St. Paul's Cathedral Library

The famous St. Paul's Cathedral can be viewed from many places in London. Its awe-inspiring architecture has created a building that has lasted through the years, and continues to remain relevant, even though a majority of Londoners do not attend church.

I had a little under an hour to spare before my tour of the library, so I used this opportunity to rent a self-guided audio tour, which proved to be not nearly enough time. The tour uses newer technology of the iPod touch to allow visitors to navigate at their own pace and order. I chose to start from the bottom, in the crypt, and work my way up. The Order of the British Empire has a chapel on the lower level as well. Members can use this chapel for various religious functions including marriage ceremonies and baptisms. Certain members are also buried here. There were so many people buried in the floors and commemorated on the walls, I only read about a few. Sir Charles Grove served as a chorister of the Cathedral for six years, from 1924-1930. Different fonts were used for different people, the font for Grove was light-hearted and whimsical.

There was a large, more serious grave site for the famous Horatio Nelson. He commanded his ship through the Battle of Trafalgar, and gave orders while he was dying. He crew filled his casket with brandy to preserve his body for the trip back to England. During his funeral, all of the windows at St. Paul's were covered in black. The tiles on the floor around him have dolphins and other sea animals to remember he was a sailor. I am learning more and more about British history than I could have imagined.

From the basement, to the ceiling, the architecture of the dome was fascinating. There are actually two domes, and inner and an outer one. The inner is very high from the ground, but visitors walking through the church are still close enough to see the paintings. The outer dome was built much higher so it could be seen from a greater distance outside.

The most intriguing part was the library, I do not know if it was because it is not open for general public viewing, or just because I have a special interest in libraries, but I figure, it was probably a combination of both. Entering the library was better than I could have imagined, majestic, and more regal than any movie depiction of a historical library. Everything from the classic looking silver keys used to open the tall doors, to the smell of old books seemed unreal. The ceiling were very high, and all four walls lined with books. It really did look like a movie set, so I kept thinking about how these books are real, containing real information. Our guide, the librarian, Joseph Wisdom, helped to remind me that these books are real, by the fact that conservation is a constant in this library. He stated, "books take on a life," which is evidenced by spines being bent and pages being worn. I also found it grounding that he imports the records from OCLC, which I suppose, makes sense since where else would he get the records from?

Of course he gave us some advice, "Rule number one, never, ever discard a catalog...no matter how much room it takes up." After this sound piece of information, we were all able to glance at a 12th century book of Psalms.

The reverence Wisdom showed for these books was impressive. He respects the collection and encourages students to appreciate the history found in these old books.