variety, not so immediately attractive to every one as that of the
other Burne-Jones windows; but when one has sat down for five or
ten minutes and deciphered the various scenes, its unapproachable
beauty becomes apparent, and each succeeding visit deepens the
impression of the splendour and poetry of this incomparable work.
“The scenes depicted are, by the artist’s own account, as
follows:--
“_First Light_: St. Frideswide and her companions brought up by St.
Cecilia and St. Catherine; St. Frideswide founds her first convent;
A messenger from the King of Mercia demands her in marriage; The
King comes to take her by force, and the first convent is broken
up.
“_Second Light_: Flight of St. Frideswide to Abingdon; The King of
Mercia and his soldiers in pursuit; The Flight continued; The
Pursuit continued; St. Frideswide takes refuge in a pig-sty.
“_Third Light_: Flight of St. Frideswide to Binsey; The King of
Mercia in pursuit; St. Frideswide founds a new convent at Binsey;
Her merciful deeds.
“_Fourth Light_: Return of St. Frideswide to Oxford; The Siege of
Oxford by the King of Mercia; The Siege continued; The King struck
blind; The Death of St. Frideswide.
“In the tracery above are the trees of life and of knowledge, and a
ship of souls convoyed by angels.”--(P. D.)
Passing into the north transept we note that the eastern aisle has been
merged into the Lady-Chapel and Latin-Chapel of which it forms the
western bays; but that the western aisle remains.
The north window (modern glass) was restored back to its original design
by Sir Gilbert Scott. Beneath it is a panelled tomb of Henry VII.’s
period. It is supposed to be that of a monk named =Zouch= (died 1503),
probably a scribe, because his ink-horn and pen-case appear on the
shields of his tomb. He left a bequest to pay for the vaulting.
The =Tower= is not perfectly square. The nave and choir sides are wider
than those of the transepts, and therefore the north and south arches
are pointed and the east and west arches are round. Foliage decorates
the capitals of the shafts. The lantern is open and is ornamented with
arcades and arches. At the south-east pier the break in the masonry
indicates, in the opinion of some students, the place where the builders
stopped work when Sweyn drove Ethelred out of England.
The fine Jacobean =Pulpit= (1635), elaborately carved with grotesques on
the panels, deserves at least a passing glance.
The south transept has no aisles, for the western aisle was cut off by
the cloisters and the eastern aisle became =St. Lucy’s Chapel=, in the
second bay. Though there are many old royalist tombs the chief interest
here is the beautiful =Window= of three lights, the Flamboyant tracery of
which frames the most splendid glass in the whole cathedral. It dates
from about 1330.
“In the uppermost compartment of the tracery is a figure of our
Lord seated in glory; below there are angels with censers, and next
two Augustinian monks in blue and white robes, kneeling with
outstretched arms; then come coats-of-arms, and various grotesque
beasts, all most richly coloured in ruby and blue and green and
gold. Below, in the principal spaces, are (1) St. Martin on
horseback giving his coat to the beggar; (2) the martyrdom of St.
Thomas à Becket: St. Thomas’ head has been knocked out by some
fanatic, and replaced with white glass; the armour and shields of
the knights should be noticed; (3) St. Augustine, who holds a
pastoral staff, is teaching his monks and others. In the next four
spaces are:--The head of a king; St. Cuthbert, carrying the head
of St. Oswald, and wearing a green chasuble; St. Blaise, in a
mulberry-coloured chasuble; the head of a queen. The glass in the
three main lights was destroyed, and then replaced by some of
Seventeenth Century work, but this too is now gone, all except a
portion of the upper part which shows that the design was
architectural in character and the colour that of fog-smitten
stone-work.”--(P. D.)
The =South-Choir-Aisle= is of earlier date than the nave and transept
aisles. Scott rebuilt the southern windows in the Norman style. Heads of
men and monkeys decorate the corbels that support the vault. The
original half-flower moulding adorns the Decorated east window
(restored) which contains one of Burne-Jones’s famous designs. It is a
memorial to =Edith Liddell= (1876), whose portrait appears in the central
figure as St. Catherine. In the tracery above angels are playing musical
instruments and in the panels below are scenes from the life and death
of St. Catherine.
