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Explore our site

Exhibition: Saving St Paul's: The Watch and the Second World War

a silhouette of a male figure wearing a hat against a background of St Paul's bell tower

Exhibition: Saving St Paul's: The Watch and the Second World War

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couple reading service schedule during consecration service

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Ways to donate

choristers boys sharing candle light christmas

Ways to donate

Our digital resources

Rowan Williams smiling as he leafs through his book at an event at St Paul's Cathedral

Our digital resources

Stories from St Paul's podcast

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Stories from St Paul's podcast

Wartime damage and repair

Bomb damage sustained to St Paul's during the Second World War
The High Altar at the East End of the Cathedral damaged by a high explosive, 10th October 1940 (Ref. No. 1915). 

Wartime damage and repair

It is a common myth that St Paul’s escaped damage during the Blitz, but in fact the Cathedral suffered two direct hits.

The first bomb exploded at the East End on the 10th October 1940, and another over the North Transept on the 16th April 1941.The blast from the East End bomb in 1940 lifted the Quire roof from end to end, causing masonry to fall, which destroyed the altar table below. According to Godfrey Allen, Surveyor to the Fabric, the timber structure of the roof resembled a battleship after an engagement, while the lead covering ‘billowed like waves of the sea’. 

Bomb damage sustained to St Paul's during the Second World War
Damage to the Cathedral Floor caused by the high explosive, which struck the North Transept on 16 April 1941 (Ref. No. 1916)

'St Paul's rocked'

The damage caused by the North Transept bomb in 1941 was even more significant. After crashing through the roof, it detonated in mid-air, rocking the Dome, pushing the south wall of the South Transept outwards and smashing every window.

The masonry falling through the vault created a hole in the Cathedral floor through which the Crypt could be seen below. Of the North Transept explosion, Watch member A.S.G. Butler recalled:

‘Well, we copped it last night …I’ve got worms in my head with all the noise, and my legs won’t quite walk...Up in the dome area, we felt the shock of it nicely. St Paul’s rocked. But only for an instant; then, quivering, settled down in its habitual majesty.’

A letter from the St Paul's Watch
Letter to Dean Walter Matthews, from members of the St Paul's Watch, 11 October 1942, to mark their contribution towards the replacement of the keystone to the arch over the High Altar (Ref. No. SPCAA/SPW/3/6/3)

Contributions to repair by the Watch

When repairs were finally started, it was a slow and gradual process. Members of the Watch were responsible for the first significant repair, that of the damaged arch at the East End. They raised £50 for the new keystone, which was installed in October 1942.

They gathered on the altar steps to formally hand over their cheque to the Dean, and look over the new keystone:

‘This is the stone that has stirred the imagination of some past and present members of the Watch – Architects, Builders, Surveyors and others deeply interested in the Cathedral, who all have a very special and intimate knowledge of the Cathedral’s structure, and a profound veneration of the genius of Wren’.

Wartime bomb damage beside the Cathedral
Construction workers and visitors on a construction site near St Paul's, c. 1950s (Ref. No. 1926)

Slow restoration process

It was not until the spring of 1946 that any further repairs were made to the Cathedral. Relying on a public fundraising appeal and support from the War Damage Commission, the vaulting at the East End was repaired, carvings and mosaics were restored, and the new work was re-gilded and decorated.

This extensive work was completed in 1948 in time for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Wedding Anniversary Service.

The repair of the North Transept occurred a few years later and took much longer, being finally re-dedicated in 1962. It was during this period of immense productivity that the Friends were founded.

More on the story of the Friends

Members of the St Paul's Watch during the Second World War

The St Paul's Watch

Explore the history of the St Paul's Watch and their activities during the Second World War. 

 

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Portrait of Godfrey Allen, Surveyor to the Fabric between 1931 and 1956, taken during the Second World War

Godfrey Allen

Godfrey Allen, Surveyor to the Fabric from 1931-1956 was described as 'the St Paul's terrier', and was devoted to the Cathedral.

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A portrait of Dean Walter Matthew

Dean Walter Matthews

Walter Matthews became Dean in 1934; a post he would hold for 33 years, during which time he was instrumental in the establishment of the Friends of St Paul's.

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Bomb damage to the Cathedral during the Blitz

A flying start: How the Friends were founded

The very first meeting of the Friends of St Paul's took place on a pleasant spring evening, on the 29th April 1952.

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An early newsletter to the Friends of St Paul's

The Friends' early years

The first 10 years of the Friends of St Paul's were a time of great activity, with rapid growth in membership and vital fundraising work.

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Chapel

Achievements through the years

In the 70 years since their foundation, the Friends have made a considerable contribution to the life and welfare of the Cathedral. 

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