St Paul’s Cathedral: Facts and Information | Primary Facts St Paul’s Cathedral: Facts and Information Posted on by James • 2 Comments Here are some facts about St Paul’s Cathedral: St Paul’s Cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world. It is located within the City of London on Ludgate Hill, the City’s highest point. The cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, as an important part of a huge rebuilding plan, after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Wren also designed over 50 other London churches. St Paul’s Cathedral was the tallest building in London from its construction until 1962. The dome is the second largest in the world at 366 feet high and is reached by climbing 259 steps. The present cathedral was built between 1675 and 1710, although other church buildings have stood on the same spot. Old St Paul’s Cathedral was started by the Normans and completed by about 1240. One of the most well known features of the cathedral is the Whispering Gallery. A whisper against the wall can be clearly heard at the other side, 112 feet away.

The cathedral’s crypt is the largest in Western Europe and extends the entire length of the building. There are over 200 monuments and memorials in the crypt. The cathedral was hit by several German bombs during the Blitz in World War 2 . One was removed before it exploded; had it done so, it would have totally destroyed St. Paul’s. Sir Christopher Wren was the first person to be buried in St Paul’s Cathedral. The cathedral’s largest monument is that to the Duke of Wellington, depicting the Duke riding a horse. Funeral services for several famous people have been held at St Paul’s, including Winston Churchill and Lord Nelson. The wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was also held there. St Paul’s Cathedral has been painted by such famous artists as Pissaro, Canaletto and Turner. It has also been shown in several films, including Mary Poppins, Sherlock Holmes and one of the Harry Potter films. Who is buried in St Paul’s Cathedral? Many famous people have been buried in St Paul’s, including: James Barry (Artist) Saint Paul's Cathedral | cathedral, London, United Kingdom | Britannica.com cathedral, London, United Kingdom Saint Paul’s Cathedral, in London , cathedral of the Anglican bishop .

It is located within the central City of London , atop Ludgate Hill and northeast of Blackfriars. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, from the southeast. Designed and built (1675–1710) under the … Dennis Marsico/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. A Roman temple to Diana may once have stood on the site, but the first Christian cathedral there was dedicated to St. Paul in ad 604, during the rule of King Aethelberht I . That cathedral burned, and its replacement (built 675–685) was destroyed by Viking raiders in 962. In 1087 a third cathedral erected on the site also burned. The fourth cathedral, now known as Old St. Paul’s, was constructed of Caen stone beginning in the late 11th century. It was one of the more massive buildings in the British Isles at that time, and its spire stood higher than the dome of the present cathedral. During the English Reformation (16th century) the edifice fell into disrepair, and its nave was used as a marketplace.

The spire was destroyed by lightning (and a resulting fire) in 1561 and never replaced. Major repairs were initiated in the 1630s by Inigo Jones , who oversaw the removal of shops, the renovation of walls, and the building of a much-admired portico on the western side. During the English Civil Wars (1642–51), however, the structure was severely damaged by Cromwellian cavalry troops who used it as a barracks. In the 1660s Christopher Wren was enlisted to survey and repair the cathedral, but it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London (1666) before work could begin. The Great Fire of London (1666) shown sweeping toward St. Paul’s Cathedral in a painting from 1675. © Museum of London/Heritage-Images Wren subsequently designed and oversaw the construction of the present cathedral, which was built mainly of Portland stone. His plans were approved in 1675, and work was carried out until 1710.

During the 19th century some decorative changes were made to the interior of the cathedral in an attempt to bring it in line with Victorian tastes. In 1941, during the Battle of Britain , civil defense brigades protected the structure from fire, although it was hit directly by bombs; at one point an unexploded bomb was removed, at great risk, from the nave. Repairs were carried out following the war. Similar Topics Stonehenge Wren’s design combined Neoclassical , Gothic , and Baroque elements in an attempt to symbolize the ideals of both the English Restoration and 17th-century scientific philosophy. His finished cathedral differed greatly from the plan approved in 1675, however. Wren apparently based many of his modifications on an earlier (1673), unapproved plan for St. Paul’s, which was first given shape in his 20-foot-long “Great Model,” now kept on display in the crypt . For further treatment of the architect’s intentions, see Sir Christopher Wren: Construction of St. Paul’s .

Among Wren’s distinguished assistants were the French Huguenot ironworker Jean Tijou, who wrought the grillwork of the choir and the iron balustrade of the southwest tower; the sculptor and carver Grinling Gibbons , who produced the wooden choir stalls, the organ case, and the bishop’s throne; the mason-contractors (and brothers) Thomas and Edward Strong; the master carpenter John Longland; and the mason Joshua Marshall. Choir stalls of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, by Grinling Gibbons, 1696–98. A.F. Kersting St. Paul’s famous dome, which has long dominated the London skyline, is composed of three shells: an outer dome, a concealed brick cone for structural support, and an inner dome. The cross atop its outer dome stands nearly 366 feet (112 metres) above ground level (some 356 feet [109 metres] above the main floor of the cathedral). Below the cross are an 850-ton lantern section and the outer, lead-encased dome, both of which are supported by the brick cone.

At the base of the lantern (the apex of the outer dome) is the famous Golden Gallery, which offers panoramas of London some 530 steps (and some 280 feet [85 metres]) above the ground.Farther down, at a point just below the brick cone, is the Stone Gallery, another popular viewing spot. Visible from within the cathedral is the inner dome, a masonry shell with a diameter of 101 feet (31 metres). The frescoes and grisaille of the inner dome are best admired from the Whispering Gallery (so called because a whisper from one side of the gallery can be heard from the other side), 99 feet (30 metres) above the cathedral floor. Supporting the weight and thrust of the upper dome section are buttresses and columns in a peristyle; below these, near the height of the Whispering Gallery, is a circle of 32 buttresses not visible from the ground. Eight massive piers connect the buttresses of the dome area to the floor of the cathedral. The domed roof of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. © Neil Lang/Fotolia Skyline of London from the Golden Gallery of St.