The third window in the wall near St. Lucy’s Chapel is of great
interest. It is the only one of the original Romanesque windows that
remains. The old glass shows a portrait of =Bishop King=, Abbot of Oseney
and first Bishop of Oxford. He died in 1557 and was buried in Christ
Church Cathedral.
“This window, with some others, was taken down during the Civil
War, buried for safety by a member of the family, and put up again
at the Restoration. The Bishop is represented standing vested in a
jewelled cope of cloth of gold, and mitre, a pastoral staff in his
gloved hand. In the background, among the trees, is a picture of
Oseney Abbey in its already ruined condition (c. 1630), drawn
without much feeling for its architecture, but of great value as
almost the only picture of the place we possess. The western tower
was the first home of what are now the Christ Church bells. Three
coats-of-arms (being those of the Bishop, impaled with the Abbey
of Oseney and the See of Oxford) complete the richness of what is a
very good example of Seventeenth Century _painted_ glass, in the
strict sense of the word.”--(P. D.)
South of the South Transept the slype, a vaulted passage including part
of the transept, leads into the Cloisters.
South of the slype lies the =Chapter-House=, deserving a visit because it
is a fine example of Early English. The monks’ heads carved on the
corbels, the bosses of the roof, and the arcade of five arches at the
east end are the chief features of the interior.
[Illustration: OXFORD: LATIN CHAPEL]
[Illustration: ST. PAUL’S: WEST FRONT]
ST. PAUL’S, LONDON
DEDICATION: ST. PAUL. A CHURCH FORMERLY SERVED BY SECULAR CANONS.
SPECIAL FEATURES: DOME; CHOIR STALLS; TOMBS AND MONUMENTS.
The present building in the Renaissance style is the third Christian
church erected on this site. It is said that a Roman temple to Diana
stood here; but the earliest church of which records exist was erected
by Ethelbert, King of Kent, in 610, in which he was assisted by Siebert,
King of the East Saxons, his nephew, who founded the monastery of St.
Peter, called Westminster, on Thorney Island. This Cathedral, which owed
much of its prosperity to St. Erkenwald, fourth Bishop of London, to
whose memory a golden shrine was erected here, suffered from fire in 961
and was completely destroyed in 1086. On the ruins a Norman church was
immediately erected, the architect for which was Bishop Maurice. Though
injured by fire in 1193 it was a stately and beautiful building, in the
Norman style. It was cruciform, with two western towers for bells and a
high tower in the centre with a spire. In addition to the high altar
there were seventy or eighty chantries with their own altars, and behind
the high altar the golden shrine containing the body of St. Erkenwald.
The nave contained twelve bays and also the choir rebuilt in 1221. The
Lady-Chapel was added in 1225. It was the largest Cathedral in England.
St. Paul’s was rich in relics and in treasure of all kinds--pictures
and frescoes, vestments, gold, silver and jewels. In 1312 the nave was
paved with marble and in 1315 a new wooden spire 460 feet high was
added.
This great Cathedral became the very centre of the life of the citizens.
Here men met to defend their liberties, summoned by the great bells of
St. Paul’s, from the days of King Stephen until the magnificent
Cathedral perished in the Great Fire.
“Again and again the tocsin sounded, as St. Paul’s bell rang clear
and loud, and the citizens seized their weapons and formed their
battalions beneath the shadow of the great church. Now it was to
help Simon de Montfort against the King; now to seize the person of
the obnoxious Queen Eleanor, who was trying to escape by water from
the Tower to Windsor, and who was rescued from their hands by the
Bishop of London, and found refuge in his palace. Now the
favourites of Edward II. excited their rage, especially the Bishop
of Exeter, the King’s regent, who dared to ask the Lord Mayor for
the keys of the city and paid for his temerity with his life.[9]
“The chronicles of the Cathedral tell the story of the troublous
times of the Wars of the Roses. We see Henry IV. pretending bitter
sorrow for the death of the murdered Richard, and covering with
cloth-of-gold the body, which had been exhibited to the people in
St. Paul’s. We see Henry V. returning in triumph from the French
wars, riding in state to the Cathedral attended by ‘the mayor and
brethren of the City companies, wearing red gowns with hoods of red
and white, well-mounted and gorgeously horsed with rich collars and
great chains, rejoicing at his victorious return.’ Then came Henry
VI. attended by bishops, the dean and canons, to make his offering
at the altar. Here the false Duke of York took his oath on the
Blessed Sacrament to be loyal to the King. Here the rival houses
swore to lay aside their differences, and to live at peace. But a
few years later saw the new King Edward IV., at St. Paul’s,
attended by great Warwick, the king-maker, with his body-guard of
800 men-at-arms. Strange were the changes of fortune in those days.
