Cathedrals

St. Paul's Cathedral

City of London, London, Greater London, England, EC4

St. Paul's Cathedral is a totally modern church.  The location has a history going back to 604.  The first Norman cathedral on the site fell into disrepair and became a market place and pedestrian thoroughfare.  It was commisioned for a rebuild in the 17th century by Inigo Jones, but the Civil War stopped the rebuilding.  Charles II asked Christopher Wren to draw plans for remodelling, however, before any work was done to rebuild, the entire structure burned to the ground in the Great Fire of 1665.  A few days after this, Wren presented plans for a new cathedral.  The plan was rejected.  Wren presented another plan that was approved.  He then quietly slipped in most of his original plan, which drawed heavily on Catholic tradition, as the work proceded.

It turned out to be a real blessing that Wren built the Cathedral his way.  The result is an architecutral wonder.

The Cathedral is classically styled, surmounted with a glorious dome of which at the top you can see wonderful views of the great city.  Whispering Gallery is inside the dome and named Whispering Gallery because if you whisper into the wall, your words can be heard all the way across the dome, which is a full 112 feet away.  Choir stalls are by 17th century woodcarving genius Grinling Gibbons.  The interior is of rich colour and ornate classical decoration.  It is built to perfect proportions to create an effect of uplifting and awe-inspiring.

The church has several hundred monuments.  On Wren's monument is written the Latin inscription of:  "Reader, if you seek his monument, look about you."

Website:  http://www.stpauls.co.uk

email:  chapter@stpaulscathedral.org.uk

Telephone:  020 7236 4128

Southwark Cathedral

Southwark, London, England, SE1 9DA

The Southwark Cathedral was formerly known as St. Mary Overie ("over the river") and became a cathedral in 1905.  The chancel and retrochoir were rebuilt after a fire in 1212.  The retrochoir is a rare medieval survivor in London.  Here was the most infamous red-light district in greater London.  The activities provided a major source of income for the bishops.  The ladies employed in the brothels of Southwark were called "the Bishop of Winchester's geese."

Website:  http://www.southwark.anglican.org/cathedral

Email:  cathedral@southwark.anglican.org

telephone:  020 7367 6700