Paul’s Cathedral, looking north-northeast. Just … Dennis Marsico/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Skyline of London from the Golden Gallery above the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, looking … Dennis Marsico/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent To the north and south of the dome section are wide transepts, each with semicircular porticoes; to the east lie the choir and the Jesus Chapel, while the nave and the “front” entrance are to the west. Framing the western facade, twin bell towers rise nearly 213 feet (65 metres) above the floor. The southwest tower is known for the Geometrical Staircase (with its balustrade by Tijou), which leads to the cathedral library and archives. Accessible from the nave, the chapel of the Order of St. Michael and St. George adjoins the southwest tower, while St. Dunstan’s Chapel adjoins the northwest tower. There are some 300 monuments within the cathedral.

In the Apse to the east of the Chancel is the American Memorial Chapel (formerly the Jesus Chapel), which was dedicated in 1958 to U.S. soldiers killed in World War II . From the western facade to the eastern end of the Apse, St. Paul’s measures nearly 515 feet (157 metres); including the western steps, the total length of the structure is 555 feet (170 metres). Connect with Britannica St. Paul's Cathedral | London Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit There had been a late-Roman See in London, but the first Saxon cathedral was built of wood, probably by Mellitus or another of the Augustinian missionaries, on the see's re-foundation in AD 604 on Ludgate Hill in the western part of the old Roman city and the eastern part of Lundenwic. It was these missionaries' habit, as in mainland Europe, to build cathedrals within old Roman city-walls.

This building is traditionally said to have been on the site of an ancient megalith, or stone circle, and a temple dedicated to the goddess Diana, in alignment with the Apollo Temple that once stood at Westminster, although Christopher Wren found no evidence of this (Kruger, 1943). This would have only been a modest chapel at first and may well have been destroyed after Mellitus was briefly expelled from the city by Saeberht's pagan successors. It burned down in 675. The cathedral was rebuilt in stone, in 685. In it was buried King or Saint Sebbi of Essex. It was sacked by the Vikings in 961, as cited in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The third cathedral was begun in 962, again in stone. In it was buried Ethelred the Unready. It burnt, with the whole city, in a fire in 1087 (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).

'Old St Paul's' Old St Paul's prior to 1561, with intact spire The fourth St Paul's (known as Old St Paul's, a 19th-century coinage, or the pre-Great Fire St Paul's) was begun by the Normans after the 1087 fire. Work took over 200 years, and a great deal was lost in a fire in 1136. The roof was once more built of wood, which was ultimately to doom the building. The church was consecrated in 1240, but a change of heart led to the commencement of an enlargement programme in 1256. This 'New Work' was completed in 1314 - the cathedral had been consecrated in 1300. It was the third-longest church in Europe.

Excavations in 1878 by Francis Penrose showed it was 585 feet (178 m) long and 100 feet (30 m) wide (290 feet or 87 m across the transepts and crossing), and had one of Europe's tallest spires, at some 489 feet (149 m). 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 cloisters, charnels, crypts, chapels, shrines, 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, 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.

In 1561 the spire was destroyed by lightning and it was not replaced; this event was taken by both Protestants and Catholics as a sign of God's displeasure at the other faction's actions. England's first classical architect, Sir Inigo Jones, added the cathedral's west front in the 1630s, but there was much defacing mistreatment of the building by Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War, when the old documents and charters were dispersed and destroyed (Kelly 2004). "Old St Paul's" was gutted in the Great Fire of London of 1666. 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. Indeed this had been contemplated even before the fire. Wren's St Paul's Edit The task of designing a replacement structure was assigned to Sir Christopher Wren in 1668, along with over 50 other City churches. His first design, for 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 that resulted in the 1:24 scale "Great Model" on display in the crypt of the cathedral.[1] The 'warrant' design was accepted in 1675, and building work began in June. The first stone of the cathedral was laid in 1677 by Thomas Strong, Wren's master stonemason.[2] The 'warrant' design included a small dome with a spire on top, but 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 20 October 1708, Wren's 76th birthday. On Thursday, 2 December 1697, thirty-two years and three months after a spark from Farryner's bakery had caused the Great Fire of London, St Paul's Cathedral came into use: it proved to be well worth the wait.

The widower King William III had been scheduled to appear but, uncomfortable in crowds and public displays, had bowed out at the last minute. The crowd of both the great and the small was so big, and their attitude towards William so indifferent, that he was scarcely missed. The Right Reverend Henry Compton, Bishop of London, preached the sermon. It was based on the text of Psalm 122, "I was glad when they said unto me: Let us go into the house of the LORD." The first regular service was held on the following Sunday. The consensus was as with all such works: some loved it ("Without, within, below, above the eye/ Is filled with unrestrained delight."[3]); some hated it ("...There was an air of Popery about the giled capitals, the heavy arches...They were unfamiliar, un-English.."[4]); while most, once their curiosity was satisfied, didn't think about it one way or another.

Sir Christopher Wren Say I am designing St Paul's." A clerihew by Edmund Clerihew Bentley Artists and craftsmen Edit The construction and decoration of the Cathedral involved many of the foremost artists and craftsmen in England; these were: Sir James Thornhill - painted the eight monochrome paintings of the life of St Paul that adorn the interior of the dome. Grinling Gibbons - responsible for the woodwork, most notably the choir stalls, and sculpted the pediment of the north transept. Jean Tijou - most of the wrought ironwork, including the gates flanking the high altar. Bernard Smith - designed and built the organ. Caius Gabriel Cibber - sculpted the pediment of the south transept. Francis Bird - sculpted the great west pediment showing the conversion of St Paul, plus the seven large sculptures on the west front. Description Plan West end clock tower The cathedral is built of Portland stone in a late Renaissance style that is England's sober Baroque. Its impressive dome was inspired by St Peter's Basilica in Rome. It rises 365 feet (108 m) to the cross at its summit, making it a famous London landmark.

