form instead. As the whole is
done in a constructive manner and with appropriate detail, this
roof, except in size, is one of the best and most remarkable ever
executed.’

“Fan-tracery is a peculiarly English feature, and was invented,
according to Fergusson, in order to get rid of the endless
repetition of inverted pyramids which earlier vaulting produced. He
therefore considers it an improvement on the vaulting of the early
English and Decorated periods; and, as he thinks the ceiling of
Christ Church Cathedral to be the best example of fan-tracery, he
comes near to pronouncing it the finest in the world.”--(P. D.)

The East End is Scott’s restoration in the style of the Twelfth Century. The large wheel-window (an imitation from Canterbury) and the two round-headed windows below produce a fine effect.

On the left of the Choir we come to the most curious part of the Cathedral. Columns and arches mark the divisions of the north-choir-aisle, the =Lady-Chapel= further north and the =Latin Chapel= beyond--practically three aisles. The east end of each aisle contains a beautiful Burne-Jones window. The north transept forms the western boundary of these three aisles, which are in reality only an extension of this transept.

“Here the eye wanders among pillars and arches which branch away in
so many directions that the grandest churches can scarcely give
more thoroughly the idea of infinity. And here one stands on the
site of St. Frideswide’s first little church, with the very arches
that she had built for her, still standing in all their primitive
simplicity.

“At the end of the north-choir-aisle is the St. Cecilia window,
presented in honour of the patroness of music by Dr. Corfe, a
former organist, in 1873. In the centre light the saint is
represented playing her regal or small hand-organ; two angels
holding other musical instruments, with palms in their hands, stand
by her. The drapery is wrought in white glass, the angels have
pale-blue wings, and the flesh tints matted over with red tell warm
against the drapery. In the lower panels are three scenes from her
life: ‘Here St. Cecilia teaches her husband,’ ‘Here an angel of the
Lord teaches St. Cecilia,’ ‘Here St. Cecilia wins a heavenly
crown;’ the saint’s figure in the last panel is most touchingly
drawn. These lower panels are richer in colour than the rest, and a
greater variety of tints is introduced; but the colours are so
delicate, and so skilfully blended, that they fall in most
harmoniously with the main parts of the window.”--(P. D.)

In the most eastern arch between the north-choir-aisle and the Lady-Chapel we stop to examine the =Shrine of St. Frideswide=.

“The coffer or shrine, which was made for the translation in 1289
(its base being therefore the most ancient monument in the
cathedral), was knocked to pieces at the Reformation (1538), and,
being of wood, must have entirely perished. But gradually, and from
different places, fragments of the base were brought together:
first, several pieces of delicately carved marble were discovered
in the sides of a square well in the yard south-west of the
cathedral; then a part of the plinth on the south side was found to
be in use as a step, luckily with the carved portion turned
inwards; next a spandrel was detected by Mr. Francis, the head
verger, in the wall of the cemetery; and last of all a piece of the
plinth was found in a wall in Tom Quad. Though some portions are
still wanting, it is not impossible that more may yet be found.

“As the monument stands now, it cannot, of course, impress one as
it would have done in its perfect state, with the rich
superstructure crowning it: especially as the restored shafts are
merely square stone supports of the clumsiest description, so
studiously careful has the restorer been not to confuse them with
the original work. Still, though the base of St. Frideswide’s
shrine is only a collection of fragments, these fragments are of
remarkable beauty and interest. It is of Forest marble, measuring
seven feet by three and a half; and consists of an arcade of two
richly cusped arches at the sides and one at each end. On the top
of this was fixed the _feretrum_, containing the jewelled casket
that held the relics themselves. The spandrels are filled with
wonderfully carved foliage, unusually naturalistic, and preserving
still the traces of colour and gilding to remind one of its former
glories. On the south side there is maple in the central spandrel,
with a wreath of what is probably crow’s-foot in a boss below: the
two side spandrels contain columbine and the greater celandine. On
the north side the foliage is mostly oak, with acorns and numerous
empty cups; sycamore and ivy filling the adjoining spandrels. At
the east end one of the spandrels contains vine leaves and grapes,
the other fig-leaves, but without the fruit; the cusp under the
vine has a leaf which may be that of hog-leaf. At the west end
there is hawthorn and bryony. The choice of all this foliage was
doubtless made for symbolical reasons, referring first to St.
Frideswide’s life in the oak woods near Abingdon, and next to her
care for the sick and suffering at Thornberrie (now Binsey). And in
this connection it is pleasant to think that the sculptor, with
tender fancy, chose plants which were famous for their healing
virtue.”--(P. D.)

The =Lady-Chapel= (Thirteenth Century and Early English) is sometimes called the Dormitory, because many canons are buried here. Characteristic curling foliage decorates the capitals. The shafts are filleted. Traces of colouring can be observed here and there and also figures of angels on the roof. The Decorated window (restored) at the east end contains glass designed by Burne-Jones and made by William Morris, a memorial to Frederick Vyner, murdered by brigands at Marathon in 1870.

The figures represent Samuel the Prophet, David, King of Israel, John the Evangelist, and Timothy the Bishop. In the panels beneath are, Eli instructing the young Samuel, David slaying Goliath, St. John at the Last Supper, and Timothy as a little boy learning from his mother.

Here also is the tomb of =Elizabeth Lady Montacute=, who gave Christ Church Meadow to the Priory for the support of two priests for her chantry in this Lady-Chapel. Her effigy lies on the top of the tomb, and portraits of her children appear in the panels below. The whole was originally brilliantly coloured.

