W. J. Sparrow-Simpson

Name: Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London
Author: W. J. Sparrow-Simpson

Summary

“Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London”, is a work by W. J. Sparrow-Simpson. It explores elements such as o'clock in the morning, Cathedral and Dome.

Quotes from Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London (W. J. Sparrow-Simpson)

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ If the visitor enters by the great western doors, he cannot fail to be impressed by the grand view which presents itself, the fine Nave, the broad Transepts, the lofty Reredos, more than 400 feet distant; and, as he paces eastward, at every step some fresh beauty reveals itself. Most impressive of all it is to see, on the occasion of some great festival, the vast spaces of Choir, Transepts, Dome area, and Nave crowded with worshippers, every seat occupied, and hundreds of people filling such standing room as remains. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ The panels of the pedestals are filled with Angels bearing instruments of the Passion. The niche above the pediment is occupied by the figure of S. Mary with the Divine Child in her arms; the statues of S. Paul and S. Peter on either hand. The figure on the summit of the niche is an ideal one of the Risen Saviour.
“The entire Altar Screen is executed in white Parian marble, with bands and panels of Rosso Antico, Verdi di Prato, and Brescia marble. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ On a black marble slab, part of which is seen in the picture, are the following words:—Here lieth Sir Christopher Wren, Kt., the builder of this Cathedral Church of S. Paul, &c., who dyed in the year of our Lord MDCCXXIII, and of his age XCI. A singularly modest epitaph for so great a man, and that, too, at a period when fulsome phrases abounded. A little westward of the tomb, on a tablet affixed to the wall, are the memorable words, admirable in their brevity and point:—Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ The mortal remains of England’s greatest General lie close to those of England’s greatest Admiral.
THE WELLINGTON MONUMENT.
ACROSS THE DOME TO THE NORTH TRANSEPT.
Immediately facing the spectator is a screen which formerly supported the Organ, bearing a copy of the famous inscription to Wren, which is also found above his tomb. To the right and left are dimly seen the statues of Dr. Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds. The broad area of the Dome, seen to the best advantage when crowded with worshippers (as it is three times every Sunday, and on many other occasions also) is very impressive. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ The bronze groups at the base of the pediment are especially fine. The subjects are: Virtue keeping Vice beneath its feet, and Truth pulling out the tongue of Falsehood.”
The actual tomb of the great Duke is in the Crypt of the Cathedral, a massive sarcophagus wrought from a boulder of porphyry found in Cornwall, resting upon a granite base. The simple grandeur of the monument is admirably in keeping with the character of the man whom it commemorates. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ These support an entablature and rich pediment. The frieze is of Rosso Antico, bearing the inscription Sic Deus dilexit mundum, ‘So God loved the World,’ in bronze letters. The whole is crowned with a central niche and surrounding statues, at a height of between sixty and seventy feet from the ground. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ It appears that Henry VIII. took possession of the materials prepared for Wolsey’s monument, and that Benedetto was commissioned to transform it into a memorial for the king. The sculptor spent upon it eleven years of labour, but the costly work was never completed. The body of Nelson rests, not in the Sarcophagus, but beneath it.
THE CRYPT: NELSON’S TOMB.
THE CRYPT: WITH THE TOMB OF SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.
Near the eastern end of the South Aisle of the Crypt, under a very simple tomb, lie the mortal remains of the great Architect of the Cathedral. ”

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Source: Gutenberg

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, Views of St. Paul's Cathedral, London

“ Strong (the Master-builder) , and other Free and Accepted Masons.
The dimensions of the Cathedral, as given in the Rev. Lewis Gilbertson’s excellent Official Guide, are as follows:—
The exterior length, exclusive of the projection of the steps, 515 feet; the interior, 479 feet; the width across the Transepts, from door to door, 250 feet; width across Nave and Aisles, 102 feet; and between the stone piers, 41 feet; the Western front, 180 feet; the diameter of the octagonal area at the crossing of Nave and Transept, 107 feet; the diameter of the drum beneath the Dome, 112 feet ”

W. J. Sparrow-Simpson

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