VIEWS OF
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
London
WITH NOTES BY
THE REV. SPARROW SIMPSON, D.D.
PHOTOGRAPHED & PUBLISHED
BY FREEMAN DOVASTON
EALING, LONDON
W.
THE WESTERN FAÇADE.
The first stone of S. Paul’s Cathedral was laid by Sir Christopher Wrenand his Master-mason on June 21, 1675; the last stone of the lanternabove the Dome was laid in 1710, by Mr. Christopher Wren (who was borna year before the laying of the first stone), in the presence of SirChristopher (his father), Mr. Strong (the Master-builder), and otherFree and Accepted Masons.
The dimensions of the Cathedral, as given in the Rev. LewisGilbertson’s excellent Official Guide, are as follows:—
The exterior length, exclusive of the projection of the steps, 515feet; the interior, 479 feet; the width across the Transepts, from doorto door, 250 feet; width across Nave and Aisles, 102 feet; and betweenthe stone piers, 41 feet; the Western front, 180 feet; the diameter ofthe octagonal area at the crossing of Nave and Transept, 107 feet; thediameter of the drum beneath the Dome, 112 feet; of the Dome itself,102 feet. The height of the Central Aisle, 89 feet. The total heightfrom the pavement of the Churchyard to the top of the Cross, 365 feet;the height of the Western Towers, 221 feet. The entire cost seems tohave been about a million pounds.
The exquisite Dome has been justly called “the very crown of England’sarchitectural glory.” As Mr. Fergusson has said, “its dimensions,the beauty of its details, the happy outline of the campaniles, theproportion of these to the façade, and of all the parts one to another,make up the most pleasing design of its class that has yet beenexecuted.” Strype says, “This Cathedral is undoubtedly one of the mostmagnificent modern buildings in Europe.”
THE WESTERN FAÇADE.
S. PAUL’S FROM THE SOUTH WEST.
This fine view was taken from the top of the buildings of the PostOffice Savings Bank in Queen Victoria Street: taken, fortunately,before the erection of the large block of warehouses at the south westof the Churchyard. Since these buildings have been completed the lowerpart of the Cathedral can no longer be seen from the position justindicated. The exquisite proportions of the Dome are here displayed tothe fullest advantage.
S. PAUL’S FROM THE SOUTH WEST.
S. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, WEST FRONT, N.W. ANGLE.
Here is seen a part of the Western Façade, with the noble flightof steps, the North Portico, and the North Eastern portion of theChurchyard. The columns with their capitals and the carving over thewindow in the lower part of the North Tower, are well displayed. Inancient times the Palace of the Bishops of London adjoined this tower.
S. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, WEST FRONT, N.W. ANGLE.
THE SOUTH TRANSEPT.
The beauty of the South West Campani