Soon St. Paul’s saw the exhibition of the dead body of the
king-maker, and not long afterwards that of the poor dethroned
Henry, and Richard came in state here amid the shouts of the
populace. After the defeat of the conspiracy of Lambert Simnel,
Henry VII. celebrated a joyous thanksgiving in the Cathedral, and
here, amid much rejoicing, the youthful marriage of Prince Arthur
with Katherine of Aragon took place, when the conduits of Cheapside
and on the west of the Cathedral ran with wine, and the bells rang
joyfully, and all wished happiness to the Royal children whose
wedded life was destined to be so brief.
“St. Paul’s became the gathering-place for lords and courtiers and
professional people, who met every day from eleven till twelve and
from three till six to discuss the news of the day and to transact
business.
“Here lawyers received their clients; here men sought service; here
usurers met their victims, and the tombs and font were mightily
convenient for counters for the exchange of money and the
transaction of bargains, and the rattle of gold and silver was
constantly heard amidst the loud talking of the crowd. Gallants
enter the Cathedral wearing spurs, having just left their steeds at
The Bell and Savage and are immediately besieged by the choristers,
who have the right of demanding spur money from any one entering
the building wearing spurs. Nor are the fair sex absent, and Paul’s
Walk was used as a convenient place for assignations. Old plays are
full of references to this practice. Later on the nave was nothing
but a public thoroughfare, where men tramped, carrying baskets of
bread and fish, flesh and fruit, vessels of ale, sacks of coal, and
even dead mules and horses and other beasts. Hucksters and peddlers
sold their wares. Duke Humphrey’s tomb was the great meeting-place
of all beggars and low rascals, and they euphemistically called
their gathering ‘a dining with Duke Humphrey.’ Much more could be
written of this assembly of all sorts and conditions of men, but we
have said enough to show that the Cathedral had suffered greatly
from desecration and abuse. Indeed an old writer in 1561 declared
that the burning of the steeple in that year was a judgment for the
scenes of profanation which were daily witnessed in old St.
Paul’s.”--(P. H. D.)
Cromwell’s army demolished shrines and destroyed all the relics and
works of art, and seamstresses and hucksters took up their abode in the
western portico, built by Charles I. after designs by Inigo Jones. At
the Restoration plans to repair and restore the Cathedral were being
made by Wren when the Great Fire destroyed it. Wren had the task of
rebuilding it, and produced a masterpiece that takes rank with St.
Peter’s in Rome and even surpasses it in some of its details.
“The stones of Paul’s,” wrote Evelyn, “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.”
It took a long time to remove the ruins and to decide upon the plan for
the successor of Old St. Paul’s. Wren made numerous designs and drawings
and there was great delay. At length the royal warrant was obtained and
the first stone was laid June 21, 1675, at the south-east corner of the
choir. The Cathedral was building for thirty-five years. The choir was
finished and service held in it on December 2, 1697. It is sad to
remember that the great architect was a victim of jealousy and intrigue,
and pleasant to know that he lived to see the glorious church that had
taken form in his mind completed. It was finished in 1710.
“Was there ever known in the history of the world any cathedral
which suffered from fire like St. Paul’s? The whole career of the
church was an ordeal by fire. It was injured by fire a hundred
years before Westminster Hall was built; it was totally destroyed
by fire in the Eleventh Century and it took nearly two centuries to
restore it to anything like its former magnificence. ‘Away! we
lose ourselves in light,’ might have been its motto, for it was all
but completely destroyed by fire in the Fifteenth Century, and its
spire, which was then claimed to be the highest in the world, was
destroyed by fire a century later. Thus we have brought it to the
terrible days of 1666, when it went under with so much of London to
accompany it--one of the most tremendous conflagrations recorded in
the history of great cities. Then came the Commission to rebuild
it, of which brave John Evelyn was a member, and then Sir
Christopher Wren raised the monument to his fame which those who
would question his renown have only to look upon and be
satisfied.”--(J. McC.)
