“The reduction of the octagon to the circle is facilitated by giving the spandrels between the arches the necessary concave surface; and this stage is finished off with a cantilever cornice, the work (at least in part) of one Jonathan Maine. The eight great keystones of the arches by Caius Gabriel Cibber are seven feet by five, and eighteen inches in relief.”—(A. D.)
About a hundred feet from the pavement and the same distance across is the celebrated Whispering Gallery, where a curious effect is obtained.
The attendant whispering across the whole area can be distinctly heard, an acoustic property seemingly caused by the nearness of the concave hemisphere above.
The Cross is quite 260 feet above us. The gallery projects so that the lectern steps and the pulpit are underneath.
Now we come to the Drum. The actual bend inwards now begins, but for this part only in straight lines. First comes the plain band or Podium, panelled and of a height of twenty feet. On this stand thirty-two pilasters, in reality, as well as in appearance, out of the horizontal. Three out of each four
“intervening spaces are pierced with square-headed windows; and from them such light as the dome receives, streams down through the windows of the exterior colonnade. The alternate fourth recesses, apparently nothing more than ornamental niches, conceal the supports which bear the weight above. In the recent scheme of decoration they have been filled with statues of Early Fathers—the four eastern, SS. Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, and Athanasius; and the four western, SS. Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, and Gregory.
“The straight lines bearing inwards give way to the sphere; and here, too, the three separate coverings, which constitute the dome, begin. The circular opening below the lantern coincides with the lower edge of the fluting of the exterior shell, and is about two hundred and fifteen feet from the pavement.
“These upper regions, hidden in an almost perpetual gloom, were decorated in monochrome by Sir James Thornhill; but his work has failed to resist the chemical action of the surcharged atmosphere. In these compartments are scenes from the life of the patronal saint: (1) The Conversion, (2) Elymas, (3) Cripple at Lystra, (4) Jailer at Philippi, (5) Mars Hill, (6) Burning Books at Ephesus, (7) Before Agrippa, (8) Shipwreck. We have all heard the story of the painter, on a platform at a great height, who stepped back to get a better view of his work. As he did so, an assistant, standing by, brush in hand, observed with alarm that the slightest further backward step would entail his falling headlong and being dashed to pieces. He deliberately daubed the painting; and the artist, stepping instinctively forward to prevent this, saved his life. The painter is said to be Thornhill: the scene, the giddy height under the dome.”—(A. D.)
The beautiful iron-work of the gates is by Tijou, both at the ends of the aisles and doorways of the reredos arch. The Choir-stalls are by Grinling Gibbons and are very ornate and handsome. The Lord Mayor’s stall is on the left, or north side, and the Bishop of London’s on the right, or south. The latter’s throne is near the altar. There are thirty-one stalls altogether.