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Building St Paul’s tells the story of this remarkable building and of those responsible for its construction, from the time of the disastrous Great Fire to the cathedral’s final completion in 1708. Christopher Wren is well known, yet this book also considers those ordinary craftsmen whose work on St Paul’s has received less attention: the contractors and overseers, the quarrymen on the Isle of Portland, the humble stonemasons and carpenters who shaped the materials. It also unravels the complicated tangle of the cathedral’s finances and the struggles for money that at one time threatened to undermine the whole enterprise. By looking at such details, Campbell’s account reaffirms St Paul’s not only as one man’s masterwork, but as an incredible collaborative achievement.

• A new, approachable history of a famous landmark, aimed primarily at visitors to the cathedral.
• Includes more than fifty illustrations, including original plans and new photography by Will Pryce.
• Gives a ‘ground-up’ account of the cathedral’s construction, making use of new research.
• The author, himself an architect, brings inside knowledge of the technical challenges posed by construction and of Wren’s ingenious solutions.

Table of Contents

1. A New Dome for London • 2. The Astronomer Architect • 3. Fire and Destruction • 4. Models, Designs and Warrants • 5. The Demolition Men • 6. Life in the Office of Works • 7. The Phoenix Rising • 8. Financing the Works • 9. The Wealth of Masons • 10. Carpenters and Scaffolding 11. Getting Materials • 12. Collapsing Vaults and Flying Buttresses • 13. The Race to Finish the Choir • 14. Roofing the Cathedral • 15. Designing the Dome • 16. Catenary Curves and Parabolic Conoids • 17. The Telescope in the Tower • 18. Frauds and Abuses • 19. The Cathedral Completed