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Showing posts with label gosh.values.maple. Show all posts

Tuesday 18 January 2022

Skulferatu #57 - St Paul's Churchyard, London


St Paul’s Churchyard is one of those places in the centre of London where you can escape from the chaos of the busy streets nearby.  A place to relax, contemplate life, or just sit and drink a cup of tea from one of the many nearby cafés.

 

A photo of the lane leading up to St Paul's Cathedral with the cathedral dominating the skyline in the distance.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
St Paul’s Cathedral

 

A picture taken at an angle in St Paul's Churchyard showing the dome of the cathedral and also St Paul's Cross and some trees in the grounds. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Cathedral Dome and St Paul’s Cross

 

A photo of a statue of Thomas à Becket which depicts a figure lying down with arms raised as if trying to fend off the sword blows that killed him. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Statue of St Thomas à Becket by E Bainbridge Copnall

 

A photo of a small white building standing in the churchyard.  It has wooden doors that are shut. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Mausoleum building in the churchyard

 

The churchyard wasn’t always such a relaxing place though.  It was once a place of much hustle and bustle, with markets selling cloth and other goods, booksellers selling books and shops selling music and musical instruments.  Large crowds also gathered there on one occasion to watch the execution of one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, Father Henry Garnet.  He suffered the rather unpleasant fate of being hung drawn and quartered. 

 

From the mid-15th Century to around 1635 St Paul’s Cross stood in the churchyard.  This was an open air pulpit and cross from which many sermons were preached and where large crowds gathered to hear them. During the Reformation it became an important place for the government to put forth the religious views that they espoused. 

 

A picture showing a statue on a column within the churchyard.  It is a statue of St Paul. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
St Paul’s Cross

 

A photo showing in more detail the statue of St Paul.  It is golden and the figure is holding a cross with one arm raised up.  At the back of his head is a halo denoting that he is a saintly figure. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Statue of St Paul

 

A photo of a blue plaque commemorating the original St Paul’s Cross.  Above the text is the face of an angelic looking figure.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Plaque commemorating original St Paul’s Cross

 

The original St Paul’s Cross is long gone, but it is now commemorated by a monument that stands nearby to where it once stood.

 

I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me during my wander around the churchyard in a hollow in a tree near to the St Paul’s Cross monument.

 

A small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 57) being held up in the grounds of St Paul's Churchyard.  Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #57

 

A small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 57) in the hollow of a tree standing in St Paul's Churchyard in central London. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #57 in hollow in tree near to St Paul’s Cross

 

A close up picture of a small ceramic skull (Skulferatu 57) in the hollow of a tree standing in St Paul's Churchyard in central London. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #57 in hollow in tree near to St Paul’s Cross

 

Google Map showing location of Skulferatu #57
Map showing location of Skulferatu #57

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 51.514174

Longitude -09.097577

 

I used the following sources for information on St Paul’s Churchyard -

 

British History Online

St Paul's: The churchyard | British History Online

 

Wikipedia

Wikipedia - St Paul's Cross