Four arches divide the Lady-Chapel. Under the easternmost one is a large tomb known as the =Watching Chamber=.

“Its real nature is still a matter of dispute: some maintaining it
to have been used as a chantry chapel for the welfare of those who
were buried below; others, that it served as a ‘watching chamber’
to protect the gold and jewels which hung about the shrine of St.
Frideswide.

“Most elaborately carved and crocketed, the ‘watching chamber’ is a
beautiful example of full-blown Perpendicular workmanship; ‘most
lovely English work, both of heart and hand,’ according to Mr.
Ruskin. It consists of four stories, the two lower, in stone,
forming an altar tomb and canopy, and the two upper in wood. A door
from the Latin Chapel leads one up a small and well-worn stone
staircase into the interior of the little upper chapel, which is
now a rough wooden room. Its extreme roughness suggests that it was
once panelled and otherwise adorned, while there are marks at its
east end, which may be the site of an altar, or of the _feretrum_
itself.”--(P. D.)

Lastly we come to the =Latin-Chapel= also called =St. Catherine’s=, in honour of the patron of students of theology.

“The Decorated vaulting was built when the chapel was enlarged in
the Fourteenth Century. The foliage of its bosses is very
beautiful; the water-lilies especially of the third boss, so
suggestive of Oxford streams, and the roses a little further east,
are a happy combination of naturalistic treatment with decorative
restraint. It will be noticed that the vaulting does not run true
in the third bay, the Decorated work there having been somewhat
awkwardly joined to the Early English of the second bay.

“A prominent feature in the Latin-Chapel is the old oak stalling,
which a second inspection proves to be patchwork. The returned
stalls at the west end probably belonged to the choir of the
conventual church, and in that case would have been fitted in here
when Dean Duppa ‘adorned’ the choir by destroying the old
wood-work. Near to these is some of the work prepared for Cardinal
Wolsey’s new chapel. The poppy-heads are good specimens of
wood-carving, and contain a monogram I.H.S., a heart in a crown of
thorns, a cardinal’s hat, and other devices. The pulpit, with its
delicate canopy, an excellent specimen of Seventeenth Century
wood-work, was formerly the Vice-Chancellor’s seat in another part
of the church, occupied by him during university sermons. It was
then used by the Regius Professor of Divinity for his lectures, but
since the altar was restored six years ago, the chapel has been no
longer used as a lecture-room.”--(P. D.)

Here we find some of the best glass in the Cathedral. At the east end is the famous =St. Frideswide window= by Burne-Jones; and the three windows on the north are beautiful specimens of the Fourteenth Century, replaced here by Dean Liddell. In the middle of each light is a figure and the rest of the space is covered with the diamond-shaped pieces of glass bearing leaves and flowers, technically called “quarries.” Medallions and borders with various beasts--even monkeys--decorate the spaces in the tracery. The first window depicts St. Catherine, a Virgin and Child, and next a figure, probably St. Frideswide; the second window represents an archbishop and angels; and the third, St. Frideswide with St. Margaret on one side and St. Catherine on the other. It is very interesting to compare these with the Burne-Jones’s St. Frideswide at the east end:

“Though this is one of the first windows that Burne-Jones ever
designed it is one of his best. Better suited (as many think) to
the purpose of a window, at all events in this enclosed chapel,
than the freer method of the other glass, it carries on the best
traditions of the craft, in its infinite variety of gem-like colour
and complexity of detail; while it attains a degree of perfection
in pictorial effect and figure-drawing which was impossible during
the great era of mediæval glass-painting. The death of the saint,
with its lovely effect of light through the latticed window, for
instance, and the picture of her in the pig-sty, would be perfect
as finished pictures, and yet do not for an instant outstep the
convention which is necessary for their function as part of a
window.

“The colour is, in spite (or rather because) of its radiant
variety, not so immediately attractive to every one as that of the
other Burne-Jones windows; but when one has sat down for five or
ten minutes and deciphered the various scenes, its unapproachable
beauty becomes apparent, and each succeeding visit deepens the
impression of the splendour and poetry of this incomparable work.

“The scenes depicted are, by the artist’s own account, as
follows:--

“_First Light_: St. Frideswide and her companions brought up by St.
Cecilia and St. Catherine; St. Frideswide founds her first convent;
A messenger from the King of Mercia demands her in marriage; The
King comes to take her by force, and the first convent is broken
up.

“_Second Light_: Flight of St. Frideswide to Abingdon; The King of
Mercia and his soldiers in pursuit; The Flight continued; The
Pursuit continued; St. Frideswide takes refuge in a pig-sty.

“_Third Light_: Flight of St. Frideswide to Binsey; The King of
Mercia in pursuit; St. Frideswide founds a new convent at Binsey;
Her merciful deeds.

“_Fourth Light_: Return of St. Frideswide to Oxford; The Siege of
Oxford by the King of Mercia; The Siege continued; The King struck
blind; The Death of St. Frideswide.

“In the tracery above are the trees of life and of knowledge, and a
ship of souls convoyed by angels.”--(P. D.)

Passing into the north transept we note that the eastern aisle has been merged into the Lady-Chapel and Latin-Chapel of which it forms the western bays; but that the western aisle remains.

The north window (modern glass) was restored back to its original design by Sir Gilbert Scott. Beneath it is a panelled tomb of Henry VII.’s period. It is supposed to be that of a monk named =Zouch= (died 1503), probably a scribe, because his ink-horn and pen-case appear on the shields of his tomb. He left a bequest to pay for the vaulting.

