to St. Paul's, and very gorgeous were the scenes which took place
there, when thanksgiving for the peace between England, France and
Spain was celebrated, when Princess Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin
of France, and Charles V. proclaimed emperor. But signs of trouble
were evident. Bishop Fisher thundered forth invectives against the
works of Luther, which were publicly burnt in St. Paul's Churchyard. A
few years later there was a burning in the Cathedral of heretical
books in the presence of the cardinal, who caused some of Luther's
followers to march round the blaze, throw in faggots, and thus to
contemplate what a burning of heretics would be like, and be thankful
that only their books and not their bodies were condemned to the
flames.
During this troubled time and in Mary's reign, St. Paul's was often
used as a place of trial for heretics, but Paul's Cross was a fruitful
breeding place for the principles of the Reformation. Here Latimer,
Ridley, Coverdale, Lever, and a host of others used to inveigh against
the errors of Rome and deny the authority of the Pope. Here they
exhibited the Boxley Rood, with all the tricks whereby it was made to
open its eyes and lips, and seem to speak. The crowd looked on, and
roared with laughter, seized the miraculous Rood, and broke it in
pieces. And then a strange thing happened in the Cathedral. One night
all the images, crucifixes and emblems of Popery were pulled down.
Terrible havoc was wrought, chalices and chasubles, altars and rich
hangings, books and costly vestments, were all seized and sold, and
helped to increase that vast heap of spoil which the greedy ministers
of Edward VI. gathered from the wasting of the Church's goods. Tombs
were pulled down, chantries and chapels devastated, cloisters and
chapter-houses removed bodily to Somerset House by Protector Somerset
for the building of his new palace, and all was wreckage, spoliation
and robbery.
Then came the fitful restoration of the "old religion," and many riots
ensued, many ears were nailed to the pillory nigh Paul's Cross; many
Protestants condemned in the Cathedral to the fires at Smithfield, and
many horrors enacted which Englishmen like not to remember.
With the coming of Elizabeth more peaceful times ensued, but the
Cathedral was in a sorry condition. Desecration reigned within. Then
in 1561 the spire caught fire, blazed and fell, destroying parts of
the roof. The clergy and citizens soon set to work to repair the
damage, but the glory of "old St. Paul's" had departed, and its
ruinous condition was the distress of rulers and the despair of the
citizens and clergy.
Elizabeth often visited the Cathedral, and troubled Dean Nowell by her
plainly-spoken criticisms. Felton was hung at the bishop's gates for
nailing a Papal bull to the palace doors, which declared the queen to
be a heretic and released her subjects from their allegiance. This
attempt of the Pope to dethrone the Virgin Queen was not very
successful. Some other conspirators suffered for their crimes in the
following reign in the precincts, four of the gunpowder conspirators
being hung, drawn and quartered before the west doors. Here also
Garnet, the Jesuit, shared a like fate.
King James attempted to restore the Cathedral, but his efforts came to
nothing. Charles I. did something, and from the designs of Inigo Jones
built a portico at the west end, and made some other improvements, but
the troubles of the Civil War intervened, and the money which had been
collected by Archbishop Laud and the generosity of the citizens of
London was seized by the Parliament and converted to other and baser
uses.
THE CIVIL WARS
Desolation reigned supreme in the once glorious church when Puritan
rage had vented itself on its once hallowed shrines and sacred things.
Cromwell's troopers "did after their kind." Whatever beautiful relics
of ancient worship reforming zeal had left were doomed to speedy
destruction. In the western portico built in the last reign shops were
set up for sempstresses and hucksters; Dr. Burgess, a Puritan divine,
thundered forth in his conventicle set up in the east of the
building; and the rest of the Cathedral was turned into a cavalry
barracks.
The conduct of the rough soldiers created great scandal. They played
games, brawled and drank in the church, prevented people from going
through the nave, and caused such grievous complaints, that an order
was passed forbidding them to play at ninepins from six o'clock in the
morning to nine in the evening.
