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Arthur Dimock’s work is a scholarly survey of St Paul’s Cathedral, tracing its evolution from the obscure Roman‑British origins of the site through the medieval edifice, the Great Fire of 1666, and Sir Christopher Wren’s reconstruction. The opening pages set the tone by cataloguing the fragmentary nature of early records, then listing the authorities, Dugdale, Newcourt, the Camden Society, and recent scholars such as Dr Sparrow‑Simpson, whose manuscripts and printed histories underpin the narrative. Dimock promises a detailed account of architectural phases, illustrated by an extensive list of plates ranging from Hollar’s 17th‑century views to modern photographs of the dome and interior fittings. The book’s structure, outlined in its contents, moves chronologically from foundation myths to a meticulous description of the new cathedral’s exterior, interior, and decorative programmes.
Written in the formal, citation‑heavy style of late‑Victorian antiquarian scholarship, the text reflects the period’s reverence for documentary evidence and its penchant for exhaustive footnotes. Its voice is that of a diligent historian addressing an educated readership, assuming familiarity with ecclesiastical and architectural terminology. Readers who relish detailed architectural description, primary‑source research, and the layered history of England’s great churches will find Dimock’s exhaustive treatment rewarding, while casual tourists may prefer a more concise guide.
The opening · free to read
The MSS. relating to St. Paul's are deficient in regard to the earlier periods, but become gradually more complete as time progresses. They have been published or quoted, probably, more extensively than those belonging to any other religious foundation in this country, unless it be such communities as St. Alban's, which have attracted the continued attention of the editors working under the Master of the Rolls. In consequence, although our knowledge, not only of the Romano-British period but of many succeeding centuries, is defective or altogether wanting, yet as time advances after the Norman Conquest the merely printed material at our disposal becomes gradually almost embarrassing. When we come to the present Cathedral, we know not only exactly when it was built, but to a great extent how and why.
In the Parentalia Wren's grandson, Stephen, partly in his own words, partly in those of his famous grandfather, lifting the curtain, discloses the personal history and inner self of the architect at his work.
Among the leading authorities are the following, giving the place of honour to the--
Parentalia or Memoirs. Completed by his [Sir Christopher's] son, Christopher. Now published by his grandson, Stephen Wren, Esq. (London, 1858).
The History of St. Paul's, by Sir William Dugdale (Ellis' edition, 1818).
Repertorium, by Richard Newcourt (London, 1708).
Radulfi de Diceto, Decani, Lundoniensis Opera Historica (vols. i. and ii., edited for the Master of the Rolls by the Bishop of Oxford).
I have to thank the Dean for permission to consult the Chapter copy of the Registrum Statutorum, edited for private circulation (1873) by that enthusiastic and accurate St. Paul's scholar, the late Dr. Sparrow-Simpson, one of the last of the Minor Canons on the old foundation, Librarian and Sub-dean. There is a supplement (1897).
Dr. Sparrow-Simpson also wrote or edited the following--
Documents Illustrating the History of St. Paul's Cathedral (Camden Society, 1880).
Chapters in the History of Old St. Paul's (1881).
Visitation of Churches (Camden Society, 1885).
Gleanings from Old St. Paul's (1889).
St. Paul's and Old City Life (1894).
His remaining work, the Catalogue of the Library, I have not consulted.
Annals of St. Paul's, by Dean Milman (1868).
The learned and talented historian did not live to see this his last work through the press. In consequence there are printer's errors as to dates, &c., which I have not thought it necessary to point out.
Domesday of St. Paul's, by Archdeacon Hale (Camden Society, 1858).
The Three Cathedrals dedicated to St. Paul, by William Longman (Longmans, 1873).
Amongst other sources of information are the lectures delivered in St. Paul's by Bishop Browne when a residentiary, and published by the S.P.C.K. The value of these to the students of early Church History is in an inverse ratio to their size. The origin of our secular colleges yet remains to be written; but I am again indebted to Mr. Arthur Francis Leach for the Introduction to the Visitations of Southwell (Camden Society, 1891), for valuable information on this subject.
In regard to the efforts to complete Wren's designs by mosaic decorations, I have carefully observed all that has been done, and have attentively followed much that has been said and written. In particular I have been interested by a statement that has gone the round of the press. Certain young ladies and gentlemen of the Slade School of Art and elsewhere are reported to have protested that even good and appropriate decoration would be contrary to the wishes of Sir Christopher Wren.
My thanks are due to the Dean for his courtesy and trouble in rendering me all the assistance I asked for; to the Bishop of Oxford (like the Bishop of Bristol, a former residentiary) for providing me with a list of authorities at the commencement of my task; to the librarians of All Souls' College, Oxford, and their committee, and particularly to Mr. George Holden, assistant librarian, for permission to use their invaluable collection of Wren's designs and drawings; to the Archdeacon of Middlesex for information concerning the inscriptions on the stalls; to Canon Milford, successor to Wren's father as Rector of Bishop-Knoyle, for communicating to me the irregularity about the registration of Wren's baptism, and for the loan of Mrs. Lucy Phillimore's Life and Times of Wren, a work out of print and not to be procured at the London Library; to Mr. Peter Cazalet for kind assistance in drawing one of the arches and also in describing the monuments; and if last, certainly not least, to the ever courteous officials of the Cathedral, who have rendered me every facility in my study of Wren's building.
ARTHUR DIMOCK.
WETHERDEN RECTORY, HAUGHLEY, SUFFOLK, January 3, 1900.
CONTENTS.
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