The =Tower= is not perfectly square. The nave and choir sides are wider than those of the transepts, and therefore the north and south arches are pointed and the east and west arches are round. Foliage decorates the capitals of the shafts. The lantern is open and is ornamented with arcades and arches. At the south-east pier the break in the masonry indicates, in the opinion of some students, the place where the builders stopped work when Sweyn drove Ethelred out of England.

The fine Jacobean =Pulpit= (1635), elaborately carved with grotesques on the panels, deserves at least a passing glance.

The south transept has no aisles, for the western aisle was cut off by the cloisters and the eastern aisle became =St. Lucy’s Chapel=, in the second bay. Though there are many old royalist tombs the chief interest here is the beautiful =Window= of three lights, the Flamboyant tracery of which frames the most splendid glass in the whole cathedral. It dates from about 1330.

“In the uppermost compartment of the tracery is a figure of our
Lord seated in glory; below there are angels with censers, and next
two Augustinian monks in blue and white robes, kneeling with
outstretched arms; then come coats-of-arms, and various grotesque
beasts, all most richly coloured in ruby and blue and green and
gold. Below, in the principal spaces, are (1) St. Martin on
horseback giving his coat to the beggar; (2) the martyrdom of St.
Thomas à Becket: St. Thomas’ head has been knocked out by some
fanatic, and replaced with white glass; the armour and shields of
the knights should be noticed; (3) St. Augustine, who holds a
pastoral staff, is teaching his monks and others. In the next four
spaces are:--The head of a king; St. Cuthbert, carrying the head
of St. Oswald, and wearing a green chasuble; St. Blaise, in a
mulberry-coloured chasuble; the head of a queen. The glass in the
three main lights was destroyed, and then replaced by some of
Seventeenth Century work, but this too is now gone, all except a
portion of the upper part which shows that the design was
architectural in character and the colour that of fog-smitten
stone-work.”--(P. D.)

The =South-Choir-Aisle= is of earlier date than the nave and transept aisles. Scott rebuilt the southern windows in the Norman style. Heads of men and monkeys decorate the corbels that support the vault. The original half-flower moulding adorns the Decorated east window (restored) which contains one of Burne-Jones’s famous designs. It is a memorial to =Edith Liddell= (1876), whose portrait appears in the central figure as St. Catherine. In the tracery above angels are playing musical instruments and in the panels below are scenes from the life and death of St. Catherine.

The third window in the wall near St. Lucy’s Chapel is of great interest. It is the only one of the original Romanesque windows that remains. The old glass shows a portrait of =Bishop King=, Abbot of Oseney and first Bishop of Oxford. He died in 1557 and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral.

“This window, with some others, was taken down during the Civil
War, buried for safety by a member of the family, and put up again
at the Restoration. The Bishop is represented standing vested in a
jewelled cope of cloth of gold, and mitre, a pastoral staff in his
gloved hand. In the background, among the trees, is a picture of
Oseney Abbey in its already ruined condition (c. 1630), drawn
without much feeling for its architecture, but of great value as
almost the only picture of the place we possess. The western tower
was the first home of what are now the Christ Church bells. Three
coats-of-arms (being those of the Bishop, impaled with the Abbey
of Oseney and the See of Oxford) complete the richness of what is a
very good example of Seventeenth Century _painted_ glass, in the
strict sense of the word.”--(P. D.)

South of the South Transept the slype, a vaulted passage including part of the transept, leads into the Cloisters.

South of the slype lies the =Chapter-House=, deserving a visit because it is a fine example of Early English. The monks’ heads carved on the corbels, the bosses of the roof, and the arcade of five arches at the east end are the chief features of the interior.

ST. PAUL’S, LONDON

DEDICATION: ST. PAUL. A CHURCH FORMERLY SERVED BY SECULAR CANONS.

SPECIAL FEATURES: DOME; CHOIR STALLS; TOMBS AND MONUMENTS.

The present building in the Renaissance style is the third Christian church erected on this site. It is said that a Roman temple to Diana stood here; but the earliest church of which records exist was erected by Ethelbert, King of Kent, in 610, in which he was assisted by Siebert, King of the East Saxons, his nephew, who founded the monastery of St. Peter, called Westminster, on Thorney Island. This Cathedral, which owed much of its prosperity to St. Erkenwald, fourth Bishop of London, to whose memory a golden shrine was erected here, suffered from fire in 961 and was completely destroyed in 1086. On the ruins a Norman church was immediately erected, the architect for which was Bishop Maurice. Though injured by fire in 1193 it was a stately and beautiful building, in the Norman style. It was cruciform, with two western towers for bells and a high tower in the centre with a spire. In addition to the high altar there were seventy or eighty chantries with their own altars, and behind the high altar the golden shrine containing the body of St. Erkenwald. The nave contained twelve bays and also the choir rebuilt in 1221. The Lady-Chapel was added in 1225. It was the largest Cathedral in England. St. Paul’s was rich in relics and in treasure of all kinds--pictures and frescoes, vestments, gold, silver and jewels. In 1312 the nave was paved with marble and in 1315 a new wooden spire 460 feet high was added.

This great Cathedral became the very centre of the life of the citizens. Here men met to defend their liberties, summoned by the great bells of St. Paul’s, from the days of King Stephen until the magnificent Cathedral perished in the Great Fire.