Wren achieved a pleasing appearance by 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 that supports the apex structure and the outer dome. Wren was said to have been hauled up to the rafters in a basket during the building of its later stages to inspect progress. 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 99 feet (30.2 m) above the cathedral floor. It is reached by 259 steps from ground level. It gets its name because a whisper against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the wall at any other point around the gallery.

This works only for whispered speech - normal voiced speech is not focused in this way. The base of the inner dome is 173 feet (53.4 m) above the floor. The top of the inner dome is about 65 m above the floor, making this the height of the enclosed space. The cathedral is some 574 feet (175 m) in length (including the portico of the Great West Door), of which 223 feet (68 m) is the nave and 167 feet (51 m) is the choir. The width of the nave is 121 feet (37 m) and across the transepts is 246 feet (75 m).[11] The cathedral is thus slightly shorter but somewhat wider than Old St Paul's. The quire extends to the east of the dome and holds the stalls for the clergy and the choir and the organ. To the north and south of the dome are the transepts of the North Choir and the South Choir.

Details of the towers at the west end (illustration, left) and their dark voids are boldly scaled, in order to read well from the street below and from a distance, for the towers have always stood out in the urban skyline. They are composed of two complementary elements, a central cylinder rising through the tiers in a series of stacked drums, and paired Corinthian columns at the corners, with buttresses above them, which serve to unify the drum shape with the square block plinth containing the clock. The main entablature breaks forward over the paired columns to express both elements, tying them together in a single horizontal band. The cap, like a bell-shaped miniature dome, supports a gilded finial, a pinecone supported on four scrolling angled brackets, the topmost expression of the consistent theme. The north-west tower contains 13 bells hung for change ringing while the south-west contains four, including Great Paul, at 16½ tons[12] - the largest bell in the British Isles, cast in 1881, and Great Tom (the hour bell), recast twice, after being moved from the old Palace of Westminster.

Post-Wren history Edit This cathedral has survived despite being targeted during the Blitz - it was struck by bombs on 10 October 1940 and 17 April 1941. On 12 September 1940 a time-delayed bomb that had struck the cathedral was successfully defused and removed by a Bomb Disposal detachment of Royal Engineers under the command of Temporary Lieutenant Robert Davies. Had this bomb detonated, it would have totally destroyed the Cathedral, as it left a 100-foot (30 m) crater when it was later remotely detonated in a secure location.[13] As a result of this action, Davies was awarded the George Cross, along with Sapper George Cameron Wylie.[14]. On 29 December 1940 the cathedral had another close call when an incendiary bomb became lodged in the lead shell of the dome but fell outwards onto the Stone Gallery and was put out before it could ignite the Memorials Edit An aerial view of St Pauls The cathedral has a very substantial crypt, holding over 200 memorials, and serves as both the Order of the British Empire Chapel and the Treasury.

The cathedral has very few treasures: many have been lost, and in 1810 a major robbery took almost all of the remaining precious artefacts. Christopher Wren was the first person to be interred, in 1723: on the wall above his tomb in the crypt is written, "Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice" (Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you). St Paul's is home to other plaques, carvings, statues, memorials and tombs of famous British figures including: General Sir Isaac Brock Sir Edwin Lutyens John Donne, whose funeral effigy, portraying him in a shroud, but not his tomb, survives from Old St Paul's. Lord Kitchener T. E. Lawrence, whose bust faces Nelson's sarcophagus Sir Alexander Fleming Ivor Novello Charles Cornwallis Most of the memorials commemorate the British military, including several lists of servicemen who died in action, the most recent being the Gulf War. There are special monuments to Lord Nelson in the south transept and to the Duke of Wellington in the north aisle; both are buried here. Also remembered are poets, painters, clergy and residents of the local parish.

There are lists of the Bishops and cathedral Deans for the last thousand years. The apse of the cathedral is home to the American Memorial Chapel. It honours American servicemen and women who died in World War II, and was dedicated in 1958. It was paid for entirely by donations from British people, and was designed, as a modern exercise in the Wren style, by Godfrey Allen and Stephen Dykes Bower.[15] The roll of honour contains the names of more than 28,000 Americans who gave their lives while on their way to, or stationed in, the United Kingdom during the Second World War. It is in front of the chapel's altar. The three chapel windows date from 1960; they feature themes of service and sacrifice, while the insignia around the edges represent the American states and the US armed forces. The limewood panelling incorporates a rocket - a tribute to America's achievements in space.[16] The cathedral has been the site of many famous funerals, including those of Horatio Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill and George Mallory.

Modern-day Edit St Paul's from across the Thames, over the top of surrounding postwar construction The Royal Family holds most of their important marriages, christenings and funerals at Westminster Abbey, but St Paul's was used for the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. The religious service for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee was also celebrated there. In 2001, Britain's memorial service to honour the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks was held at the cathedral, attended by the Royal Family and then-U.S. ambassador William Farish. Prince Philip spoke, as did Farish, and Farish said in 2004 in The Times just before he resigned as ambassador that this service showed the strong relationship between the US and Britain. On 1 November 2005 it held a memorial service for the 7 July bombings. The cathedral is open to the public, with a charge for non-worshipping visitors. It is possible to climb the 530 steps to the golden gallery, where there is a fine view of London.

In 2000, the cathedral began a major restoration programme, scheduled for completion in 2008, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of its opening. A ceremony to celebrate the anniversary was directed by Patrick Garland. The restoration programme is expected to cost £40 million, and involves repair and cleaning of the building, and improvement of visitor facilities, such as accessibility for the disabled, and provision of additional educational facilities. In 2007, the World Monuments Fund and American Express awarded St Paul's a grant as part of their Sustainable Tourism initiative. The project will open up rarely seen areas, relieve crowding in the nave - which suffers heavily from foot traffic and fluctuations in humidity - and fund a new Exploration Centre in the crypt. This centre will provide insight into a variety of topics relating to the cathedral, including architecture, history, science, music, and, of course, religion. A lapidarium of recovered medieval stones and the room containing Wren's "Great Model" (currently only seen by appointment) will also be opened to the public. Organ and Organists Explore the Cathedral - St Paul's Cathedral Explore the Cathedral Welcome to SM4!

