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The Chorister Trust

The Chorister Trust fund scholarships for our Choristers, to help more children join our Cathedral choir and benefit from a first-class musical education.

The words Remember Me projected on the white dome of St Paul's at night

Never to Forget Concert at St Paul’s Cathedral: a COVID-19 memorial concert

St Paul’s Cathedral, in partnership with London Symphony Chorus and Rambert, presents a special memorial concert for all who have died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Special recognition is given to NHS and social care workers. The concert will be performed at St Paul’s Cathedral on the 2nd anniversary of lockdown in the UK, Wednesday 23 March 2022 at 7pm.

Image of Choir and audience during a performance of Messiah

Handel’s Messiah returns to St Paul’s after two-year pause

St Paul’s announces Handel’s Messiah on 30th March 2022, the first time the concert has been performed at St Paul’s Cathedral since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resource library

Wren Office drawings: sources

Fig. 7. St Paul’s Cathedral. South elevation and half-plan as built, showing the main phases of construction from 1675 to 1688 (Richard Lea and Gordon Higgott)

2. The Design in the First Phase, 1675-85

After the rejection of the Great Model in the latter part of 1674, Wren prepared several designs for a new Cathedral on a cruciform plan.

Fig. 1. ‘The Revised design’: South elevation, drawn by Hawksmoor, c.1686 (© All Souls College, Oxford, G.81)

3. Upper elevations and west end, c. 1685

The dramatic increase in funding from 1686 was the main factor behind a major revision to the design that can be dated from mid-1685.

Fig. 6. Robert Trevitt's engraved view of the choir at a thanksgiving service attended by Queen Anne, 31 December 1706 (© City of London, London Metropolitan Archives)

4. The Choir and Morning Prayer Chapel, 1693-97

The design, construction and decoration of the choir enclosure and sanctuary occupied Wren and his assistants at least four and a half years.

Fig. 1. Engraving of the north elevation, probably by Simon Gribelin, c.1687–88, with cut-outs from a later engraving of the finished dome (St Paul’s Cathedral, SP105)

5. Designs for the Dome, c. 1685-1710

Wren’s revisions to the design in 1685–86 created a podium for a vast, richly modelled Dome, inspired by those of Michelangelo’s St Peter’s in Rome and Jules Hardouin-Mansart’s Invalides church in Paris.

2.9.1 WRE_6_1_5 (D143)_Lead image

6. The western towers, c. 1685-1710

Wren had always intended a belfry in one of the towers at the west end of the Cathedral.

Fig. 3. Study by Hawksmoor in half-elevation, section and plan, for a mausoleum-like rotunda on the west side of the piazza, c.1696–97 (WRE/7/1/3)

7. Churchyard and paving and miscellaneous drawings, c. 1690-1713

The earliest known scheme to improve the Cathedral churchyard is an outline study by Wren and Hawksmoor, drawn over a survey of the whole precinct prepared by William Dickinson.

Fig. 5. The Bishop's Throne at the east end of the south range of stalls. Carved by Grinling Gibbons, 1696–9

Sources and abbreviations

A bibliography for the Wren Office Drawings online collection.

Dean David Ison

The Dean of St Paul’s announces retirement in 2022

27 July 2021

The Dean of St Paul’s, the Very Revd Dr David Ison, has announced his intention to retire in September 2022.
Dr David Ison will be 68, and will have served at the Cathedral for ten years. The Dean leads the Cathedral assisted by the Residentiary and Lay Canons, enabling Chapter to implement the agreed vision for St Paul's. Recruitment for the next Dean of St Paul’s will begin later this year.

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Visit us

We welcome visitors to worship, to sightsee and to attend a dynamic programme of events – from orchestral performances to thought-provoking panel discussions.

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Worship and music

Our Cathedral has been here for over 1,400 years, and its main purpose has always been as a place of worship and prayer.

Bishop Curry raises his arms and Paula Gooder laughs alongside on the stage at an event at St Paul's Cathedral

Learning

Discover our educational events for children and adults – and search our extensive library of learning resources.

Choristers processing in the Cathedral

About us

Learn about St Paul's mission and purpose, the structure of our organisation and how we make decisions.

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Support us

Volunteering, donating, supporting us as a company or trust – there are many ways you can support the work and mission of St Paul’s.

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Our Job is to Love

John Swinton writes about love in many forms – God’s love, self-giving love, its role in politics, and the central place it holds in the Christian story.

Patrick Craig conducting a choir

Gifts and Stars: Epiphany reflections

Patrick Craig writes about the rich and surprising gifts that Epiphany, the culmination of the Christmas season, brings, and of its wonderful music.