“Again and again the tocsin sounded, as St. Paul’s bell rang clear
and loud, and the citizens seized their weapons and formed their
battalions beneath the shadow of the great church. Now it was to
help Simon de Montfort against the King; now to seize the person of
the obnoxious Queen Eleanor, who was trying to escape by water from
the Tower to Windsor, and who was rescued from their hands by the
Bishop of London, and found refuge in his palace. Now the
favourites of Edward II. excited their rage, especially the Bishop
of Exeter, the King’s regent, who dared to ask the Lord Mayor for
the keys of the city and paid for his temerity with his life.[9]

“The chronicles of the Cathedral tell the story of the troublous
times of the Wars of the Roses. We see Henry IV. pretending bitter
sorrow for the death of the murdered Richard, and covering with
cloth-of-gold the body, which had been exhibited to the people in
St. Paul’s. We see Henry V. returning in triumph from the French
wars, riding in state to the Cathedral attended by ‘the mayor and
brethren of the City companies, wearing red gowns with hoods of red
and white, well-mounted and gorgeously horsed with rich collars and
great chains, rejoicing at his victorious return.’ Then came Henry
VI. attended by bishops, the dean and canons, to make his offering
at the altar. Here the false Duke of York took his oath on the
Blessed Sacrament to be loyal to the King. Here the rival houses
swore to lay aside their differences, and to live at peace. But a
few years later saw the new King Edward IV., at St. Paul’s,
attended by great Warwick, the king-maker, with his body-guard of
800 men-at-arms. Strange were the changes of fortune in those days.
Soon St. Paul’s saw the exhibition of the dead body of the
king-maker, and not long afterwards that of the poor dethroned
Henry, and Richard came in state here amid the shouts of the
populace. After the defeat of the conspiracy of Lambert Simnel,
Henry VII. celebrated a joyous thanksgiving in the Cathedral, and
here, amid much rejoicing, the youthful marriage of Prince Arthur
with Katherine of Aragon took place, when the conduits of Cheapside
and on the west of the Cathedral ran with wine, and the bells rang
joyfully, and all wished happiness to the Royal children whose
wedded life was destined to be so brief.

“St. Paul’s became the gathering-place for lords and courtiers and
professional people, who met every day from eleven till twelve and
from three till six to discuss the news of the day and to transact
business.

“Here lawyers received their clients; here men sought service; here
usurers met their victims, and the tombs and font were mightily
convenient for counters for the exchange of money and the
transaction of bargains, and the rattle of gold and silver was
constantly heard amidst the loud talking of the crowd. Gallants
enter the Cathedral wearing spurs, having just left their steeds at
The Bell and Savage and are immediately besieged by the choristers,
who have the right of demanding spur money from any one entering
the building wearing spurs. Nor are the fair sex absent, and Paul’s
Walk was used as a convenient place for assignations. Old plays are
full of references to this practice. Later on the nave was nothing
but a public thoroughfare, where men tramped, carrying baskets of
bread and fish, flesh and fruit, vessels of ale, sacks of coal, and
even dead mules and horses and other beasts. Hucksters and peddlers
sold their wares. Duke Humphrey’s tomb was the great meeting-place
of all beggars and low rascals, and they euphemistically called
their gathering ‘a dining with Duke Humphrey.’ Much more could be
written of this assembly of all sorts and conditions of men, but we
have said enough to show that the Cathedral had suffered greatly
from desecration and abuse. Indeed an old writer in 1561 declared
that the burning of the steeple in that year was a judgment for the
scenes of profanation which were daily witnessed in old St.
Paul’s.”--(P. H. D.)

Cromwell’s army demolished shrines and destroyed all the relics and works of art, and seamstresses and hucksters took up their abode in the western portico, built by Charles I. after designs by Inigo Jones. At the Restoration plans to repair and restore the Cathedral were being made by Wren when the Great Fire destroyed it. Wren had the task of rebuilding it, and produced a masterpiece that takes rank with St. Peter’s in Rome and even surpasses it in some of its details.

“The stones of Paul’s,” wrote Evelyn, “flew like granados, the melting lead running down the streets in a stream and the very pavements glowing with fiery redness, so as no horse or man was able to tread on them, and the demolition had stopped all the passages, so that no help could be applied.”

It took a long time to remove the ruins and to decide upon the plan for the successor of Old St. Paul’s. Wren made numerous designs and drawings and there was great delay. At length the royal warrant was obtained and the first stone was laid June 21, 1675, at the south-east corner of the choir. The Cathedral was building for thirty-five years. The choir was finished and service held in it on December 2, 1697. It is sad to remember that the great architect was a victim of jealousy and intrigue, and pleasant to know that he lived to see the glorious church that had taken form in his mind completed. It was finished in 1710.

“Was there ever known in the history of the world any cathedral
which suffered from fire like St. Paul’s? The whole career of the
church was an ordeal by fire. It was injured by fire a hundred
years before Westminster Hall was built; it was totally destroyed
by fire in the Eleventh Century and it took nearly two centuries to
restore it to anything like its former magnificence. ‘Away! we
lose ourselves in light,’ might have been its motto, for it was all
but completely destroyed by fire in the Fifteenth Century, and its
spire, which was then claimed to be the highest in the world, was
destroyed by fire a century later. Thus we have brought it to the
terrible days of 1666, when it went under with so much of London to
accompany it--one of the most tremendous conflagrations recorded in
the history of great cities. Then came the Commission to rebuild
it, of which brave John Evelyn was a member, and then Sir
Christopher Wren raised the monument to his fame which those who
would question his renown have only to look upon and be
satisfied.”--(J. McC.)