Worship & Music St Paul’s Cathedral has been here for over 1,400 years. It has been built and rebuilt five times, and always its main purpose has been as a place of worship and prayer. Visit Us St Paul's, with its world-famous dome, is an iconic feature of the London skyline. Step inside and you can enjoy the Cathedral's awe-inspiring interior, and uncover fascinating stories about its history. Learning & Faith Education is a core part of the Cathedral's work, delivered through a variety of events by St Paul's Forum, St Paul's Institute and the Schools & Families department. History & Collections For more than 1,400 years, a Cathedral dedicated to St Paul has stood at the highest point in the City. The present Cathedral is the masterpiece of Britain's most famous architect Sir Christopher Wren. Support Us Behind the scenes, the cost of caring for St Paul's and continuing to deliver our central ministry and work is enormous and the generosity of our supporters is critical. Venue Bookings Widely considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful buildings and a powerful symbol of the splendour of London, St Paul’s Cathedral is a breathtaking events venue.

Today at the Cathedral View More 7:30am Choral Evensong Explore the Cathedral There are many different parts of the Cathedral for you to discover, from the underground Crypt to the Golden Gallery, 111 metres above London. This section will take you around each section of the Cathedral. Just select the area you would like to visit from the drop-down menu below. The High Altar The present high altar dates from 1958 and is made of marble and carved and gilded oak. It features a magnificent canopy based on a sketch by Christopher Wren, but which wasn't built in his time. It replaced a large Victorian marble altar and screen, which were damaged by a bomb strike in WW2, which destroyed a large part of the east end of the Cathedral. The Apse At the east end of the Cathedral behind the High Altar is the American Memorial Chapel, also known as the Jesus Chapel. This part of the Cathedral was destroyed during the Blitz and as part of the restoration it was decided that the people of Britain should commemorate the 28,000 Americans stationed in the UK during WW2.

The images that adorn its wood, metalwork and stained glass include depictions of the flora and fauna of North America. The Quire The quire is at the east of the Cathedral's cross and is where the choir and clergy normally sit during services. The quire was the first part of St Paul's to be built and consecrated. The choir stalls on both sides feature delicate carvings by Grinling Gibbons, whose work is seen in many royal palaces and great houses. The Bishop's throne, or cathedra, sits in the quire. North Quire Aisle The wrought-iron gates in the north quire aisle, also known as the Minor Canons' Aisle, were designed by the French master metalworker Jean Tijou, who was responsible for most of the decorative metalwork in the Cathedral. The aisle also houses the sculpture Mother and Child: Hood, one of Henry Moore's very final commissions in the 1980s. A memorial to modern martyrs honours Anglicans who have died for their faith since 1850.

South Quire Aisle The south quire aisle, also known as the Dean's Aisle, contains the effigies of two Bishops of London and also a marble effigy of John Donne. Donne was a Dean of the Cathedral and one of Britain's finest poets, who died in 1631. It is one of the few monuments to have survived the Great Fire of London - scorch marks can be seen on its base. This aisle is where the clergy and choir gather before services. Wellington's Monument A monument to one of Britain's greatest soldiers and statesmen, Arthur, Duke of Wellington, sits in one of the arches between the nave and the north aisle. Wellington died in 1852 but his monument was not completed until 1912, when the figure on horseback was unveiled. During WW2 the figures of Wellington and his horse were put into safe storage. The South Transept The monument to Britain's great naval hero, Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, stands in the south transept.

Other memorials commemorate Nelson's second-in-command, Cuthbert Collingwood, the landscape painter JMW Turner and the explorer Captain Robert Scott. There is also a door out to the south gallery, which affords fantastic views towards the Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern. The North Transept Undoubtedly the most dominating feature of the north transept is William Holman Hunt's painting The Light of the World, which forms an altarpiece in the Chapel of St Erkenwald and St Ethelburga, otherwise known as the Middlesex Chapel. The painting depicts the figure of Christ knocking on a door that opens from inside, suggesting that God can only enter our lives if we invite Him in. It dates from around 1900 and is the third version that Hunt painted. The South Aisle The south aisle is located to the right of the Great West Door entrance. Off this narrow aisle you can access The Chapel of St Michael and St George, which is the spiritual home to the Order of the same name. The chapel was originally the consistory court - the place where the bishop sat in judgement over the clergy. Memorials include that of Thomas Middleton, first Bishop of India.

The North Aisle The north aisle is located to the left of the Great West Door entrance. Off this narrow aisle you can access St Dunstan's Chapel, which is set aside for private prayer at all times of the day, and the Chapel of All Souls, also known as the Kitchener Chapel as it contains a memorial to the First World War army leader. Memorials include angels to the Viscounts William and Frederick Melbourne. The Nave The first breathtaking view that visitors encounter when they enter St Paul's is the vista down the full length of the Cathedral from the nave - the long central aisle that leads to the dome. At the very west end of the nave are the Great West Doors, which stand nine metres tall and are used for special services and the arrival of visitors such as HM The Queen and the Lord Mayor of London. The Grand Organ The Grand Organ was built and installed in 1695 and has seen several restorations since. Its case by Grinling Gibbons, is one of the Cathedral's greatest artefacts, and once formed a screen keeping the quire separate from the nave and dome areas.

The third largest organ in the UK, it has 7,189 pipes, five keyboards and 138 organ stops. The Dome At 111 metres high, the dome of St Paul's is the second largest cathedral dome in the world, weighing approximately 65,000 tons. St Paul's has a three-dome structure, allowing the inner dome to rise in proportion to the internal architecture and the outer dome to be much larger and impressive. It is this outer dome shell that is prominent on the London skyline. Between these two domes is a third; a brick cone which provide strength and supports the stone lantern above. The Whispering Gallery Climb 257 steps up from the Cathedral floor and you will find the Whispering Gallery, which runs around the interior of the dome. It gets its name from a charming quirk in its construction, which makes a whisper against its walls audible on the opposite side. Back to the dome The Stone Gallery The Stone Gallery is the first of two galleries above the Whispering Gallery that encircle the outside of the dome. The Stone Gallery stands 52 metres from ground-level and can be reached by 376 steps.