Coming along from Ludgate Hill we gain a splendid view of the impressive
Dome emerging through the mists in the very heart of the City.
“St. Paul’s is often called Classical, or Roman, or Italian; it is
not one of these three: it is English Renaissance. It was, too, a
distinctly happy thought of Fergusson to suggest that the Cathedral
takes a like place in English architecture to that which the
immortal ‘Paradise Lost’ does in English literature. The plan is
that of a mediæval church; the pilasters and entablature are Roman;
the round arch is found in both Roman and Romanesque, and that
commanding feature, the Dome, is the common property of many styles
and many ages. The general plan resembles the long or Latin Cross,
with transepts of greater breadth than length; and the uniformity
is broken by an apse at the east, and the two chapels at the west
end.”--(A. D.)
Before we begin our tour of the Cathedral let us take a little note of
our surroundings.
“In olden times St. Paul’s Churchyard was one of the great business
centres of London. About the church men met to discuss the doings
of the day, the last piece of news from Flanders, France or Spain,
or the rumours from the country. Here the citizens gathered angrily
when there was any talk of an invasion of their cherished
liberties, grumbled over the benevolence demanded by his Majesty
for the pay of the troops engaged in the French war, or jeered at
some poor wretch nailed by his ears in the pillory. Here the
heralds would proclaim the news of our victories by sea and land;
here the public newsmen would read out their budgets; vendors of
infallible nostrums would wax eloquent as to the virtues of their
wares; and the wives and daughters of the citizens would gather to
gossip and flirt. It was at once the exchange, the club, and the
meeting-place of London. Paul’s Cross was the heart of the City;
here men threw up their bonnets when they heard of Crécy and of
Agincourt; here they listened to the preachings of the first
followers of Wycliffe; here they erected their choicest pageants
when a new sovereign visited the City for the first time, or
brought his new-made spouse to show her to his lieges; and gathered
with frowning brows beneath iron caps when London threw in its lot
with the Parliament, and the train bands marched off to fight the
King’s forces. The business mart of the City lies now in front of
the Mansion House, but a great deal of business is still done under
the shadow of the Cathedral.”--(C. D.)
All the streets bear names that remind us of the vicinity of St.
Paul’s--Creed Lane, Ave Maria Lane, Sermon Lane, Canon Alley, Amen
Corner and Paternoster Row known throughout the world as the
headquarters of the book trade and publishers, while Cheapside, Ludgate
Hill, Fleet Street and St. Paul’s Churchyard swarm with ghosts and
memories of London’s stirring events.
“The modern passenger through St. Paul’s Churchyard has not only
the last home of Nelson and others to venerate as he goes by. In
the ground of the old church were buried, and here therefore
remains whatever dust may survive them, the gallant Sir Philip
Sidney (the _beau idéal_ of the age of Elizabeth), and Vandyke, who
immortalised the youth and beauty of the court of Charles the
First. One of Elizabeth’s great statesmen also lay
there--Walsingham--who died so poor that he was buried by stealth
to prevent his body from being arrested. Another, Sir Christopher
Hatton, who is supposed to have danced himself into the office of
Her Majesty’s Chancellor, had a tomb which his contemporaries
thought too magnificent, and which was accused of ‘shouldering the
altar.’
“Old St. Paul’s was much larger than now, and the Churchyard was of
proportionate dimensions. The wall by which it was bounded ran
along by the present streets of Ave Maria Lane, Paternoster Row,
Old Change, Carter Lane and Creed Lane; and therefore included a
large space and many buildings which are not now considered to be
within the precincts of the Cathedral. This spacious area had grass
inside, and contained a variety of appendages to the establishment.
One of these was the cross of which Stow did not know the
antiquity. It was called Paul’s Cross, and stood on the north side
of the church, a little to the east of the entrance of Cannon
Alley.”--(L. H.)
At first the space around it was used for the meeting of the
populace--the Folkmote--when their magistrates were elected, public
affairs discussed and criminals tried and sentenced. At a later period
=Paul’s Cross= was chiefly used for proclamations, and from the pulpit,
which in Stow’s time was an hexagonal piece of wood “covered with lead,
elevated upon a flight of stone steps and surmounted by a large cross,”
sermons were preached.