Coming along from Ludgate Hill we gain a splendid view of the impressive Dome emerging through the mists in the very heart of the City.

“St. Paul’s is often called Classical, or Roman, or Italian; it is
not one of these three: it is English Renaissance. It was, too, a
distinctly happy thought of Fergusson to suggest that the Cathedral
takes a like place in English architecture to that which the
immortal ‘Paradise Lost’ does in English literature. The plan is
that of a mediæval church; the pilasters and entablature are Roman;
the round arch is found in both Roman and Romanesque, and that
commanding feature, the Dome, is the common property of many styles
and many ages. The general plan resembles the long or Latin Cross,
with transepts of greater breadth than length; and the uniformity
is broken by an apse at the east, and the two chapels at the west
end.”--(A. D.)

Before we begin our tour of the Cathedral let us take a little note of our surroundings.

“In olden times St. Paul’s Churchyard was one of the great business
centres of London. About the church men met to discuss the doings
of the day, the last piece of news from Flanders, France or Spain,
or the rumours from the country. Here the citizens gathered angrily
when there was any talk of an invasion of their cherished
liberties, grumbled over the benevolence demanded by his Majesty
for the pay of the troops engaged in the French war, or jeered at
some poor wretch nailed by his ears in the pillory. Here the
heralds would proclaim the news of our victories by sea and land;
here the public newsmen would read out their budgets; vendors of
infallible nostrums would wax eloquent as to the virtues of their
wares; and the wives and daughters of the citizens would gather to
gossip and flirt. It was at once the exchange, the club, and the
meeting-place of London. Paul’s Cross was the heart of the City;
here men threw up their bonnets when they heard of Crécy and of
Agincourt; here they listened to the preachings of the first
followers of Wycliffe; here they erected their choicest pageants
when a new sovereign visited the City for the first time, or
brought his new-made spouse to show her to his lieges; and gathered
with frowning brows beneath iron caps when London threw in its lot
with the Parliament, and the train bands marched off to fight the
King’s forces. The business mart of the City lies now in front of
the Mansion House, but a great deal of business is still done under
the shadow of the Cathedral.”--(C. D.)

All the streets bear names that remind us of the vicinity of St. Paul’s--Creed Lane, Ave Maria Lane, Sermon Lane, Canon Alley, Amen Corner and Paternoster Row known throughout the world as the headquarters of the book trade and publishers, while Cheapside, Ludgate Hill, Fleet Street and St. Paul’s Churchyard swarm with ghosts and memories of London’s stirring events.

“The modern passenger through St. Paul’s Churchyard has not only
the last home of Nelson and others to venerate as he goes by. In
the ground of the old church were buried, and here therefore
remains whatever dust may survive them, the gallant Sir Philip
Sidney (the _beau idéal_ of the age of Elizabeth), and Vandyke, who
immortalised the youth and beauty of the court of Charles the
First. One of Elizabeth’s great statesmen also lay
there--Walsingham--who died so poor that he was buried by stealth
to prevent his body from being arrested. Another, Sir Christopher
Hatton, who is supposed to have danced himself into the office of
Her Majesty’s Chancellor, had a tomb which his contemporaries
thought too magnificent, and which was accused of ‘shouldering the
altar.’

“Old St. Paul’s was much larger than now, and the Churchyard was of
proportionate dimensions. The wall by which it was bounded ran
along by the present streets of Ave Maria Lane, Paternoster Row,
Old Change, Carter Lane and Creed Lane; and therefore included a
large space and many buildings which are not now considered to be
within the precincts of the Cathedral. This spacious area had grass
inside, and contained a variety of appendages to the establishment.
One of these was the cross of which Stow did not know the
antiquity. It was called Paul’s Cross, and stood on the north side
of the church, a little to the east of the entrance of Cannon
Alley.”--(L. H.)

At first the space around it was used for the meeting of the populace--the Folkmote--when their magistrates were elected, public affairs discussed and criminals tried and sentenced. At a later period =Paul’s Cross= was chiefly used for proclamations, and from the pulpit, which in Stow’s time was an hexagonal piece of wood “covered with lead, elevated upon a flight of stone steps and surmounted by a large cross,” sermons were preached.

In 1879 the foundations of Paul’s Cross were discovered on the north-east side of the present Choir. A monument is now being erected on the spot.

If we wish to examine the north and south fronts more particularly we first go to the former and

“We note the two-storied constructions, the graceful Corinthian
pillars, arranged in pairs, with round-headed windows between
them; the entablature; and then, in the second story, another row
of beautiful pilasters of the Composite order. Between these are
niches where one would have expected windows; but this story is
simply a screen to hide the flying-buttresses supporting the
clerestory, as Wren thought them a disfigurement. The walls are
finished with a cornice, which Wren was compelled by hostile
critics to add, much against his own judgment. There are some
excellently carved festoons of foliage and birds and cherubs, which
are well worthy of close observation. The North and South Fronts
have Corinthian pillars, which support a semicircular entablature.
Figures of the Apostles adorn the triangular-shaped heads and
balustrade. The Royal Arms appear on the north side, and a Phœnix
is the suitable ornament on the south, signifying the resurrection
of the building from its ashes. The south side is almost similar to
the north. The east end has an apse.”--(P. H. D.)

On the south-west is the Dean’s yard, leading past the Deanery to the Choir House in Great Carter Lane where the choir-boys are trained. Doctors’ Commons, where marriage licenses used to be issued, only survives in name.

