The dome
Inside, the painted dome by Sir James Thornhill rises above the crossing. Outside, the dome and lantern reach 111 metres to the cross, and for more than 250 years St Paul’s was the tallest building in London.
The crypt
Christopher Wren was the first person buried in the crypt, in 1723. His epitaph reads “Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice”: reader, if you seek his monument, look around you. Nelson and Wellington lie nearby, among more than 200 memorials.
Through the Blitz
The Cathedral was struck during the Blitz in 1940 and 1941 but survived. A photograph taken on 29 December 1940, known as “St Paul’s Survives”, shows the dome rising above the smoke.