The _Mercurius Eleneticus_ of 1648 waxes scornful over the misdeeds of
these rough riders, and scoffs sarcastically: "The saints in Paul's
were last week teaching their horses to ride up the great steps that
lead to the Quire, where (as they derided) they might perhaps learn to
chant an anthem; but one of them fell and broke his leg, and the neck
of his rider, which hath spoilt his chanting, for he was buried on
Saturday night last, a just judgment of God on such a profane and
sacrilegious wretch."
The famous Cross in the churchyard, which according to Dugdale, "had
been for many ages the most noted and solemn place in this nation for
the greatest divines and greatest scholars to preach at, was, with the
rest of the crosses about London and Westminster, by further order of
the Parliament, pulled down to the ground."
AFTER THE GREAT FIRE
With the restoration of the monarchy came the restoration of the
Cathedral. Dr. Wren, the great architect, was consulted, plans were
discussed, Wren prepared himself for the great work, and all was in
readiness, when the Great Fire broke out, and completed the ruin which
had already begun. It, however, paved the way for the erection of the
grand church which will ever be associated with the genius of its
great architect.
Both the diarists, Pepys and Evelyn, speak of the melancholy spectacle
of the great ruin. Pepys laments over the "miserable sight of Paul's
church, with all the roof falling, and the body of the nave fallen
into St. Faith."
And Dryden sings:--
"The daring flames press'd in and saw from far
The awful beauties of the sacred quire:
But since it was profaned by civil war
Heaven thought it fit to have it purged by fire."
[Illustration THE WEST FRONT]
Evelyn, in his diary, describes his visit to the church before the
fire with Dr. Wren, the bishop, dean and several expert workmen. "We
went about to survey the general decay of that ancient and venerable
church, and to set down in writing the particulars of what was fit to
be done. Finding the main building to recede outwards, it was the
opinion of Mr. Chickley and Mr. Prat that it had been so built _ab
origine_ for an effect in perspective, in regard of the height; but I
was, with Dr. Wren, quite of another judgment, and so we entered it:
we plumbed the uprights in several places. When we came to the
steeple, it was deliberated whether it were not well enough to repair
it only on its old foundation, with reservation to the four pillars;
... we persisted that it required a new foundation not only in regard
of the necessity, but that the shape of what stood was very mean, and
we had a mind to build it with a noble cupola, a form of
church-building not as yet known in England, but of wonderful
grace...."
Then came the Great Fire, so graphically described by Evelyn. He
writes: "The stones of Paul's flew like granados, the melting lead
running down the streets in a stream, and the very pavements glowing
with fiery redness, so as no horse or man was able to tread on them,
and the demolition had stopped all the passages, so that no help could
be applied."
This Great Fire roused again the energy and indomitable spirit of
Englishmen. They beheld without alarm the ashes of their houses, and
the destruction of their great city. They felt that the eyes of Europe
were upon them. A new city was to be built worthy of their nation,
worthy of the great centre of the commerce of the world. But to
restore St. Paul's was a stupendous work. Some were for rebuilding on
the old walls. Pepys describes the ruins: "I stopped at St. Paul's,
and then did go into St. Faith's Chapel, and also into the body of the
west part of the church; and do see a hideous sight of the walls of
the church ready to fall, that I was in fear as long as I was in it;
and here I saw the great vaults underneath the body of the church."
And again: "Up betimes, and walked to the Temple, and stopped, viewing
the Exchange, and Paul's, and St. Faith's, where strange how the very
sight of the stones falling from the top of the steeple do make me
sea-sick."
They began to repair the west end for service against the advice of
Wren, and Dean Sancroft was obliged to confess to the architect,--
"What you whispered in my ear at your last coming here is come to
pass. Our work at the west end of St. Paul's is fallen about our
ears."
At last the order was given to take down the walls, clear the ground,
and proceed according to the plans of Wren. He was thwarted and
distressed by the interference of many. His original design was to
build it in the form of a Greek cross, but to this the clergy
objected, and a Latin cross was decided upon.
In 1674 the workmen began to clear away the old ruins, no light task,
but in the end it was accomplished, the first stone of the new
Cathedral being laid on June 21, 1675. In October 1694 the choir was
finished, and on December 2, 1697, Divine service was performed for
the first time in the new edifice. It was a special thanksgiving for
the Peace of Ryswick, a peace which settled our Dutch William more
securely on the throne of England. His Majesty wished to attend the
service, but it was feared that amongst the vast crowds there might be
too many Jacobites, and he was persuaded to remain at his palace.
