The chief ecclesiastical ornament of London is the cathedral church of
St. Paul, which stands in the center of the metropolis, on an eminence
rising from the valley of the Fleet. The body of the church is in the
form of a cross. Over the space where the lines of that figure intersect
each other, rises a stately dome, from the top of which springs a
lantern adorned with Corinthian columns, and surrounded at its base by a
balcony; on the lantern rests a gilded ball, and on that a cross (gilt
also) crowning the ornaments of the edifice. The length of the church,
including the portico, is five hundred and ten feet; the breadth, two
hundred and eighty-two; the hight to the top of the cross, four hundred
and four; the exterior diameter of the dome, one hundred and forty-five;
and the entire circumference of the building, twenty-two hundred and
ninety-two feet. A dwarf stone wall, supporting a balustrade of cast
iron, surrounds the church, and separates a large area, which is
properly the church-yard, from a spacious carriage and foot-way on the
south side, and a foot pavement on the north.
The dimensions of this cathedral are great; but the grandeur of the
design, and the beauty and elegance of its proportions, more justly rank
it among the noblest edifices of the modern world. It is adorned with
three porticos; one at the principal entrance, facing the west, and
running parallel with the opening of Ludgate street and the other two
facing the north and south, at the extremities of the cross aisle, and
corresponding in their architecture. The western portico combines as
much grace and magnificence as any specimen of the kind in the world. It
consists of twelve lofty Corinthian columns below, and eight composite
above, supporting a grand pediment; the whole resting on an elevated
base, the ascent to which is by a flight of twenty-two square steps of
black marble, running the entire length of the portico. The portico at
the northern entrance consists of a dome, supported by six Corinthian
columns, with an ascent of twelve circular steps, of black marble. The
southern portico is similar, except that the ascent consists of
twenty-five steps, the ground on that side being lower.
The great dome is ornamented with thirty-two columns below, and a range
of pilasters above. At the eastern extremity of the church is a circular
projection, forming a recess within for the communion table. The walls
are wrought in rustic, and strengthened and ornamented by two rows of
coupled pilasters, one above the other, the lower being Corinthian, and
the other composite. The northern and southern sides have an air of
uncommon elegance. The corners of the western front are crowned with
turrets of an airy and light form. To relieve the heavy style of the
interior, statues and monuments have been erected to the memory of great
men. The statues are plain full-length figures, standing on marble
pedestals, with appropriate inscriptions, in honor of such men as Dr.
Samuel Johnson, Howard the philanthropist, Sir William Jones, &c., &c.
Several of the monuments would disgrace the most barbarous age, and
ought to be removed. The tomb of the great Nelson is beneath the
pavement immediately under the dome.
The two turrets on the right and left of the west front are each two
hundred and eight feet in hight. In the one on the southern side is the
great clock, the bell of which, weighing eleven thousand, four hundred
and seventy-four pounds, and being ten feet in diameter, may be heard in
the most distant part of London, when the wind blows toward that
quarter. The entire pavement, up to the altar, is of marble, chiefly
consisting of square slabs, alternately black and white, and is very
justly admired. The floor round the communion table is of the same kind
of marble, mingled with porphyry. The communion table has no other
beauty; for, though it is ornamented with four fluted pilasters, which
are very noble in their form, they are merely painted and veined with
gold, in imitation of _lapis lazuli_. Eight Corinthian columns of blue
and white marble, of exquisite beauty, support the organ gallery. The
stalls in the choir are beautifully carved, and the other ornaments are
of equal workmanship.
This cathedral was built at the national expense, and cost over
thirty-five hundred thousand dollars. The iron balustrade on the wall
surrounding the space that is properly the church-yard, including its
seven iron gates, weighs two hundred tuns, and cost over fifty thousand
dollars. This immense edifice was reared in thirty-five years, the first
stone being laid on the twenty-first of June, 1675, and the building
completed in 1710, exclusive of some of the decorations, which were not
finished till 1723. The highest stone of the lantern was laid on by Mr.
