typicality - st paul's

architecture

• Old St Paul’s had a typical gothic style, using the verticality of pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses to draw the eye upwards to symbolise the divine

• the large nave with towering arcades, crossing tower and an expansive choir were all typical elements in other cathedrals

• similar to: Canterbury Cathedral

shrines

• St Erkenwald’ shrine (Old St Paul’s) + St Thomas Beckett shrine (Canterbury Cathedral)

• St Thomas Beckett shrine encouraged 100,000 pilgrims to visit Canterbury per annum

• St Thomas Beckett shrine included a golden casket which housed Beckett’s remains

• Beckett’s shrine was also subject to Henry VIII’s iconoclasm in 1538

spire & fire

• the monumental spire both in Old St Paul’s and other gothic cathedrals at the time symbolised the quest to reach heaven, whilst its height also marks status or prestige

• the destruction of Old St Paul’s spire due to lightning/fire (1561 is typical to Norwich Cathedral, which burnt down twice

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