In 1879 the foundations of Paul’s Cross were discovered on the
north-east side of the present Choir. A monument is now being erected on
the spot.
If we wish to examine the north and south fronts more particularly we
first go to the former and
“We note the two-storied constructions, the graceful Corinthian
pillars, arranged in pairs, with round-headed windows between
them; the entablature; and then, in the second story, another row
of beautiful pilasters of the Composite order. Between these are
niches where one would have expected windows; but this story 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 semicircular entablature.
Figures of the Apostles adorn the triangular-shaped heads and
balustrade. The Royal Arms appear on the north side, and a Phœnix
is the suitable ornament on the south, signifying the resurrection
of the building from its ashes. The south side is almost similar to
the north. The east end has an apse.”--(P. H. D.)
On the south-west is the Dean’s yard, leading past the Deanery to the
Choir House in Great Carter Lane where the choir-boys are trained.
Doctors’ Commons, where marriage licenses used to be issued, only
survives in name.
Opposite the north porch of the Cathedral is the Chapter-House and from
this side St. Paul’s Bridge, the plan for which was adopted in 1909,
will start. It will cost no less than £1,600,000, and will cross the
Thames between Blackfriars and Southwark.
Facing Ludgate Hill stands a statue of Queen Anne, a modern replica of
the original statue by Bird. At the foot of the 22 marble steps leading
up to the doorway is a marble slab commemorating the Diamond Jubilee
Thanksgiving (June 22, 1897). From time immemorial national thanksgiving
services have been offered at St. Paul’s. The first in this building was
a special thanksgiving for the Peace of Ryswick. Queen Anne returned
thanks for Marlborough’s victories in the Low Countries and the
destruction of the Spanish fleet at Vigo and for the victory of Blenheim
(1702 and 1704). Here thanks were also offered for the recovery of the
Prince of Wales (Edward VII.) from a serious illness in 1872 and by
Queen Victoria for the sixtieth anniversary of her reign (1897); by King
Edward and Queen Alexandra for the restoration of peace in South Africa
(June 8, 1902); by King Edward on October 18, 1902, for his recovery
from the illness that delayed the Coronation; and by King George and
Queen Mary.
“The WEST FRONT has a magnificent portico, divided, like the rest
of the building, into two stories. The lower consists of twelve
coupled and fluted columns; that, above, has only eight, which bear
an entablature and pediment of which the tympanum is sculptured in
bas-relief, representing the conversion of St. Paul. On the apex of
the pediment is a figure of the Saint himself, and at its
extremities, on the right and left of St. Paul, are figures of St.
Peter and St. James. The transepts are terminated upwards by
pediments, over coupled pilasters at the quoins, and two single
pilasters in the intermediate space. On each side of the western
portico a square pedestal rises over the upper order, and on each
pedestal a steeple, or campanile tower, supported upon triangular
groups of Corinthian columns finishing in small domes formed by
curves of contrary flexure very like bells. Lower down in front of
these campaniles, the Four Evangelists are represented with their
emblems. In the face of the southern campanile a clock is inserted.
A flight of steps extending the whole length of the portico forms
the basement. In the southwest tower is the Great Bell of St.
Paul’s, cast in 1709 by Richard Phelps and Langley Bradley. It is
ten feet in diameter, ten inches thick in metal and weighs 11,474
pounds.”--(M.)
First we will take a general view of the exterior:
“The form of St. Paul’s is that of the long or Latin cross. Its
extreme length, including the porch, is 500 feet; the greatest
breadth, that is to say across the transept but within the doors of
the porticoes, 250 feet; the width of the nave, 118 feet. There
are, however, at the foot or western end of the cross, projections
northward and southward, which make the breadth 190 feet. One of
these, namely, on the north side, is used as a morning chapel, and
the other, on the south side, contains the Wellington Monument, but
was formerly used as the Consistory Court. At the internal angle of
the cross are small square bastion-like adjuncts, whose real use is
to strengthen the piers of the dome; but they are inwardly
serviceable as vestries and a staircase. The height of the
Cathedral on the south side to the top of the cross is 365 feet.