St. Paul's Cathedral

By
Lexie Zeppos

St Paul’s Cathedral is located opposite or across from Ludgate. This cathedral took fifty years to build and was constructed from white stone imported from Portland. In the final construct the building was in the shape of a cross, which was 700 ft long, 150 ft wide, and over 150 ft in height. Because this building was so big, there are many architectural aspects that needed to be added for the strucural stability of the building; one being columns for support.  

The front of the cathedral is located at the western end and has an exquisite doorway.  This doorway is very famous for possessing two porticoes, one upon the other. The columns that supported the porticoes held shrines of statues and a parapet. The parapet held special value due to it being believed to be “the bas-relief history of the conversion of St. Paul” (Saussure, 75), and because of this it was placed at the highest point of the shrine.    

When De Saussure entered St Paul’s Cathedral, he found it is filled with magnificent and beautiful statues of saints and life-sized statues of apostles. The walls were covered with paintings, and the rooms were filled with sculptures and wood and stone figures. The choir in the service is supposedly divine and play in a closed off room, “which is shut off by a beautiful screen of various kinds of marble, with a bronze door.” (Saussue, 77) 

The inside of the Cathedral was sectioned off by different areas, one being the clock tower. The clock tower is on the western side, which is said to be “the most reliable” in London.  In the central part of the cathedral is where the Round Tower is located. The round tower is 300 ft tall and 300ft wide.  The most prominent part of the cathedral would be the dome. The dome is 70 ft high and covered in lead. From the top of the Dome the entire city of London can be viewed.  

The dome is decorated with Godfrey Kneller’s painting of the Twelve Apostles. Saussure conducts an experiment while being in the dome by whispering to the wall for his friend on the other side to hear. Saussure was shocked that his friend, “caught every word I spoke”(Saussue 77). Due to there not being many domes in London in this time period, this discovery was very fascinating.  

A statue dedicated to Queen Anne is beautifully displayed in the courtyard of the cathedral. The sculpture at the time had made Queen Anne out of white marble which was the easiest material to carve. She is portrayed to her high status by being clothed in her royal robe, sceptre in her hand, and has her crown on her head.   

Bibliography

De Saussure, César (1902). A foreign view of England in the reigns of George I and George II. London: J. Murray

The North Prospect of St. Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire of 1666. 

Media Credit

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