It's years since my wife and I visited Str Paul's. Then, it was dark, dusty and not all that pleasant. I suppose the place was given a good spruce up for the Royal Wedding and now it is just magnificent.
Look inside the tower to the right of the main door and see a beautiful cantilever staircase, looking like a giant corkscrew above your head. The chapel next door (I think it was St George's) holds some surprises for Australians. There's a bishop's chair that on closer inspection was dedicated to Australian explorer John Forrest and the main stalls remember a Tasmanian bishop.
The main doors are immense and it was surprising to find a large American War Memorial behind the main altar. When we visited, it was a sunny morning and the mosaics shone as their makers intended.
The crypt was full of interest, with the tombs of Wren, Nelson, Wellington and Churchill among others. On a wall was another interesting memorial slab, for Billy Fiske, the first American to be killed in uniform in WW11 and the subject of a film being made, controversially, with Tom Cruise in the lead part.
It seems wrong to have to pay to enter a cathedral and I expect anyone would be entitled to demand free admission, but, having paid and viewed, I would say it is money well spent.
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