St Pauls Cathedral

St Pauls Cathedral is one of the great centres of London to which every visitor turns, and is so mixed up with the comparatively modern history of the Metropolis that there is scarcely a schoolboy who does not know that the present St. Paul's was built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire.

After St. Peter's at Rome and the beautiful Cathedral of Milan it ranks as the third largest Christian Church. From the heights surrounding London, the Dome of St. Paul's is the most commanding building.

The view from the Gallery above the Dome must, on clear days, to those who have travelled upwards so far, be a grand and far. reaching one. The illustrated newspapers have at times given views from it. The Ball and Cross form an imposing finish to the Dome.

The bold classic Western front facing Ludgate Hill is well. known of all men and has been especially notable in recent times as being the scene of the Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service. It is the Cathedral of the Metropolis, and the Dean and Chapter, following their most recent predecessors, have endeavoured to make the interior of St. Paul's worthy of its position.

Controversy may step in and discuss the taste of the decorations; but to those who remember it thirty or forty years ago the addition of the Reredos and the beautiful mosaic work in the Choir, with the further decoration of the Dome, have made the internal view of the Cathedral more worthy of its name and purpose than it has ever been before.

On Special Musical Festivals, also during Lent when noted preachers give addresses at mid. day, and on Sunday evenings, the large congregations filling the huge space under the Dome give evidence of the interest taken in the services by the inhabitants of and visitors to the Metropolis. From a national point of view, the fact that it is the burial. place of Wellington and Nelson, together with other great military and naval men, will always make St. Paul's a place of interest to the English people.

Throughout the Cathedral huge monuments to their memories testify to the national enthusiasm which followed the tremendous wars in Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and most of the exploits of later times are commemorated by memorials to those who took a principal part in them.

Great artists are buried here, including Sir Thomas Lawrence, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Turner, Sir Edwin Landseer, Lord Leighton, and Sir John Millais. To many the Whispering Gallery, the view from the top of the Dome, and even the Ball above, are places of interest, to which access can be gained by small fees at any time between the daily services, which are held at 10 am, and pin. The Crypt is also open for inspection at a charge of sixpence each visitor.