Opposite the north porch of the Cathedral is the Chapter-House and from this side St. Paul’s Bridge, the plan for which was adopted in 1909, will start. It will cost no less than £1,600,000, and will cross the Thames between Blackfriars and Southwark.

Facing Ludgate Hill stands a statue of Queen Anne, a modern replica of the original statue by Bird. At the foot of the 22 marble steps leading up to the doorway is a marble slab commemorating the Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving (June 22, 1897). From time immemorial national thanksgiving services have been offered at St. Paul’s. The first in this building was a special thanksgiving for the Peace of Ryswick. Queen Anne returned thanks for Marlborough’s victories in the Low Countries and the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Vigo and for the victory of Blenheim (1702 and 1704). Here thanks were also offered for the recovery of the Prince of Wales (Edward VII.) from a serious illness in 1872 and by Queen Victoria for the sixtieth anniversary of her reign (1897); by King Edward and Queen Alexandra for the restoration of peace in South Africa (June 8, 1902); by King Edward on October 18, 1902, for his recovery from the illness that delayed the Coronation; and by King George and Queen Mary.

“The WEST FRONT has a magnificent portico, divided, like the rest
of the building, into two stories. The lower consists of twelve
coupled and fluted columns; that, above, has only eight, which bear
an entablature and pediment of which the tympanum is sculptured in
bas-relief, representing the conversion of St. Paul. On the apex of
the pediment is a figure of the Saint himself, and at its
extremities, on the right and left of St. Paul, are figures of St.
Peter and St. James. The transepts are terminated upwards by
pediments, over coupled pilasters at the quoins, and two single
pilasters in the intermediate space. On each side of the western
portico a square pedestal rises over the upper order, and on each
pedestal a steeple, or campanile tower, supported upon triangular
groups of Corinthian columns finishing in small domes formed by
curves of contrary flexure very like bells. Lower down in front of
these campaniles, the Four Evangelists are represented with their
emblems. In the face of the southern campanile a clock is inserted.
A flight of steps extending the whole length of the portico forms
the basement. In the southwest tower is the Great Bell of St.
Paul’s, cast in 1709 by Richard Phelps and Langley Bradley. It is
ten feet in diameter, ten inches thick in metal and weighs 11,474
pounds.”--(M.)

First we will take a general view of the exterior:

“The form of St. Paul’s is that of the long or Latin cross. Its
extreme length, including the porch, is 500 feet; the greatest
breadth, that is to say across the transept but within the doors of
the porticoes, 250 feet; the width of the nave, 118 feet. There
are, however, at the foot or western end of the cross, projections
northward and southward, which make the breadth 190 feet. One of
these, namely, on the north side, is used as a morning chapel, and
the other, on the south side, contains the Wellington Monument, but
was formerly used as the Consistory Court. At the internal angle of
the cross are small square bastion-like adjuncts, whose real use is
to strengthen the piers of the dome; but they are inwardly
serviceable as vestries and a staircase. The height of the
Cathedral on the south side to the top of the cross is 365 feet.

“The exterior consists throughout of two orders, the lower being
Corinthian, the upper composite. It is built externally in two
stories, in both of which, except at the north and south porticoes
and at the west front, the whole of the entablatures rest on
coupled pilasters, between which in the lower order a range of
circular-headed windows is introduced. But in the order above, the
corresponding spaces are occupied by dressed niches, standing on
pedestals pierced with openings to light the passages in the roof
over the side aisles. The upper order is nothing but a screen to
hide the flying-buttresses carried across from the outer walls to
resist the thrust of the great vaulting.”--(M.)

The =Dome=, the great feature of the church, is very beautiful when seen from a distance, as from one of the bridges, rising with its graceful curves far above the roofs and other spires.

“The dome, which is by far the most magnificent and elegant feature
in the building, rises from the body of the church in great
majesty. It is 145 feet in outward and 108 feet in inward diameter.
Twenty feet above the roof of the church is a circular range of
twenty-two columns, every fourth intercolumniation being filled
with masonry, so disposed as to form an ornamental niche or recess,
by which arrangement the projecting buttresses of the cupola are
concealed. These, which form a peristyle of the Composite Order,
with an unbroken entablature, enclose the interior order. They
support a handsome gallery adorned with a balustrade. Above these
columns is a range of pilasters, with windows between them, forming
an attic order, and on these the great dome stands. The general
idea of the cupola, as appears from the _Parentalia_, was taken
from the Pantheon at Rome. On the summit of the dome, which is
covered with lead, is a gilt circular balcony, and from its centre
rises the lantern, adorned with Corinthian columns. The whole is
terminated by a gilt ball and cross.

“But with the matchless exterior ceases the superiority, and
likewise, to a great degree, the responsibility of Wren. His
designs for the interior were not only carried out, but he was in
every way thwarted, controlled, baffled in his old age to the
eternal disgrace of all concerned; the victim of the pitiful
jealousy of some, the ignorance of others, the ingratitude of
all.”--(M.)

It is singular to note that when Wren laid the corner-stone on June 11, 1675, there was no solemn ceremonial. The King, the Court, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Mayor of London were all notably absent, but when he laid the last stone in the lantern of the cupola in 1710

“all London poured forth for the spectacle, which had been publicly
announced, and were looking up in wonder to the old man, or his
son, if not the old man himself, who was, on that wondrous height,
setting the seal, as it were, to his august labours.

