Page 156 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - London

154  L ONDON AREA B Y AREA

A Guided Tour of St Paul’s
Visitors to St Paul’s will be immediately impressed by its cool,
beautifully ordered and extremely spacious interior. The nave,
transepts and choir are arranged in the shape of a cross, as
in a medieval cathedral, but Wren’s Classical vision shines
through this conservative floorplan, forced on him by the
cathedral authorities. Aided by some of the finest craftsmen
of his day, he created an interior of grand majesty and
Baroque splendour, a worthy setting for the many great
ceremonial events that have taken place here. These include
the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 and the wedding
of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

The mosaics on the
2 The North Aisle choir ceiling were
As you walk along completed in the
the North Aisle, look 1890s by William
up: the aisles Blake Richmond.
are vaulted with
small domes
mimicking those
of the nave ceiling. Stairs to
Galleries
Key
Tour route

1 The Nave
Take in the full glory of the massive
arches and the succession of saucer Entrance to
domes that open out into a huge Whispering
space below the main dome. Gallery

9 South Aisle
From here the brave can ascend
the 257 steps to the Whispering
Gallery and test the acoustics.

Main entrances

The Geometrical
Staircase is a spiral of 88
stone steps giving access
to the cathedral library
8 Florence Nightingale’s on the Triforium level.
Memorial
Famous for her pioneering work 6 Wren’s Tomb
in nursing standards, Florence Wren’s burial place is marked by a slab.
Nightingale was the first woman to The inscription states: ‘‘Reader, if you
receive the Order of Merit. seek a monument, look around you.’’

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