High Church--Day 14

Today was our exciting history class trip to St. Paul's Cathedral! As impressive as it looks from the outside, it's nothing compared to how it looks inside. The vaulted ceilings stretch up higher than you can imagine, and seemingly every available space is painted with glittering images of saints and angels. When this magnificent church (the version we see today) was build, Sir Christopher Wren--its architect--intended it to be beautiful yet understated. In other words, the paintings were not his idea, and I'm guessing the extensive gilding inside the building was not his idea either. We were not allowed to take pictures of the interior, so I would encourage you to look up the cathedral online to give you some idea of what I saw.

A statue of Queen Anne outside St. Paul's (quite popular with the pigeons).

The magnificent facade of St. Paul's (not sure how the pigeons feel about this one).

A view of the dome of St. Paul's. See that tiny ring at the top that connects the dome with the smaller spire? That's the Golden Gallery from which I took some of these photos.

 First, our professor sat us down in the nave in front of the altar and gave us a little background on the cathedral. The services at St. Paul's are what you would call "high church." That is, they closely resemble Catholic masses, with robes for the clergymen and priests, candles, and singing and preaching in Latin. This is contrasted with "low church," which is more bare bones and less official. I imagine a mass at St. Paul's would be quite the spectacle. Anyway, after our short history lesson, our professor took us back into a small, quiet chapel near the rear of the church. This chapel is dedicated to the 28,000 American troops who died in Britain during World War II (both in air raids over Europe and on land campaigns). It was a very solemn and moving place. Next, he showed us a statue dedicated to the poet John Donne, whose poetry I happen to like quite a bit. Then, we ventured down into the dim crypt to view the graves of a wide variety of influential people, including the architect himself, the artists Turner and Reynolds, the Duke of Wellington (who defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo) and Admiral Nelson (who was killed by a French sniper in the Battle of Trafalgar, a battle which he won against the French and Spanish armadas during the Napoleonic Wars).

Finally, our professor dropped us off at the entrance to the stairs of St. Paul, which number more than 500 and give access to the very top of the cathedral's dome. The first 257 stairs took us to the Whispering Gallery, which is called so because human voices carry very well along its rounded walls. We paused for a moment to admire the ceiling paintings, then we continued our journey to the Stone Gallery, a circular space on the exterior of the building offering some excellent views of the city. The Stone Gallery was all well and good, but we were told that the very best views of the city come from the Golden Gallery, another hundred or so stairs up spiraling metal staircases. I must tell  you that all of these stairs were making me sick, but these stairs were the worst because they were skinny without much material on them and twenty people trying to climb them at the same time (they were even worse going back because I was afraid I would slip). We reached the Golden Gallery and were treated to a spectacular 360-degree view of the city. I took some great pictures, so despite the horrible stairs (which I will never, ever do again), I think it was well worth it.

Photos from the Stone Gallery

A nice view of the very center of the city.

The spiky blue building near the center of the frame is called the Shard, currently under construction (actually, a lot of things are currently under construction in London, no doubt to spruce up the city for the Olympics next summer).

The Thames and Millenium Bridge with a view of the South Bank.

 Photos from the Golden Gallery

Some say the views from the Golden Gallery are better than those on the London Eye!

Tower Bridge at a distance.

Another view of the Thames and Millenium Bridge.

Yet another landscape view of the city.

One of the towers of St. Paul's Cathedral.

After our tour of St. Paul's, our professor took us on a little walking tour down nearby streets to give us an idea of what London was like in medieval times. We walked by Old Bailey Street, where a jailhouse and justice building used to stand  and hangings were carried out in front of a nearby pub. People could grab a bite to eat and watch the hangings for entertainment. We also walked by St. Bartholomew's Hospital, established in 1123, and the nearby St. Bartholomew's Priory, which cared for the sick. Both of these buildings lie near an old butchering complex, a sort of cathedral for men in the business of meat. Not to far from this spot is the place where Bloody Mary murdered Protestants and the place where the Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace was hanged and drawn and quartered. So, I suppose we learned a lot of gory history this afternoon. I hope you aren't reading this right before dinner, but if you are, I'm sorry.

A column in Paternoster Square near St. Paul's Cathedral, newly refurbished and turned into a posh area with shops and restaurants.

On a happier note, today was gloriously sunny ALL DAY, which I can hardly believe. Here in London, you come to appreciate every drop of golden sunshine you get because most of the time, it doesn't last and turns to rain within an hour. But today was beautiful, and I hope all my readers had a beautiful day, too. Cheers!