We started the gloriously bright day knowing 2 things: We were going to see a lot of churches by the famous architect, Christopher Wren; And we were going to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a beautiful day, if exhausting (Peter's ruthless walks usually are) but it was worth it in the end. Believe it or not every one of my blogs is pared down to a fraction of the pictures I take, but I still end up with tons of photos. For most of the churches--and for the sake of a manageable blog--I'll give a photo of the outside, and one of the inside. Except for St. Paul's of course. That gets special attention. Also, intersp
St. Paul's Cathedral
We began our day walking up from the Tube stop and marveling at St. Paul's from a distance (below).
Tiny fact: That dome you see, one of Wren's biggest achievements, weighs in at 65 thousand tons! or 1 and a half Titanics!
This is the outside left (when facing the Cathedral). A side porch if you will. I was sitting and staring (we had some time to kill before the rest of the class caught up) when lo and behold Nhi and Rebecca showed up!
There's Peter and the first stream of students gathering on the steps of the Cathedral (left) Unfortunately, the sheer size of the thing is too much to capture in one decent photo, but I tried here (right).
Some facts: The designer of St. Pauls, Christopher Wren, was originally a professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford. St. Paul's Cathedral was originally a Gothic Cathedral comprised entirely of wood and much larger than the stone fortress Wren envisioned. The old version, like everything else wooden, was destroyed in the great fire of 1666. When it started falling apart, he was called in to build the replacement. One of his biggest hurdles was not the logistics of building the cathedral, but the opposition that came from the Church, who constantly opposed the plans he presented. Still, Wren was the only architect to see his cathedral built within his own lifetime.
I got a shot on the stairs! And then took some pictures of the girls too! From the left: Amanda, Hannah, Ellie, Clair, Bonnie, Lauren and Michaela. Say, herro.
Those statues you see was another source of contention between Wren and his employers, the Church. Wren was a strong proponent of pure shapes and lines (see the triangles, squares, rectangles, and circles) He was vehemently opposed to "gaudy" statues or ornaments. Those statues standing there now where only added after his death.
And we entered....
Like most things with a beautiful interior, we were prohibited from taking pictures inside. This was lame.Fortunately, we had an awesome guide who let us sneak some shots right here:
The Geometric Staircase
88 stairs, each inserted into the wall 3 inches and supported only by the stair below it.
If this looks familiar, then you must be a Harry Potter fan. This is where they filmed some of the scenes for the Prisoner of Azkaban.
This was the gracious guide who let us take the wonderful pictures. We split into three groups from then on. Each of our guides was fantastic.
It's a sad, sad fact that I don't have pictures from within the cathedral itself. Normally I would have taken then anyways when no one was looking, but our guides were so nice, and we were with them for so long, that I didn't want to get on their bad side. Still, once we started climbing to the top I was able to whip out the camera once more. Here begins our epic journey upwards to the heavens. It was a grueling climb. I'm not kidding. All of us were sweating. Some of our nerves failed and people turned back, but the brave persisted...Until we made it!
Here's shots of London from a bird's eye view!
Believe it or not, we still weren't at the very top. This is Michael psyching me up for the next climb with his game-face.
The next series of stairs were a little less... conventional. It was like climbing through an abandoned chemical factory.
Then we squeezed through the smallest hallway imaginable. The entire thing was designed to discourage us, I swear.This shot's really cool. It's a view of the center-most spot of the cathedral, from the top down. Another interesting fact about Wren and the Cathedral is that Wren was meticulously detail oriented. He wasn't a jerk about it, though. In fact the men loved him, but he was also willing to discharge anyone for foul language, no matter what position they held. When he grew older, he would have workers hoist him up with rope and pulley in a bucket so he could personally investigate the work that was taking place.
Finally, the very Top. Behold, London!
My beautiful Michael & Jordan. On the right is the front of the Cathedral seen from behind and above.More of London:
Here's a beautiful picture of the square we later ate lunch in. It's quite lovely seen from this angle isn't it? Those people clustered around the plinth are eating their lunch on the steps.
Some high-risers and the Gurkan (Egg-shaped building)
This is the controversial Shard being constructed in London. When completed, it'll be the tallest standing building in Europe! The controversy stems partially from the modern design--it's supposedly designed to resemble a glass shard, and partially from the fact that London has historically been a low-rise city. This goes against the grain.