Back to the dome The Golden Gallery The Golden Gallery is the smallest of the galleries and runs around the highest point of the outer dome, at 85 metres. Visitors who climb the 528 steps to this gallery will be treated to panoramic views of London. Back to the dome The Ball and Lantern The original ball and cross were erected in 1708. They were replaced by a new ball and cross in 1821, designed by the Surveyor to the Fabric, C R Cockerell. The ball and cross stand at 23 feet high and weigh approximately seven tonnes. Discover the Crypt Nelson's Tomb Lord Nelson was famously killed in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and buried in St Paul's after a state funeral. He was laid in a coffin made from the timber of a French ship he defeated in battle. The black marble sarcophagus that adorns his tomb was originally made for Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor during the reign of Henry VIII in the early sixteenth century. After Wolsey's fall from favour, it remained unused at Windsor until a suitable recipient could be found. Nelson's viscount coronet now tops this handsome monument.

Wellington's Tomb Wellington rests in a simple but imposing casket made of Cornish granite. Although a national hero, Wellington was not a man of glory in his victories. The Duke was known as The Iron Duke and as a result of his tireless campaigning, has left a colourful list of namesakes - Wellington boots, the dish Beef Wellington and even a brand of cigars. He also coined some memorable phrases. He gave the expression ' . . . and another thing' to the English language and declared 'The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.' The banners hanging around Wellington's tomb were made for his funeral procession. Sir Christopher Wren's Tomb Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St Paul's, is buried in the south aisle at the east end of the crypt. His tomb is marked by a simple stone and is surrounded by memorials to his family, to Robert Hooke and to the masons and other colleagues. The Latin epitaph above his tomb, famously addresses us: 'Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you.' In the same section of the crypt are many tombs and memorials of artists, scientists and musicians.

They include the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds; the scientist Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin; the composer Arthur Sullivan; and the sculptor Henry Moore. Oculus: an eye into St Paul's Oculus: an eye into St Paul's Oculus: an eye into St Paul's is a 270° film experience that brings 1,400 years of history to life. Located in the atmospheric former Treasury in the crypt, Oculus takes visitors on a journey through the history and daily life of St Paul's in three films: Life of the Cathedral; Resurgam, I will Rise Again; and Virtual Access, the Dome. The Chapels All Souls' Chapel: the Kitchener Memorial The All Souls' Chapel in the north tower was dedicated in 1925 to the memory of Field Marshal Lord Kitchener. Kitchener died at sea and his body was never recovered. He is best known for his restructuring of the British army during WW1 and for the most effective recruitment campaign in British military history, using the slogan 'Your Country Needs You'.

Among the chapel's artefacts are sculptures of the military saints St Michael and St George, a beautiful pietá - a sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ - and an effigy of Lord Kitchener. St Dunstan's Chapel St Dunstan's Chapel, consecrated in 1699, was the second part of Wren's building to come into use, after the quire. In 1905, it was dedicated to St Dunstan, a Bishop of London who became of Archbishop of Canterbury in 959. Before this it was known as the Morning Chapel, because the early morning service of Mattins was conducted here. The Chapel of St Dunstan is set aside for prayer throughout every day. You can light a candle here, or you can leave the names of those you wish to remember in prayer during one of the Cathedral's services. The Chapel of St Michael and St George The Chapel of St Michael and St George, off the south aisle was originally the consistory court in which cases of ecclesiastical law were heard.

Renamed in 1906 and dedicated to St Michael and St George, it is the spiritual home of the Order of St Michael and St George, founded in 1818 to honour people who have rendered important service overseas. Amongst the chapel stalls are banners of current knights and officers of the Order, including HM The Queen, who visits periodically for the Order's ceremonial service. The Chapel of St Erkenwald and St Ethelburga: The Middlesex Chapel The Middlesex Chapel is home to members of the Middlesex Regiment. The flags in the chapel are the colour of the Middlesex Regiment - the empty pole belongs to a flag that was lost during WW2. Behind the altar stands William Holman Hunt’s Light of the World painting. The American Memorial Chapel At the east end of the Cathedral behind the High Altar is the American Memorial Chapel, also known as the Jesus Chapel. This part of the Cathedral was destroyed during the Blitz and as part of the restoration it was decided that the people of Britain should commemorate the 28,000 Americans stationed in the UK during WW2. The images that adorn its wood, metalwork and stained glass include depictions of the flora and fauna of North America.

The windows feature the American state symbols and the limewood panelling incorporates a rocket - a tribute to America's achievements in space. The Knights Bachelor Chapel The Chapel of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor is also known as St Martin's Chapel. The Chapel was dedicated by HM the Queen in 2008. The Chapel is panelled with English oak and in it, in two elegant cases, are kept the registers which contain the names of all Knights Bachelor (deceased) from 1257 to date and also the Founder Knights' and Benefactors' Book. Near them is displayed Queen Victoria's sword with which she knighted many famous men; this is on loan from Wilkinson Sword Ltd. The Order of the British Empire Chapel At the east end of the Crypt is the OBE Chapel, also known as St Faith’s Chapel. The original St Faith's was a parish church attached to the old Cathedral destroyed in the Great Fire of London. In 1960 this chapel became the spiritual home to the Order of the British Empire. The OBE was instituted by King George V in 1917 initially to recognise the considerable civilian contribution to the war effort during the 1914-18 war.