Bishop Compton preached a great sermon on the occasion from the text,
"I was glad when they said unto me, we will go into the House of the
Lord."
Thirteen years elapsed before the highest stone of the lantern on the
cupola was laid by Wren's son, and the magnificent building was
completed by the skill, genius and determination of one man, whose
memory deserves to be ever honoured by all Englishmen.
The men of his own day did not treat him worthily. During the building
of the Cathedral he was beset by all the annoyances jealousy and spite
could suggest, and at the end of his long and useful career, by the
intrigues of certain German adventurers, he was deprived of his post
of Surveyor-General after the death of Queen Anne. He retired to the
country, and spent the few remaining years of his life in peaceful
seclusion, occasionally giving himself the treat of a journey to
London, in order that he might feast his eyes on that great and
beautiful church which his skill had raised.
His was the first grave sunk in the Cathedral, and it bears the
well-known inscription, than which none could be more fitting:--
LECTOR, SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE.
THE EXISTING CATHEDRAL--EXTERIOR
The new St. Paul's is without doubt the grandest building in London.
Perhaps the finest view is obtained from the approach by Ludgate
Hill, and the grandeur of its majestic dome is most impressive. The
style is English Renaissance. We will begin our survey with the _West
Front_, which was erected last, and therefore bears the stamp of
Wren's matured genius. There are two storeys. In the lower there is a
row of Corinthian columns arranged in pairs, and in the second storey
a similar series. On the triangular pediment above is a carving of the
Conversion of St. Paul, while a statue of the saint crowns the apex,
the other statues representing SS. Peter and James and the four
Evangelists. Two towers stand, one on each side of the front, and
complete a superb effect. These contain a grand peal of twelve bells,
one of which, called Great Paul, fashioned twenty years ago, is one of
the largest in the world. Rich marbles, brought from Italy and Greece,
adorn the pavement.
Proceeding to the _north side_ we note the two-storied construction,
the graceful Corinthian pilasters,[3] arranged in pairs, with
round-headed windows between them; the entablature; and then, in the
second storey, another row of beautiful pilasters of the Composite
order. Between these are niches where one would have expected windows;
but this storey is simply a screen to hide the flying buttresses
supporting the clerestory, as Wren thought them a disfigurement. The
walls are finished with a cornice, which Wren was compelled by hostile
critics to add, much against his own judgment. There are some
excellently-carved festoons of foliage and birds and cherubs, which
are well worthy of close observation. The _North_ and _South Fronts_
have Corinthian pillars, which support a semi-circular entablature.
Figures of the Apostles adorn the triangular-shaped head and
balustrade. The Royal arms appear on the north side, and a Phoenix
is the suitable ornament on the south, signifying the resurrection of
the building from its ashes.
The south side is almost exactly similar to the north. The east end
has an apse.
The magnificent _Dome_ is composed of an outward and inward shell, and
between these there rises a cone-shaped structure which supports the
lantern, crowned with its golden ball and cross. The arrangement of
this is most complex, and is a witness to the marvellous skill of the
architect. Above the row of Composite columns is a gallery, which
affords a good view to those who are anxious to climb. Above the
actual dome is the Golden Gallery, and then the lantern, roofed with
a dome bearing the ball and cross. The whole height is 365 feet.
INTERIOR OF THE BUILDING
The view on entering the Cathedral at the west is most impressive. The
magnitude of the design, the sense of strength and stability, as well
as the beauty of the majestic proportions, are very striking. Over the
doors we see carvings of St. Paul at Berea. A gallery is over the
central doorway, and here is a good modern window.
