London’s top attractions - St Paul’s Cathedral

Without doubt one of the most iconic symbols of London is the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, probably along with Big Ben and Tower Bridge one of the most recognisable pieces of architecture in the city and its also one of the most popular visitor attractions that London has to offer.

It’s certainly impressive both inside and out and is one of those places first time visitors to London should take a walk around.
St Paul’s Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of London and there’s been a cathedral on the site since 604AD, although this had to be rebuilt in 962AD after the Vikings did what they did and trashed the original.

A fire in 1087 claimed the rebuilt cathderal and a third was constructed as a replacement. This stood until the Great Fire of London in 1666 and in the aftermath of the fire Sir Christopher Wren was asked to design a brand new one. Wren was incredibly busy working on putting together a new London and designed over 50 new churches in London apart from St Paul’s along with numerous other major buildings.

The St Paul’s Wren designed wasn’t what the conservative church wanted and he had to make some changes but the design was agreed in 1675 and work began. Once work was under way Wren changed the design to include the famous dome. The cathedral is in the shape of a cross with the 360ft high dome directly over the intersection of the arms and it’s the second biggest dome in the world after St Peter’s in Rome. The building’s made from Portland stone and it took up a great span of Wren’s life taking 35 years to complete.

The main entrance to St Paul’s is on its western side, from the Ludgate Hill approach and the front has two tiers of giant columns protecting the entrance. The two towers on either side of the western face were added by Wren in 1705 and were both meant to have clocks but only one does. Outside the front of the cathedral is a fenced off statue of Queen Anne.

St Paul’s has a long tradition of being associated with some of the most important people and events in British history. The funerals of the Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill are among those that have taken place there and Prince Charles and Lady Di got hitched there in 1981.
There’s a large crypt underneath St Paul’s where you’ll find the tombs of Nelson, Wellington, Wren himself, Florence Nightingale and other historical figures plus there’s a bust of TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) but he’s not buried in the crypt. They had their work cut out getting Nelson back here after he was killed at the battle of Trafalgar, first they had to preserve the body in French brandy and when they reached Gibraltar distilled wine, bet he smelt lovely.

The right side of the cross as you face east is called the South Transept and here there’s a monument to Lord Nelson, regarded as Britain’s greatest naval hero and other memorials to Captain Scott who died trying to be first to the South Pole and the painter Turner.
In the top eastern end of the cathedral is a part known as The Aspe and here behind the high altar you’ll find the American Memorial Chapel, there to show Britain’s gratitude to the US for their help in World War 2. The names of 28,000 Americans who died are on a roll of honour.

St Paul’s is most well known for its dome and there are three galleries in it you can climb up to and walk around. 93ft above the floor is the first and probably most well know, the Whispering Gallery, named because the acoustic’s of the space mean someone standing diametrically opposite can hear a whisper. Above are the Stone Gallery at 173ft and the Golden Gallery at 280 ft with outside walkways to get good views over the city.

The area around St Paul’s has been built up quite a bit since the catherdal was finished and its hard to get a good clear view of the dome to take a photo of. One of the best places I found was on the new Millennium Bridge that crosses the Thames from the Tate Modern. It is right in line with the dome of St Paul’s and you can clearly see it and the clock tower at the entrance.

St Paul’s Cathedral is still a church that’s used every day, there’s regular communion and quite a few special services. The new Lord Mayor of London stopped to receive a blessing last Saturday and next Thursday, 23 November they’ll be a US Thanksgiving Day Service from 11am-12pm which is free for anyone to attend.

St Paul’s is located in the heart of the City of London at the eastern end of Ludgate Hill, the nearest tube is St Paul’s. It’s open to visitors Mon-Sat from 8.30am-4pm and there’s a £9 charge for adults, children 7-16 £3.50.