It was a pioneering honour in its day, being the first five-class Order for national distribution and the first to admit women to membership. Exterior & Churchyard West Front The west front of St Paul's is dominated by a triangular relief depicting the conversion of the Cathedral's patron saint to Christianity. Above it stands the figure of St Paul himself, flanked by other apostles and the four evangelists. This was the work of Francis Bird between 1718-21, who was greatly influenced by the church architecture of Rome. Bird also carved the statue of Queen Anne that stands in front of St Paul's. Anne was the reigning monarch at the time of the Cathedral's completion. West Towers The two western towers are topped with a pineapple - a symbol of peace, prosperity and hospitality. Near the top of the south-west tower is a clock, which was installed in 1893 and has three faces, each more than 5 metres in diameter. Above the clock hangs Great Tom, the hour bell, and Great Paul, the largest bell ever cast in the UK. South Churchyard The south churchyard was refashioned in 2008.

On the pavement at the western end of the churchyard is a floor-plan on the pre-Fire Cathedral with an outline of the present one superimposed on it. Chapter House The Chapter House, is the administrative centre of the Cathedral and stands on the north side: an elegant brick building that faces into Paternoster Square. Currently shrouded in scaffolding, the Chapter House has been undergoing a full restoration since 2013. It is due for completion in 2015. St Paul's Cross In the Cathedral's north-east churchyard, a plaque marks the location of St Paul's Cross, a popular centre of news and comment, where during the reformation William Tyndale's New Testament was burned because it was in English, and where generations of Londoners played their role in fomenting public opinion. The column mounted with a gilded statue of St Paul also commemorates the public preaching of the Christian faith in this location. Who's Buried in St Paul's Cathedral's Crypt? By Laura Porter Updated December 28, 2016. There's much to explore in St Paul's cathedral, the stunning Baroque church designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1673.

Alongside the awe-inspiring interiors and the striking dome with its three galleries, the crypt is home to tombs of some of the nation's greatest heroes including Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. The crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral is the largest in Europe. You may wonder where Sir Christopher Wren's memorial is. The great architect is buried in the south aisle in the east of the crypt. The simple tomb is surrounded by tributes to his family and an epitaph reads "Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you." Wren is buried in an area that plays tribute to tombs and memorials of the painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, the sculptor, Henry Moore, and the scientist, Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin. There are memorials on the cathedral floor and down in the crypt. The largest memorial on the cathedral floor belongs to the Duke of Wellington (it actually took longer to build than the whole cathedral), but you will also find Lord Nelson facing Charles Marquis Conwallis . continue reading below our video America's Best Foodie Cities Whereas poets are buried at Westminster Abbey , St. Paul's Cathedral 's Artists Corner salutes painters including Turner , Millais , and Lord Leighton.

Other important names you will find in the crypt include: Arthur Sullivan of Gilbert and Sullivan (near the OBE Chapel), Sir Henry Wellcome , Florence Nightingale , William Blake , Lawrence of Arabia and George Washington , as well as huge tombs and chambers for Wellington and Nelson. Nelson's Tomb occupies the best spot as he was the first person of national importantance to be buried at St Paul's so he is right under the dome. His casket though was originally made for Cardinal Wolseley but was put in storage for a few hundred years when Wolseley fell out of favor with Henry VIII when he could not arrange a papal annulment to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The Churchill screen/gates divide the refectory and the crypt so can be seen for free when visiting the cafe, the shop or the public bathrooms. For those who choose not to climb up to the galleries , Oculus is a clever 270 degree film display where you can feel as if you are taking a tour around the cathedral.

BBC - History - British History in depth: The Cathedrals of Britain On This Day The Cathedrals of Britain The history of Britain and the aspirations of her Christian communities can be traced in the glorious excesses of the cathedrals. From Norman grandeur to the modern interpretations found in Liverpool and Coventry, explore the changing styles of the cathedrals in our midst. On this page Print this page Centuries of style The cathedrals of Britain span the millennium - from the cathedrals dating from the 1100s to the modern cathedrals found in Liverpool and Coventry. They display a wide array of architectural styles from Early English Gothic, to the majesty of the Renaissance at St Paul's and the sixties modernism of Liverpool's Roman Catholic Cathedral. In the Middle Ages and up to the Reformation in the 1500s, the Church enjoyed enormous power and wealth, and cathedrals are eloquent symbols of its dominant place in British society. Cathedrals in the Middle Ages weren't the quiet, reverential places of worship we know today. Cathedrals in the Middle Ages weren't the quiet, reverential places of worship we know today.

In Lincoln, for example, the central nave or aisle was where pilgrims chatted and shared news; there would have been an elaborately carved stone screen to separate the ordinary people in the nave from the priests and monks worshipping and singing in the choir. Cathedrals were elaborate and brightly coloured before much of the interior decoration and original medieval art was destroyed during the Reformation and the Civil War. During the Civil War, cathedrals were used as garrisons, prisons and even stables. Now only traces remain of the vibrant colours that were often whitewashed out of existence. Top Cathedral floorplan Many of the cathedrals in Britain are orientated east to west. The nave is situated in the west end of the cathedral where people would come to pray. For that reason, it is the long hall of the cathedral. (The nave is 5 on the diagram below.) The choir (11) is at the east end of the cathedral. It is here that the high altar (13) is generally found. The clergy traditionally prayed here and an elaborately carved screen was often built to separate them from the general public in the nave.

This part of the cathedral is often called the 'quire' - the 19th century spelling of 'choir'. St Paul's in London still uses this spelling. The north and south transepts (7, 9) separate the choir from the nave. This means that the layout of cathedrals usually forms the shape of a cross. Side altars are found in the transepts as well as the tombs of important people. The central tower or dome (8) of the cathedral is found at the centre of this 'cross'. These high towers are supported by piers or pillars. At Salisbury Cathedral, it is possible to see that the piers have been slightly bent out of shape by the weight of the tower. The tombs of past bishops and famous saints are often found in side chapels (2, 3). In the later Middle Ages, the wealthy would pay for private chapels to be built where their families could say mass in private. Top Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral is one of twenty cathedrals that were built after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when William the Conqueror seized control of England and Wales.