Christopher Wren, son of the architect, in 1710. It was built by one
architect, Sir Christopher Wren; by one mason, Mr. Strong; and while one
prelate, Dr. Henry Compton, filled the see of London.
The dimensions of St. Paul’s, from east to west, within the walls, are
five hundred and ten feet; from north to south, within the doors of the
porticos, two hundred and eighty-two; the breadth of the west entrance,
one hundred; its circuit, twenty-two hundred and ninety-two; its hight
within, from the center of the floor to the cross, three hundred and
forty feet. The circumference of the dome is four hundred and thirty
feet; the diameter of the ball, six; from the ball to the top of the
cross, thirty; and the diameter of the columns of the porticos, four
feet. The hight to the top of the west pediment, under the figure of St.
Paul, is one hundred and twenty feet; and that of the tower of the west
front, two hundred and eighty-seven. From the bottom of the
whispering-gallery are two hundred and eighty steps; including those to
the golden gallery, five hundred and thirty-four, and to the ball, in
all, six hundred and sixteen steps. The weight of the ball is fifty-six
hundred pounds. The weight of the cross is thirty-three hundred and
sixty. The extent of the ground whereon this cathedral stands, is two
acres and sixteen perches. The length of the hour figures, two feet and
two and a half inches; the circumference of the dial is fifty-seven
feet.
The _whispering-gallery_ is a very great curiosity. It is one hundred
and forty yards in circumference. A stone seat runs round the gallery
along the foot of the wall. On the side directly opposite the door by
which the visitor enters, several yards of the seat are covered with
matting, on which the visitor being seated, the man who shows the
gallery, whispers, with the mouth close to the wall, near the door, at
the distance of one hundred and forty feet from the visitor, who hears
his words in a loud voice, seemingly at his ear. The mere shutting of
the door produces a sound to those on the opposite seat like violent
claps of thunder. The effect is not so perfect if the visitor sits down
half-way between the door and the matted seat, and still less so if he
stands near the man who speaks, but on the other side of the door.
The marble pavement of the church is extremely beautiful, seen from this
gallery. The paintings on the inner side of the dome, by Sir James
Thornhill, are viewed with most advantage here. The ascent to the ball
is attended with some difficulty, and is encountered by few, yet both
the ball and passage to it well deserve the labor. The diameter of the
interior of the ball is nearly six feet, and twelve persons may sit
within it.
The prospect from every part of the ascent to the top of St. Paul’s,
wherever an opening presents itself, is extremely curious. The effect is
most complete from the gallery surrounding the foot of the lantern. The
metropolis, from that spot, has a mimic appearance, like the objects in
a _fantoccino_. The streets, the pavements, the carriages, and
foot-passengers, have the appearance of fairy ground and fairy objects.
The spectator, contemplating the bustle of the diminutive throng below,
is moved a little out of the sphere of his usual sympathy with them;
and, as if they were emmets, asks himself involuntarily, “About what are
those little, inconsequential animals engaged?”
The form of the metropolis, and the adjacent country, is most perfectly
seen from the gallery at the foot of the lantern, on a bright summer
day. The ascent to this gallery is by five hundred and thirty-four
steps, of which two hundred and sixty, nearest the bottom, are extremely
easy; those above difficult, and in some parts dark and unpleasant. In
the ascent to this gallery may be seen the brick cone that supports the
lantern, with its ball and cross; the outer dome being turned on the
outside of the cone, and the inner dome turned on the inside. The entire
contrivance to produce the effect within the church and on the outside,
intended by the architect, is extremely fine, even marvelous. From the
pavement of the church, the interior appears one uninterrupted dome to
the upper extremity; but it consists, in fact, of two parts, the lower
and principal dome having a large circular aperture at its top, through
which is seen a small dome, which appears to be part of the great and
lower dome, although entirely separated from it, being turned also
within the cone, though considerably above it.
[Illustration: FIRST CHURCH IN ENGLAND.]