What a Wonderful World: London according to St Paul's

St Paul's Cathedral seen across the River Thames 1850
(Photo taken from wikipedia)

St. Paul's Cathedral is the jewel of London's many landmarks. I made it a point to get a Christian perspective on the building too. I engaged the services of Fiona Cater, a blue badge guide who specialises in custom-made tours of London with a biblical slant.

St. Paul sits in the heart of the city of London

So off we went on the 6 June at 12.45pm, Dad, Mum, Charissa, John and I for our three-and a half hour tour of St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. We met at the statue of Queen Anne.

Mum and Dad in front of the statue of Queen Anne

Fiona launches into the facts about St Paul's exterior

Sir Christopher Wren, the architect had had apparently no concrete drawing plans, making things up as he went. The church authorities had wanted a spire for the church but the wily Wren had his way. He was 30 years old when he was commissioned to build the cathedral. The building took 35 years to erect and Sir Christopher Wren lived to see the cathedral's completion.

1755 Engraving of the dome
by Samuel Wale and John Gwynn
(Photo taken from wikipedia)

The dome from the inside (Photo taken from wikipedia)

Scaffolding concealed the actual dome he was constructing until the time was ripe for revelation!

One of the faces of St. Paul's exterior

St. Paul's survived the Battle of Britain relatively unscathed boosting the morale of the besieged Londoners. Apparently Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during the war years ordered all available fire fighting services to be directed to St. Paul's should it have sustained a hit. It was his firm belief that its survival was necessary to galvanise the will of the British public. He was not wrong.

St. Paul's Survives, 29 December 1940
(Photo taken from wikipedia)

They were tuning the organ when we were there. It lasted a good half an hour and nearly drove me to distraction! Imagine a single note being played for five to ten minutes. Multiply that by a few tens. It is good thing the visual input far outweighed my auditory input!

St. Paul's Cathedral South Organ
(Photo taken from wikipedia)

St. Paul's Cathedral has been etched deeply into the memory of the world as it was here that Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spenser in 1981. It was also here that the funeral services of Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Margaret Thatcher were conducted.

How do you fit an entire cathedral into
a single photograph?

Bit by bit I guess...

The famous dome from a low angle

There is a plaque remembering "the morning star of the Reformation", John Wycliffe who challenged the malpractices of the established church in 1376. He said the Bible was ultimate authority on what God had to say, not the Pope nor the clergy. He was called to St. Paul's Cathedral to answer charges. He was spared punishment due to powerful supporters. Wycliffe is best remembered for putting the Bible in English into the hands of the common people; a fact we must be grateful for.