[Illustration The Nave from the Choir]
The nave has a large western bay with chapels, three other bays, and a
large space beneath the west wall of the dome. It has three storeys,
the lofty arches, a storey which in a Gothic church would be termed
the triforium, and a clerestory. Grand Corinthian pilasters are
attached to the massive piers, with wonderfully-wrought capitals,
which support the entablature. The arches spring from smaller
pilasters joined to the larger ones. Great arches springing from the
triforium piers span the nave, and between these arches are
dome-shaped roofs. High up there are festoons of carving. The aisles
have three large windows, and Composite pilasters adorn the walls and
support the vault. The north chapel at the west end is the Morning
Chapel, and is adorned with mosaics and modern glass, in memory of
Dean Mansell (1871). The south chapel is called the Consistory, and
once held Wellington's monument, to which the marble sculptures
refer. Here is an unusual _Font_ of Carrara marble.
The _Dome_ is supported by immense and massive masonry. Above the
arches a cornice runs round, supporting the _Whispering Gallery_. Then
the dome begins to curve inward. Above is a row of windows, set in
groups of three, separated by niches recently filled with statues of
the Fathers, and then the dome is completed and painted by Sir James
Thornhill with scenes from the life of St. Paul. These are too faint
and too far distant to be easily observed. The painter nearly lost his
life through stepping backward in order to see the effect of his
brush, and nearly fell from the scaffold. His companion just saved his
life by flinging a brush at the painting, and Thornhill rushed forward
to rescue his work, and thus his life was saved.
The _Pulpit_ is made of rich marble, and the lectern was made in 1720.
The modern _mosaics_ are of unique interest, and add much to the
beauty of the Cathedral. To Sir William Richmond the credit of this
work is mainly due, and for some of earlier portions to Mr. G.F.
Watts, R.A.
The _Transepts_ have good windows, representing (north) the twelve
founders of English Christianity, and south, the first twelve
Christian Saxon kings, and also a window in memory of the recovery
from illness of His Majesty Edward VII. when Prince of Wales.
[Illustration Woodwork South Choir Aisle]
The _Choir_ has some wonderfully-carved stalls by the famous Grinling
Gibbons, and these bear the names of the prebendaries attached to the
Cathedral, with the parts of the Psalter which each one had to say
each day, an arrangement similar to that at Lincoln.
The _Reredos_ is a noble example of modern work, and is worthy of
close examination. Behind it is the Jesus Chapel, containing a
monument of Canon Liddon. The mosaic decorations of the choir are the
work of Sir William Richmond, and are worthy of the highest praise.
MONUMENTS
One feature of St. Paul's especially endears it to us, and that is
that there lie all that is mortal of many of our national heroes.
Westminster is richer in its many monuments of great poets and
writers; but the makers of the Empire and most of our distinguished
painters are entombed in the "citizens' church." We can only point out
the tombs of the most illustrious.
_Nave_ (North Aisle)--
Wellington (d. 1852), the hero of Waterloo.
Gordon (d. 1890), slain at Khartoum.
Stewart, General (d. 1880), who tried to rescue Gordon.
Melbourne, Viscount (1848), Queen Victoria's first Prime Minister.
_North Transept_--
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1792), by Flaxman.
Rodney, Admiral (1790), the hero of Martinique.
Picton (1815), slain at Waterloo.
Napier, General (1860), author of _Peninsular War_.
Ponsonby, General (1815), killed at Waterloo.
Hallam, the historian (1859).
Johnson, Samuel (1784).
_South Transept_--
Nelson, Admiral.
Sir John Moore (1806), killed at Corunna.
Turner, Joseph, R.A. (1851), painter.
Collingwood, Admiral (1810), Colleague of Nelson.
Howe, Admiral (1799), Colleague of Nelson.
Howard, John (1790), the prison reformer, the first monument erected.
Lawrence, General (1857), killed in Indian Mutiny.
Cornwallis, General (1805), fought in American War and in India.
_South Choir Aisle_--
Dean Milman (1868).
Bloomfield, Bishop (1856).
Jackson, Bishop (1885).
Heber, Bishop (1826), of Calcutta.
Liddon, Canon (1890).
[Illustration Johnson's Statue in St. Paul's Cathedral]
The _Crypt_ contains the Parish Church of St. Faith, Wellington's
funeral car fashioned from captured cannon, and his tomb, Nelson's
tomb (the coffin is made from the wood of one of his ships--the tomb
is sixteenth-century work and was made for Cardinal Wolsey), the grave
of Wren with its famous inscription, and many illustrious painters
sleep in the _Painters' Corner_, amongst whom our modern artists
Leighton and Millais rest with Reynolds, Lawrence, Landseer and
Turner.
