It is inspiring to know that a church has stood on the site of St Paul's since 604, when it was founded by St Mellitus. The cathedral still soars high above most of the buildings on the London skyline, hopefully directing the prayers from within this place of worship up to Heaven. It was, at one time, when it was a gothic building with a spire, probably the tallest building in Europe.

I was curious to discover what makes this cathedral such an inspiration to many people. The great West doors, weighing one ton each, are not opened for mere mortals such as us. Standing inside, in front of these doors the first thing that struck me was the racks of votive candles flickering in the gloom. Here is a corner in a busy building where, despite all the people, you can give some private thought to the person for whom you are lighting the candle. The first moment of still calm. Here too, at the beginning of the Nave is a memorial in the floor to St Paul's Watch, those who during the blitz kept a nightly vigil to ensure that bombs did not start a fire and destroy the cathedral.

At the time of re-building after the great fire, the high altar was hidden from view by a quire screen. This was removed in the 1800s. There is now an altar under the dome and this is where regular services take place. Behind it is the high altar, organ and quire (where the choir and clergy normally sit during services) stalls. The area behind this was hit by a bomb during the Second World War and when it was rebuilt it was made a memorial to the American forces who fought alongside us. The pages of the Book of Remembrance are turned daily and as we are all equal in the sight of God, the names are in alphabetical order rather than by rank.

The cathedral was built by Sir Christopher Wren (1632 – 25 February 1723), one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history. He was responsible for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666 — including his masterpiece St. Paul's Cathedral, completed in 1710. Our guide told us the story of Wren asking a workman to find him a stone to mark the spot, at floor level, of the centre of the dome high above. The stone bore the inscription 'Resurgam', which translates as 'I will rise again'. This is an amazing statement of our faith and relates to the cathedral itself, which has been rebuilt several times. We stood on this spot, aware of the faith and prayer of all those who had been here before us.

The cathedral had little in the way of adornments or memorials when it was first built. A memorial to John Howard, a prison reformer, was the first memorial permitted in the then new cathedral. Many have been added since with that of Wellington being the grandest. Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) is remembered by a set of gates in the crypt. These depict the various aspects of his life, including assegais – the traditional weapon of the Zulus. This was a reminder for me of my birthplace. The gates were installed in 2004. Churchill was one of only three people to have a state funeral at St. Paul's.

The crypt is the largest in Western Europe and, unusually for a cathedral, is the exact footprint of the cathedral floor. Also in the crypt is a memorial to Sir Bartle Frere, one time governor of the Cape of Good Hope and later prominent in India. This proved to be a place for me to stand and reflect on another period in my own life – history has always been a fascinating subject for me. Most people come to see Admiral Lord Nelson in his barrel of brandy! He lies at the centre of the crypt, directly beneath the middle of the dome. His monument includes a call to national prayer that he wrote while in view of the enemy before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, his final battle. His coffin had already been made for him from the mast of a ship in one of his earlier victories. His body had to be preserved for the journey home, so it was put into a large wooden barrel, covered with French brandy and topped up with spirits of wine and camphor at Gibraltar. Nelson's funeral took place at St Paul's on 9 January 1806, where he was interred beneath the black sarcophagus originally made for Cardinal Wolsey in the early 16th century. Wren is buried in a quiet corner of the crypt and remembered with an epitaph written by his son. He exhorts the reader: 'If you seek his monument look around you'. A plaque nearby remembers the crafts people who helped build Wren's dream.

Some of us climbed to the Whispering Gallery while others went up the spiral staircase to get a view of London and be above the lead roof of the dome. God must surely have been guiding Wren when he was planning this magnificent House of Prayer.

We were fortunate to be able to sit in the quire stall for Evensong. I sat next to a lady whose son sang the solo in the anthem. Now 12, he has been at the school since the age of eight. She told me a bit about the boys' lives. Apparently, after the Christmas services the families can join the choirboys for Christmas lunch. The service sheet reminded us that Evensong combines the offices of Vespers and Compline. Time for all of us to reflect on this great place, built for the glory of God. The psalms were perfect for the end of our visit. Psalm 8 reminded us: 'O Lord our Sovereign how glorious is Thy name in all the earth'. A fitting end to an inspiring visit.

Source: The Spire Magazine - 2010 December/2011 January