It is built in the Early English Gothic style and has a simple layout in the shape of a cross. This cathedral is built of 70 thousand tons of stone with over three thousand tons of timber for the roof which was covered with 450 tons of lead. Much of the stone came from nearby quarries. At this time, cathedral construction was at the cutting edge of building technology, and errors of judgement led to the collapse of the central towers at both Winchester and Lincoln. With foundations only four feet deep, Salisbury was lucky to escape this when the imposing spire was added. However, the columns of the central crossing are now bowed by around ten inches. St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's was the first British cathedral to be built for the Anglican faith at the end of the 1600s. It is therefore ironic that its famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren, borrowed heavily from the Catholic Renaissance by adopting such features as the dome and Corinthian columns. The original St Paul's Cathedral was built on the same site in 604 by Bishop Mellitus. The Vikings burnt it down in 962 and it was rebuilt in the Gothic style.

This was begun in 1087 and completed two centuries later in 1310. This cathedral was then destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Wren's masterpiece was started in 1675 and took 35 years to complete. Unlike many of the medieval masons, whose cathedrals took centuries to complete, Wren was able to see it finished. It cost £700,000 - about £53 million today. On the inner dome, there are frescoes of scenes from the life of St Paul. These were painted by Sir James Thornhill and can be seen from the Whispering Gallery. Wren died at 91 and his tomb is marked by a black marble slab in the St Paul's crypt. St Michael's of Coventry The Gothic cathedral, St Michael's of Coventry, was destroyed on the night of 14th November 1940 when some 500 tons of high explosives and 40,000 fire bombs were dropped on the city. All that remained of the old cathedral was the spire and the building's shell.

The new cathedral was built next to the old in the 1950s and the early 1960s. The architect Basil Spencer had won the competition with his radical departure from the Gothic original. He recalled that when the plans for the new steel and concrete cathedral were revealed in the press, he received hundreds of letters the next morning. "80 percent were rude and the remaining 20 percent were very rude." In a 1974 interview, he recalls that the project took up ten years of his life, and when it was finished, it left a terrible vacuum. Whilst medieval cathedrals took centuries, the new Coventry Cathedral took just six years to build. The one-and-a-half ton metal spire was flown in by helicopter and, according to contemporary news footage, took just eight minutes to install. Top Winchester Cathedral Winchester Cathedral © Winchester Cathedral stands on a site that has been a place of Christian worship for over a thousand years. In the 1000s, the old Minster was destroyed to make way for the new cathedral.

This is one of the largest medieval churches in the world thanks to a nave of over 160 metres long and provides a fitting home for the Bishops of Winchester, some of whom weren't just the wealthiest men in England but in Europe as well. The Bishops' power and affluence is indicated by the many grand memorial chapels in the cathedral which house their tombs. Among these luminaries are Stephen Gardiner who officiated at the wedding between Mary Tudor and Phillip of Spain in 1554 and Henry Beaufort, half brother to Henry IV and banker to Henry V. For centuries, Winchester was a place of pilgrimage. It was the last resting place of Saint Swithun who lived in the 9th century. After his death, his bones were said to heal the sick and pilgrims flocked to the cathedral in their thousands. Stalls were set up to sell relics and clay models of the parts of the body that required healing. These were then placed in the shrine in the hope of a miracle cure. Winchester Cathedral's power and influence came to an end with the Reformation in the 1500s... Winchester Cathedral boasts some of the finest medieval wood carving in Britain, if not Europe.

In the 13th century England's greatest carpenter, William Lyngewode, spent four years decorating the cathedral's stalls. Another outstanding example of its medieval art is the Great Screen. It was erected in the 1400s but the original statues with their vivid colours didn't survive England's religious upheavals. Now, only the whitewashed backdrop of the original screen remains while the current statues are Victorian. Events have taken their toll on the cathedral. The West Window was smashed by the Roundheads during the English Civil War in the 1600s. The locals pieced it together but in a rather haphazard way, and it has the appearance of a rather abstract art work. The cathedral is also home to the beautifully decorated Winchester Bible, the best example of a 12th century bible in the country. Winchester Cathedral's power and influence came to an end with the Reformation in the 1500s and the Dissolution of the Monasteries during Henry VIII's reign. The scale of the Church's power can be imagined when it is considered that it controlled one third of the country's wealth before Henry VIII stripped it of much of its lands and privileges.

Top Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral © Wells Cathedral was built entirely in the Gothic style in the late 1100s and serves the smallest city in England. One of the major glories of this cathedral is the West Front. It was begun in 1215 and, on its completion, boasted the largest collection of figurative statues in the western world at that time. It depicts the history of the world as told in the Bible, and shows Christ flanked by angels above statues of the disciples and kings as well as martyrs and confessors. The West Front is flanked by two towers. Chapter House ceiling, Wells Cathedral © The West Front is now bare stone but in its medieval heyday, this would have been brilliantly painted with strong bold colours. Sound was also part of the religious spectacle. Within the cathedral is a special gallery where the choristers sang hymns to the people gathered outside. The sound was channelled to the outside thanks to a series of carefully hidden holes in the West Front. The singing would have occured on religious occasions such as Palm Sunday. The original central tower of Wells Cathedral was damaged by an earthquake in the 13th century.

The rebuilding took some 60 years to complete but, after just 20 years, cracks began to appear. In order to save the tower from collapse, the master mason, William Joy, built the 'scissor arches' that can still be seen in the main part of the cathedral and the hidden buttresses in the upper part of the church building. 700 years later, it is safe to say that these measures have been successful in preserving the tower for posterity. The cathedral boasts some of the finest medieval stained glass to be found in England which, miraculously, survived the Reformation and the Civil War. The 'Jesse' or 'Golden Window' dates back to 1340 and, thanks to its height, avoided the stones of the mob. The window traces the ancestry of Christ through Mary to Jesse, the father of King David, in the shape of a genealogical tree. Top St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral, Orkney © St Magnus, the most northerly cathedral of Britain, towers over the town of Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. Work on the cathedral began in 1137; many of the masons came from Durham whose cathedral was also under construction.