DIMENSIONS
Total length 460 ft.
Length of nave 200 ft.
Width of nave 100 ft.
Height of nave 89 ft.
Length of choir 160 ft.
Height of cross on dome 363 ft.
Height of west towers 222 ft.
Area 59,700 sq. ft.
Style--English Renaissance.
BUILDING DATES
Begun June 21, 1675.
Cathedral finished 1710.
[Illustration PLAN OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL]
FOOTNOTE:
[3] A pilaster is a column attached to a wall.
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
The famous Abbey Church of Westminster, though not a cathedral, must
be included in our chronicle of the chief ecclesiastical buildings in
this country. It is the coronation church of the sovereigns of
England, the final resting-place of many, the national tomb-house of
our heroes and great men, as well as a triumph of Gothic architecture
of singular beauty and attractiveness. For one brief space at the time
of the Reformation there was a Bishop of Westminster, but the see did
not long continue, and it is for other reasons that Westminster must
find a place in this volume. In early Saxon times a chapel dedicated
to St. Peter was built by Siebert in the seventh century on an island
rising from the marshy ground bordering the Thames. It was called
Thorney, and the eastern portion of the water in St. James's Park is a
part of the arm of the Thames which encircled the sanctuary of the
monks and the palace of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Here was established by
Dunstan a colony of Benedictine monks. In the charters of Edgar (951)
the original boundary of Westminster is clearly defined, though this
charter is esteemed doubtful by Kemble, and the importance of
Westminster gradually increased. Edward the Confessor took a
particular interest in the place, and began his building of the Abbey
in 1050. On Childermas Day (the Feast of the Holy Innocents) 1065 the
choir was finished and consecrated, and on "Twelfth Mass Eve" the king
died and was buried here. The Bayeux tapestry depicts the scene of
this Royal funeral, and gives a representation of the church. The
earlier church still remained as the nave of the new choir. A few
fragments of Edward's work remain beneath the pavement of the present
choir. The work progressed while William Rufus was building his Royal
palace, and at the time of his death the transepts and first bay of
the nave were completed, the first conspicuous example of a great
Benedictine church in England. Henry I. and Matilda were crowned here
with much pomp, and all the monarchs since the time of the Conqueror.
Early in the days of Henry III. a new lady chapel was built, and this
inspired the artistic soul of the young king, who determined to build
an abbey worthy of the honour of God in the best and newest style of
architecture. He was a Frenchman in feeling, and had passed many days
at the Court of St. Louis. So his new monastic church must be
fashioned in the French style; his monks must speak French, and he
chose a French model for his architecture, for the plan of his church
with its French _chevet_, and for the radiating chapels of the choir.
But in spite of this French design our Westminster remains "a great
French thought expressed in excellent English"; it is like "one of
Chaucer's lays, a sweetly English poem inspired by a French romance,"
and is the most finished product of the Early English of the first
half of the thirteenth century. Its French peculiarities may be seen
in the narrowness and height of the bays of the choir, its plan with
regard to the radiating chapels, and in the tracery of the windows.
The work began in 1245 with the east end, and all the building as far
as the fourth bay of the nave was finished in 1269. The noble
re-founder was buried in his glorious minster. Edward I. brought here
the coronation stone of the Scottish kings, and had it placed in the
new throne which he fashioned to enclose it. In the fourteenth century
much building was done to perfect the monastery. In the time of
Richard II. the reconstruction of the old nave was in progress, and
Henry V. took much interest in it. His father died in the Jerusalem
Chamber. The building of the nave continued, and the well-known
Whittington, "thrice Lord Mayor of London," in 1413 helped forward the
work by liberal contributions. The Tudor badges in the vaulting of the
last bays show the later character of that portion of the building.
Henry VII. built the beautiful and famous chapel at the east end in
place of the Lady Chapel built in 1220, which is such a perfect
example of the best Perpendicular work. It was finished about 1520.
[Illustration DEAN'S YARD, WESTMINSTER, IN 1730]