“When one enters the west door one cannot fail to be struck with
the vastness of the space enclosed within its massive walls; there
is no screen to break the view towards the east, and, as one stands
beneath the dome and looks up into its enormous hollow, the sense
of overpowering height is felt as in no other church in
England.”--(T. P.)

Entering through the western door we are struck with the immensity of the =Nave= and overspreading dome, the effect of the lights, and, if service is being held, the peculiar beauty of the chants of the choristers, whose voices seem to come from the dome and float through the misty light to our ears.

It would be interesting to know if Wagner ever heard the choir-boys of St. Paul’s and sought to reproduce the effect in _Parsifal_, by arranging the voices of knights, squires and youths at various stages in the dome of Montsalvat to sing softly of the “wondrous work of mercy and salvation.”

“The interior of the nave is formed by an arcade resting on massive
pillars and dividing the church into a body and two aisles. The
eastern piers of the nave serve at the same time for the supports
of the cupola. They are wider than the other piers, and are flanked
by pilasters at their angles and have shallow oblong recesses in
the intercolumniations. The roof over these piers is a boldly
coffered waggon-vault, which contrasts very effectively with the
rest of the vaulting.

“The nave is separated from the choir by the area over which the
cupola rises. From the centre of this area, the transepts, or
traverse of the cross, diverge to the north and south, each
extending one severy, or arch, in length. The choir, which is
vaulted and domed over, like the nave and transepts, from the top
of the attic order, is terminated eastward by a semicircular
tribune, of which the diameter is, in general terms, the same as
the width of the choir itself. The western end of the choir has
pillars similar to those at the eastern end of the nave, uniform
with which there are at its eastern end piers of the same extent
and form, except that they are pierced for a communication with the
side aisles. Above the entablature and under the cupola is the
Whispering Gallery, and in the concave above are representations of
the principal passages of St. Paul’s life in eight compartments,
painted by Sir James Thornhill.”--(M.)

We should note that there are three stages--the main arcade, the triforium and the clerestory. The piers are faced with Corinthian pilasters that divide off the bays east and west. The arches spring from an entablature. They are very high. The “triforium belt,” as the “attic” is termed by those critics who have dropped the Classical nomenclature, and clerestory above are easily understood at a glance.

“The great arches overhead divide the vault as the greater
pilasters and their continuations do the walls. Between these
arches are the small saucer-shaped domes, 26 feet in diameter. The
reason for these and their accessories, the pendentives, may best
be understood from Wren’s own words. He says that his method of
vaulting is the most geometrical, and ‘_is composed of Hemispheres,
and their Sections only; and whereas a Sphere may be cut all Manner
of Ways, and that still into Circles.... I have for just Reasons
followed this way in the Vaulting of the Church of St. Paul’s....
It is the lightest Manner, and requires less Butment than the
Cross-vaulting, as well that it is of an agreeable View....
Vaulting by Parts of Hemispheres I have therefore followed in the
Vaultings of St. Paul’s, and with good reason preferred it above
any other way used by Architects._’ The saucer-shaped domes are
sections of spheres, as are both the pendentives, and the sides of
the clerestory windows. The wreaths, garlands, and festoons, and
the various conventional patterns with which the edges and surfaces
of the various parts of the vaulting is adorned cannot be estimated
from the pavement.”--(A. D.)

From the Crypt to the dome the space measures 190 feet.

“When Wren planned his dome interior he had the difficulty caused
by the four limbs and their side aisles to overcome. He must have
turned to his uncle’s cathedral at Ely for enlightenment. In the
earlier years of the Fourteenth Century the central tower of Ely
collapsed, and the sacrist Alan de Walsingham, who acted as
architect, seeing that the breadth of his nave, choir and transepts
happened to agree, took for his base this common breadth, and
cutting off the angles, obtained a spacious octagon. The four sides
terminating the main aisles are longer than the four alternate
aisles at the angles of the side aisles; but at Ely this presents
no difficulty, owing to the use of the pointed arch. As you stand
in the centre of the octagon under the lantern you see eight
spacious arches of two different widths, all springing from the
same level and rising to the same height of eighty-five feet, the
terminal arch of the Norman nave pointed like its opposite
neighbour of the choir. Amongst Gothic churches the interior of Ely
reigns unique and supreme, certainly in England if not in Europe.
Wren was familiar with this cathedral, and even designed some
restorations for it; and he adopted the eight arches in preference
to any possible scheme of four great arches of sixty feet: but the
use of the round arch, as distinct from the pointed, deprived him
of Sacrist Alan’s liberty, who without incongruity made his
intermediate arches of the shorter sides, springing from the same
level, rise to the same height as the others. Wren was compelled to
make use of some expedient to reconcile his two different spaces
between piers of forty feet and twenty-six feet, and accordingly
arched these four smaller intermediate spaces as follows. A smaller
arch, rising from the architrave of the great pier, spans each
shorter side of the octagon, and has a ceiling or semi-dome in the
background, coming down to the terminal arches of the side aisles.
A blank wall space above is relieved by a section of an ornamental
arch of larger span, resting on the centre of the cornice; and
above this a third arch, rising from the level of the triforium
cornice, rests more upon the _outer_ side of the great supporting
pier, and thereby obtains the required equal span of forty feet,
and equal height of eighty-nine feet from the ground. This also has
a semi-dome; and the platform beneath on a level with the
clerestory is railed.

“The reduction of the octagon to the circle is facilitated by
giving the spandrels between the arches the necessary concave
surface; and this stage is finished off with a cantilever cornice,
the work (at least in part) of one Jonathan Maine. The eight great
keystones of the arches by Caius Gabriel Cibber are seven feet by
five, and eighteen inches in relief.”--(A. D.)