It was founded by Earl Rognvald in the memory of his relative St Magnus, who had been murdered by his cousin Hakon, co-ruler of the Orkneys. Hakon is depicted in a stained glass window in the north transept which dates from the 19th century. In 1980, local children contributed a whole series of paintings to show the events in his life and the brutal murder. Although St Magnus Cathedral is small compared to other cathedrals in Britain, it has a number of distinctive features. One of these is the use of 'polychrome' work: the technique of using different coloured stones to form patterns in the stonework. At St Magnus local red stone and a yellow sandstone, probably from the nearby island of Eday, is arranged in a chequered pattern effect around the window arches. The red stone was dug from a nearby quarry just a few miles from Kirkwall on a piece of land known as the Head of Holland. St Magnus is also renowned for being the only cathedral in Britain with a dungeon - Marwick's Hole. The origins of the name have been associated with a romantic story.

In the 1600s, Jane Forsyth was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to be burned at the stake. She was rescued from the dungeon the night before this was due to be carried out by her lover and they went off to live in Manchester, then a distant place. St Magnus Cathedral © The most poignant memorial in the cathedral is dedicated to the memory of the hundreds of sailors who died when the British ship Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat just a few months after the declaration of war in 1939. Charlotte Omand, from Orkney, remembered that Kirkwall was shocked by the sinking and that the air stank of oil for days afterwards. Now, once a week, a single page of the memorial book in the cathedral is turned as a reminder of the loss of life. St Magnus is unique among British cathedrals for its use of the Norwegian style of bell ringing known as 'clocking'. Just one bellringer can operate the bells by hand and using footpedals. This custom is proof of the strong Viking influence found on these islands and in Kirkwall itself, a cathedral city of just 7,000 people.

Top Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral © Taller than the Egyptian Pyramids, Lincoln Cathedral is an imposing tribute to medieval British architecture. It has been through a series of building disasters and mishaps in its near 1000 years of existence. The first mishap came in the 12th century, less than 100 years after the cathedral was built. A fire swept through the cathedral, and the wooden roof was replaced by a stone vault. However this was, in turn, destroyed a few decades later when a major earthquake destroyed much of the building. Bishop Hugh, who was later canonised as a saint, then had the cathedral rebuilt in the Gothic style. The next disaster was in the 13th century when the central tower collapsed and, in the 16th century, the wooden spire was blown down in a gale. St Hugh's life was pivotal to the history of Lincoln Cathedral. In his lifetime, he was known as pious man who tended to the sick and worked on rebuilding the cathedral. One famous story recounts how he befriended a swan which became very protective of the Bishop and hissed at people who came too near.

The swan's place in the legend of the cathedral is assured, for it is depicted twice in the cathedral's stained glass windows. On St Hugh's death, large crowds came to pay their respects and his shrine became a place of pilgrimage. A modern sculpture was placed there in 1986 to mark the 800th anniversary of his enthronement as Bishop in 1186. Little remains of the vivid colour that would have transformed the cathedral's bare stone into glorious spectacle. As with many of the cathedrals in Britain, much of the medieval art was destroyed during the Civil War. Little remains of the vivid colour that would have transformed the cathedral's bare stone into glorious spectacle. Many of the statues had their heads pulled off when an 18th century restorer accidentally put the heads of the male bishops onto the bodies of the female statues. One statue of a tumbler from around 1330 did survive because of its inaccessible location: legend has it that a tumbler could only offer the Virgin Mary his tumbling skills as a gesture of devotion, hence his place high on the cathedral walls.

Another famous statue is the imp which peers down, ready to pounce should anyone stray from the God-fearing path. There are warnings all over the cathedral for those who may feel tempted to transgress. The 13th century doorway shows the faithful ascending to heaven whilst hairy devils drag the damned into the mouth of hell - a visual warning in an age when the vast majority of the people were illiterate and few copies of the Bible were in existence. Top Liverpool's cathedrals Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral © Liverpool's skyline is dominated by two imposing cathedrals. Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Britain and the fifth largest in the world. The Roman Catholic Cathedral is known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and was built after World War Two in a futuristic design by Frederick Gibberd. The construction of the Anglican Cathedral began in 1904 to a design by Giles Gilbert Scott, a Victorian designer famous for red telephone boxes and the now defunct Battersea Power Station. Giles Scott came from a family of architects: his grandfather had designed the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park, London, and his father, George, was a leading exponent of the Gothic Revival in Britain.

Giles Scott was just 21 when his entry won a design competition for Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, and he can be seen in the bottom left of the Layman's Window, wearing a blue coat. Sadly, he died in 1960 and so did not see the cathedral finally consecrated. Liverpool is home to many faiths but the Catholic and Protestant faiths have traditionally dominated the city. Around the turn of the century, there was an unstated competition between the leaders of the two communities who both attempted to have the larger, more impressive cathedral. Money problems dogged each side's ambitious plans, and the Anglican Cathedral was only consecrated in 1978. The Roman Catholic Cathedral was to have been even more impressive thanks to a design by Sir Edwin Lutyen. Work started in 1933 but the crypt is all that remains of this grand vision before World War Two and budget deficits halted building work. Lutyen's plan was thrown out and a competition was hosted in 1960 to find a newer, cheaper design. Sir Frederick Gibberd's pioneering design won, and work began in 1962. The cathedral was consecrated just five years later.

The Lantern Tower has crowning pinnacles to help make the cathedral stand out against the Liverpool skyline. These are over 52 feet high and feature diagonal struts to strengthen them against the wind. Within the cathedral, the High Altar is at the centre of the circular design. The interior is bathed in many colours, primarily blue as befits a cathedral with more coloured glass than any other in Europe. Famous people buried at St Paul's Cathedral Tower of London ==> Famous people buried at St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is England's largest Protestant church. It has been rebuilt five times, once after being destroyed by the Vikings and on four occasions after it was burnt to the ground. The last fire was in 1666 when it was destroyed during the Great Fire of London . Sir Christopher Wren then designed the new St Paul's which is seen today.

Question: Who was the first person to be buried in Saint Paul's Cathedral
Answer: Christopher Wren