21
June 1675 A.D. First Stone Laid for St. Paul’s Cathedral, London
Graves, Dan. “First Stone of St. Paul’s,
London.” Christianity.com. Jul 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/1st-stone-of-st-pauls-london-11630157.html.
Accessed 3 May 2014.
Only a few onlookers observed as
Thomas Strong, a master mason, set into place the first stone of St. Paul's
that was lowered deep into the earth on this day June 21, 1675. Several reasons have been suggested for the lack of
fanfare around one of the great Cathedrals of Christendom. The King may have
feared for his safety. He had recently implemented financial measures which
were unpopular in the city and had caused great distress. There was also
ill-will between the king and Archbishop Seldon. Furthermore, there had been considerable
controversy over the plans for the Cathedral. Any of these considerations may
have been sufficient to account for the silence with which the work began.
Old St. Paul's burned down in the
great London fire of 1666. It had been in bad repair, and various sin taxes
were applied to efforts at restoration under architect Inigo Jones. In time the
idea of restoration gave way to replacement. King Charles II appointed
Christopher Wren chief architect of a rebuilding project. Although he had no
formal training as an architect, Wren was a genius who contributed to many
sciences and built several public works. Wren's simple and elegant proposals
were fiercely contested by a committee which designed a monstrosity.
Christopher Wren, a practical
man, agreed to the committee's plan--with the stipulation that he be allowed to
make such modifications as would prove necessary during the actual
construction. He modified continuously with the result that the finished work
closely resembled his own original design! This miffed the committee and
eventually led to him being sacked.
An extraordinary coincidence
occurred during the rebuilding. When Wren began laying out the shape of his
proposed dome, he called a workman to bring him a bit of stone. The workman
grabbed the first piece that came to hand. Inscribed on it in Latin was the
word, Resurgam. -- "May I Rise Again." St. Paul's rose swiftly. Few
cathedrals are built in a lifetime. Wren completed the project in just 35
years.
To Wren, a staunch Protestant,
the preaching of the gospel was the primary function of a church; and he
designed the interior so that the pulpit would be the center of attention. He
forbade his workmen to curse on the project, reminding them, on pain of
dismissal, that they were engaged in a holy work. After his death Christopher
Wren was entombed within the Cathedral. On his commemoration stone is written:
Si monumentum requiris, circumspice. -- "If you would see his monument,
look around."
As an interesting historical
sidelight, German efforts to destroy the cathedral by bombing in World War II
never succeeded. It became a symbol of faith for the nation.
Bibliography:
1. Allen, John, "Sir
Christopher Wren," in One Hundred Great Lives. New York: The Journal of
Living, 1944. pp. 111 - 117.
2. Asimov, Isaac. Asimov's
Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. New York: Doubleday, 1964.
3. Briggs, Martin S. Wren the
Incomparable. London: Allen& Unwin, 1953.
4. Milman, Lena. Sir Christopher
Wren. London: Duckworth, 1908. Source of the image.
5. Pevsner, Nikolaus. An Outline of
European Architecture. Penguin, 1943. pp.318, 319; 324 - 329; 332 - 397.
6. Scott, J. F. "Wren,
Christopher," in Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Editor, Charles
Coulston Gillispie. New York: Scribner's, 1970.
7. "Wren, Christopher."
The Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 1967 - 68.
