St. Paul's Cathedral Library

The Current Cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, is the fourth cathedral at this location. This location has been the site for the cathedral since 604, when it was founded by King Ethelbert of Kent. The Cathedral was destroyed by fire three times: 962, 1087 and 1066 (The Great Fire of London). The Great Fire of London almost completely destroyed the entire collection of the Cathedral Library. Although, luckily lists of items in the library collection from 1313 forward survived give us an idea of the collection before the fire.

The library employs three staff members: an Architectural Librarian, a Senior Librarian and a Collection Manager. The Cathedral contains many historical items dealing with the church including: Previous lecterns, artifacts from 19th century excavations and The Great Model. The Great Model is a 1:25 wooden replica of the cathedral which is 13’ tall and 21’ long, created by Wren in 1673. The library also has in its collection a 13th century book of Psalms, the libraries oldest item.

Above photo is courtesy of http://www.stpauls.co.uk/, the website for St. Paul's Cathedral.

If visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral, be sure to visit the cafe in the Crypt. The crypt contains the graves of Admiral Nelson, Duke Wellington and also Sir Christopher Wren, and the meat pie and coleslaw from the cafe are great.

Photo above courtesy of http://www.sacred-destinations.com/.