St Paul's Cathedral

There has been a church on the site of St Paul’s Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, the highest point of the City of London, since Roman times.

During the Tudor period, the cathedral was a large structure, built in the Gothic style of the 13th century. It was a central and impressive stop on the route from the Tower of London to Westminster and frequently used to celebrate royal occasions. Prince Arthur and Katharine of Aragon were married at St Paul's and John Donne, the Elizabethan poet and Dean of St Paul’s in the early 17th century, was buried there. The medieval cathedral was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the present cathedral, with its iconic design by Sir Christopher Wren, was built in the late 17th century.

The Cathedral Library holds one of the only three remaining first edition copies of William Tyndale’s New Testament (1526), the first ever holy book printed in English.

See also: Tower of London, Westminster Abbey