Wren’s most famous church is the great St. Paul’s, its elaborate interior capped by a 365-foot dome. Since World War II, St. Paul’s has been Britain’s symbol of resilience. Despite 57 nights of bombing, the Nazis failed to destroy the cathedral, thanks to St. Paul’s volunteer fire watchmen, who stayed on the dome. Today one can climb the dome for a great city view (we did not). The crypt is a world of historic bones and memorials, including Admiral Nelson’s tomb and many others.
Even now, as skyscrapers encroach, the 365-foot-high dome of St. Paul’s rises majestically above the rooftops of the neighborhood. The tall dome is set on classical columns, capped with a lantern, topped by a six-foot ball, and iced with a cross. At the first Anglican cathedral built in London after the Reformation, it is Baroque: St. Peter’s in Rome filtered through clear-eyed English reason. Though often the site of historic funerals (Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill and most recently Queen Elizabeth II), St. Paul’s most famous ceremony might have been a wedding – when Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
We start at the far back of the nave. This big church feels big. At 515 feet long and 250 feet wide, it’s Europe’s fourth largest, after those in Rome (St. Peter’s), Sevilla, and Milan. the spaciousness is accentuated by the relative lack of decoration. The simple, cream-colored ceiling and the clear glass in the windows light everything evenly. Wren wanted this: a simple open church with nothing to hide. Unfortunately, only this entrance area keeps his original vision – the rest was encrusted with 19th-century Victorian ornamentation.
Ahead and on the left is the towering, black-and-white Wellington Monument. Wren would have been appalled, but his church has became so central to England’s soul that many national heroes are buried here (in the basement crypt). General Wellington, Napoleon’s conqueror at Waterloo (1815) and the embodiment of British stiff-upper-lippedness, was honored here in a funeral packed with 13,000 fans.
The dome you see from here, painted with scenes from the life of St. Paul, is only the innermost of three. From the painted interior of the first dome, look up through the opening to see the light-filled lantern of the second dome. Finally, the whole thing is covered on the outside by the third and final dome, the shell of lead-covered wood that you see from the street. Wren’s ingenious three-in-one design was psychological as well as functional – he wanted a low, shallow inner dome so worshippers wouldn’t feel diminished.
The choir area blocks our way, but we can see the altar at the far end under a golden canopy.
In the north transept, we find the big painting The Light of the World (1904), by the Pre-Raphaelite William Holman Hunt. Inspired by Hunt’s own experience of finding Christ during a moment of spiritual crisis, the crowd-pleasing work was criticized by art highbrows for being “syrupy” and “simple” – even as it because the most famous painting in Victorian England.
Along the left side of the choir is the statue Mother and Child (1983), by the great modern sculptor Henry Moore. Typical of Moore’s work, this Mary and Baby Jesus – inspired by the sight of British moms nursing babies in WWII bomb shelters – renders a traditional subject in abstract, minimalist way.
The area behind the main altar, with three stained-glass windows, is the American Memorial Chapel, honoring the Americans who sacrificed their lives to save Britain in World War II. In brightly colored panes that arch around the big windows, spot the American eagle (center window, to the left of Christ), George Washington (right window, upper-right corner), and symbols of all 50 states. the Roll of Honor, a 500-page book under glass (immediately behind the altar), lists the names of 28,000 US servicemen and women based in Britain who gave their lives during the war.
Around the other side of the choir is a shrouded statue honoring John Donne (1573-1631), a passionate preacher in old St. Paul’s, as well as a great poet (“never wonder for whom the bell tolls – it tolls for thee.”) In the south transept are monuments to military greats Horatio Nelson, who fought Napoleon, and Charles Cornwallis, who was finished off by George Washington at Yorktown.
The crypt is a world of historic bones and interesting cathedral models. Many legends are buried here – Horatio Nelson, who wore down Napoleon; the Duke of Wellington, who finished off Napoleon; and even Wren himself. Wren’s actual tomb is marked by a simple black slab with no statue, though he considered this church to be his legacy.
Back up in the nave, on the floor directly under the dome, is Christopher Wren’s name and eptitaph (written in Latin): Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you.”
Maybe a relative?
Florence Nightingale