There I am!
And London Traffic on the bridges heading over the Thames.
And so, after reaching the stars, we descended.
When we emerged from the Cathedral, we were surprised to see droves of people eating their lunch. They had all come out from work to enjoy the sun in a wonderfully scenic area. Londoners are spoiled like that. I would envy their joggers--if I liked jogging.
This the square and the statue that we saw from the top of St. Paul's. A ton of people were still eating. On the right is the cafe where we had out lunch! Notice the awesome swordfish hanging from the wall?Well with St. Paul's out of the way we now begin the spring through London's Churches by Wren. Interspersed between the pictures and facts are some of the quotes from students I managed to gather. I won't get too into detail with the churches, just a few facts that you'll hopefully enjoy!
St. Vedast Church
At 1,853 pounds, 15 shillings and 6 pence, this is the cheapest of Wren's churches. One interesting thing about this church is the ceiling. The proprietors at that time almost invariably directed Wren to use ALL of the available space in building the church. This asymmetrical ceiling is proof. The way it tapers isn't a trick of perspective. It really gets smaller towards the exit.St. Anne and St. Agnes
Peter called this, "Beautifully harmonious and very restful. But more so without the gold."
To right is the face she gave me when she realized that was the quote I would use, lol.
"A quote? Like, how much I would pay for something? (slight pause) "....Ohhhh." -Andreina
St. Mary Lebow
Gutted in 1941 and remodeled in 1961. The total cost was 8,000 pounds, 5 1/2 of which was spent on the tower. They wanted it to look "Impressive and Imposing." Here Peter's commenting on the ridiculous porch-within-a-porch of the church.
"I'm gonna go home and dowse myself in suntan oil." -Ellie
"What's Ellie's quote?" -Clair
St. Mary Aldermary
Peter explained that the church's beautiful interior was a byproduct of the proprietor's request for a "traditional gothic" style church. He gave it to them, Wren style."I just need a brownie right now. That's all I can think about." -Hannah
St. Stephen Walbrook
Peter: "Wren Would have been amused the estuary's a Starbucks now." You can see the sign in the picture below.
The inside was beautiful, as they tend to be where Wren's involved.
Moving on...
St. Mary Abchurch
St. Magnus
Peter: "This is a Wren Morgue because they ruined it."
Wren wasn't much for gaudiness, and this certainly had that.
"Oh, I'll think of something cool! Actually, don't quote me....I say stupid things." -Amanda
How true that is.
Say hello, class! I love these guys.
St. Margaret Lothbury
This was one of Wren's last churches that we saw. The picture to the bottom right may look like I can't hold a camera, but it actually IS slanted that way. Per orders, Wren had the church built on every square-yard of the premises. And this time he took a turn at wood carving himself. The cork screw design on the right is carved from one solid piece of wood. ThisSt. Mary Woolnoth
I didn't commit an error. St. Margaret Lothbury really was the last Wren Church. St. Mary Woolnoth was built by Wren's pupil, Sir Nicholas Hawksmore. Unfortunately, Hawksmore had a quite a bit more trouble breaking away from the mold than did Wren. Where Wren went against the grain with his asymmetry, airiness, and creativity, Hawksmore returned to the traditional "Big, solid, clumpy, heavy."Thus unded the Age of Wren. Welcome to the past, again?
This church was built only 17 years after Wren's passing.With him vanished his own particular and unique architectual style. Luckily, his work has been so appreciated and adored over the decades that it has become taboo to tear down anything he designed.
The End: of the church tour.
Well that's the end of the Church tour. If you thought that was a lot to take in, try walking to all of those in one trip. but even through it all we had a blast. Peter's an amazing tour, and London is the perfect nest for all of his hatchling chicks to break free from their eggs, spread their wings on the currents of knowledge, and sour like Eagles in the WIND! Dramatic? It deserves it. To everyone back home, we miss you! We're having the time of our lives and learning so much. Keep me in your prayers, ya?
Until next time!
2 comments:
You want to sour like eagles? Eagles get sour? Interesting...... :D :D
Benji I love you! COME HOME TO ME!
Haha i'm leaving it.
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