The first stone of S. Paul's Cathedral was laid by Sir Christopher Wren
and his Master-mason on June 21, 1675; the last stone of the lantern
above the Dome was laid in 1710, by Mr. Christopher Wren (who was born
a year before the laying of the first stone), in the presence of Sir
Christopher (his father), Mr. Strong (the Master-builder), and other
Free and Accepted Masons.
The dimensions of the Cathedral, as given in the Rev. Lewis
Gilbertson's excellent Official Guide, are as follows:--
The exterior length, exclusive of the projection of the steps, 515
feet; the interior, 479 feet; the width across the Transepts, from door
to door, 250 feet; width across Nave and Aisles, 102 feet; and between
the stone piers, 41 feet; the Western front, 180 feet; the diameter of
the octagonal area at the crossing of Nave and Transept, 107 feet; the
diameter of the drum beneath the Dome, 112 feet; of the Dome itself,
102 feet. The height of the Central Aisle, 89 feet. The total height
from 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 to
have been about a million pounds.
The exquisite Dome has been justly called "the very crown of England's
architectural glory." As Mr. Fergusson has said, "its dimensions,
the beauty of its details, the happy outline of the campaniles, the
proportion 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 been
executed." Strype says, "This Cathedral is undoubtedly one of the most
magnificent modern buildings in Europe."
[Illustration: THE WESTERN FAÇADE.]