About a hundred feet from the pavement and the same distance across is the celebrated =Whispering Gallery=, where a curious effect is obtained.

The attendant whispering across the whole area can be distinctly heard, an acoustic property seemingly caused by the nearness of the concave hemisphere above.

The =Cross= is quite 260 feet above us. The gallery projects so that the lectern steps and the pulpit are underneath.

Now we come to the =Drum=. The actual bend inwards now begins, but for this part only in straight lines. First comes the plain band or Podium, panelled and of a height of twenty feet. On this stand thirty-two pilasters, in reality, as well as in appearance, out of the horizontal. Three out of each four

“intervening spaces are pierced with square-headed windows; and
from them such light as the dome receives, streams down through the
windows of the exterior colonnade. The alternate fourth recesses,
apparently nothing more than ornamental niches, conceal the
supports which bear the weight above. In the recent scheme of
decoration they have been filled with statues of Early Fathers--the
four eastern, SS. Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, and
Athanasius; and the four western, SS. Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo,
Jerome, and Gregory.

“The straight lines bearing inwards give way to the sphere; and
here, too, the three separate coverings, which constitute the dome,
begin. The circular opening below the lantern coincides with the
lower edge of the fluting of the exterior shell, and is about two
hundred and fifteen feet from the pavement.

“These upper regions, hidden in an almost perpetual gloom, were
decorated in monochrome by Sir James Thornhill; but his work has
failed to resist the chemical action of the surcharged atmosphere.
In these compartments are scenes from the life of the patronal
saint: (1) The Conversion, (2) Elymas, (3) Cripple at Lystra, (4)
Jailer at Philippi, (5) Mars Hill, (6) Burning Books at Ephesus,
(7) Before Agrippa, (8) Shipwreck. We have all heard the story of
the painter, on a platform at a great height, who stepped back to
get a better view of his work. As he did so, an assistant, standing
by, brush in hand, observed with alarm that the slightest further
backward step would entail his falling headlong and being dashed to
pieces. He deliberately daubed the painting; and the artist,
stepping instinctively forward to prevent this, saved his life. The
painter is said to be Thornhill: the scene, the giddy height under
the dome.”--(A. D.)

The beautiful iron-work of the gates is by Tijou, both at the ends of the aisles and doorways of the reredos arch. The =Choir-stalls= are by Grinling Gibbons and are very ornate and handsome. The Lord Mayor’s stall is on the left, or north side, and the Bishop of London’s on the right, or south. The latter’s throne is near the altar. There are thirty-one stalls altogether.

“The exquisite carvings of Grinling Gibbons in the stall-work of
the choir were not merely in themselves admirable, but in perfect
harmony with the character of the architecture. They rivalled, if
they did not surpass, all Mediæval works of their class in grace,
variety, richness; they kept up an inimitable unison of the lines
of the building and the decoration. In the words of Walpole ‘there
is no instance of a man before Gibbons who gave to wood the loose
and airy lightness of flowers and chained together the various
productions of the elements with a fine disorder natural to each
species.’”--(M.)

The =Organ= is one of the finest in the world. It was reconstructed by Willis in 1897, and still contains parts of the original organ built by the German, Schmidt, in 1697. It consists of 4,822 pipes and 102 stops and is divided into two parts, placed on either side of the choir. These are connected by pneumatic tubes beneath the floor. The keyboard is on the north side.

The older part of the case with its foliage, figures and architectural devices was also designed by Grinling Gibbons.

The =Altar= stands between the great eastern piers and is surmounted by a tall reredos of white marble.

“The symbolism is expressed in the frieze above the Crucifixion,
‘Sic Deus dilexit mundum’ (‘God so loved the world’). The lower
part is pierced with doors on either side; and ‘Vas Electionis’ (‘A
chosen vessel’) over the north door refers to St. Paul, and ‘Pasce
oves meos’ (‘Feed my sheep’) over the other to St. Peter; and here
are the crossed swords, the arms of the diocese. The section above
has the Entombment in the centre, and the Nativity and Resurrection
on either side. A Crucifixion occupies the central position. The
framework is of Roman design, with pilasters and a round arch; and
remembering Wren’s conception, it is interesting that the columns
of Brescia marble, supporting the entablature above, are twisted.
This is flanked with a colonnade; the figure on the north being the
Angel Gabriel, and to the south the Virgin. Above the pediment is a
canopy with the Virgin and Child, and St. Peter and St. Paul to the
north and south; and above all, and nearly seventy feet from the
ground, the Risen Christ completes this most reverent design.

“The altar cross is adorned with precious stones and lapis lazuli;
and the massive copper candlesticks are imitations of the original
four said to have been sold during the Protectorate.”--(A. D.)

The apse behind the altar cut off by the reredos is now called the =Jesus Chapel=. Over the altar here is a copy of Cima de Conegliano’s _Doubting Thomas_ (in the National Gallery).

The apse and the vaulting and the walls of the choir and ambulatory have in recent years been decorated by Sir William Richmond with richly-coloured mosaics. The chief panels of the apse represent our Lord enthroned, with recording angels on either side. In the choir the three “saucer domes,” or cupolas, represent three Days of Creation: Beasts, Fishes and birds. The four pendentives of each bay are decorated with herald Angels, with extended arms. Mosaics of the Crucifixion, Entombment, Resurrection and Ascension, also by Sir William Richmond, adorn the “quarter domes.”