St. Paul's Cathedral Research Paper

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St. Paul’s Cathedral is an English Baroque styled cathedral dedicated to Paul of Apostle. It is the second cathedral to be built on the same site, first being Old St. Paul’s Cathedral which was also dedicated to Paul of Apostle. It is located in the City of London, England. The Fourth St. Paul’s, more commonly known as Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, was rebuilt by the Normans after it was destroyed by a fire in 1087, the fire also burned majority of the buildings in the City of London. The Normans, who in recent times had just conquered Britain, were determined to construct the largest Christian church in the world. Construction of the church finished in 1240 but the process of developing it to enlarge the church began less than 20 years later. …show more content…

The nave and transepts were refaced in Portland stone in the classical style and was remodelled with a portico. In 1642, restoration of the building was underway until the English Civil war put the project on hold. On 2nd September a major conflagration swept through the city damaging majority of the buildings in the City of London. It burned for four days and four nights, destroying 13,200 houses and 87 churches, including Old St. Paul’s Cathedral. The King at the time, Charles II, and the Lord Mayor quickly organise the reconstruction of the city. Nine days after the start of the fire Sir Christopher Wren produced a plan for the city which included a design for a new cathedral. Unfortunately, the city’s inhabitants needed places to live and work as soon as possible have already begun the process of rebuilding the city. Repairs were made to the Old St. Paul’s Cathedral but the structure of the building was damaged in the fire. Two years after the fire, Wren was commissioned to produce a new design for new building and demolition of the old cathedral had begun in the same year. The demolition of the cathedral was unexpectedly difficult as the stonework had been bonded …show more content…

The design featured a dome that was topped with a tall spire and was set on a Latin cross. Wren was later given a warrant, by the King, giving him full freedom to make alterations to the building. He took advantage of this and changed many things to the new cathedral such as changing the proportions and removing the idea of a spire on top of the dome. Also, the construction of the cathedral started in that same year. The cathedral we see today is very well different to that of the design they initially agreed on. Building work finished 36 years later making St. Paul’s Cathedral the first English cathedral to be completed during the lifetime of the original architect. Half-way through the building process, the quire was opened for worship while construction continued around it. Later that year, Wren gathered renowned artists and craftsman to work on the building. On 26 October 1708, a ceremony was held showing the ‘topping out’ of the dome. This was not the end of the construction and work on the building continued afterward. Finally, after 35 years, the new St. Paul’s Cathedral was completed in 1710. The building was officially declared by the Parliament that it was formally completed on 25th June 1711. After when building was declared complete, Wren would return on a regular basis, until his death in 1723 at the age of 91, to sit under the dome and contemplate his

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