To look at the monuments in the aisles and transepts is to turn the pages of British history with patriotic pride.
Yet until 1795 no-one was commemorated in the Cathedral; now it is 'second only to Westminster Abbey in the number of its monuments to the mighty dead'.
The first monument to be admitted was the statue of John Howard, 1726-90, the prison reformer, which stands on the right-hand side of the entrance to the south choir aisle; the second that of Dr Samuel Johnson, seen surprisingly in a Roman toga, on the opposite side, both sculpted by John Bacon the Elder.
In 1796 Flaxman's statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds was put at the corner of the north transept, and from then on a flow began of which the most important include Nelson's monument in the South Transept, also by Flaxman, with figures like the naval officer holding a sextant which represent the North Sea, the Baltic, the Nile and the Mediterranean and Sir John Moore's against the wall of the South Transept, designed by John Bacon the Younger, a sad tableau of that brave man's death at Corunna in 1809.
Lord Coiling-wood, General Gordon, Earl Kitchener and Lord Leighton are also represented.
The monument between the pillars of the north aisle to the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) by Alfred Stevens is so tall and so busy with groups representing Truth plucking out the tongue of Falsehood and Valour putting down Cowardice that the man himself, mounted on his horse, is almost out of sight.
He was not put there until 1912 when John Tweed, using Stevens' original designs, completed a work which was begun in 1856 but was still not finished when Stevens died in 1875.
Against the wall of the South Choir the figure of John Donne in a shroud sculpted by Nicholas Stone (15861647) is delicately, somberly impressive.
Donne, the famous poet and Dean of St Paul's died in 1631 and this is the only monument from the earlier St Paul's to have survived the terrible Fire practically intact.
Interested to know more about Asian Vacations? Check out Bali Tanah Lot for stunning sunset at the temple in middle of sea.
Yet until 1795 no-one was commemorated in the Cathedral; now it is 'second only to Westminster Abbey in the number of its monuments to the mighty dead'.
The first monument to be admitted was the statue of John Howard, 1726-90, the prison reformer, which stands on the right-hand side of the entrance to the south choir aisle; the second that of Dr Samuel Johnson, seen surprisingly in a Roman toga, on the opposite side, both sculpted by John Bacon the Elder.
In 1796 Flaxman's statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds was put at the corner of the north transept, and from then on a flow began of which the most important include Nelson's monument in the South Transept, also by Flaxman, with figures like the naval officer holding a sextant which represent the North Sea, the Baltic, the Nile and the Mediterranean and Sir John Moore's against the wall of the South Transept, designed by John Bacon the Younger, a sad tableau of that brave man's death at Corunna in 1809.
Lord Coiling-wood, General Gordon, Earl Kitchener and Lord Leighton are also represented.
The monument between the pillars of the north aisle to the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) by Alfred Stevens is so tall and so busy with groups representing Truth plucking out the tongue of Falsehood and Valour putting down Cowardice that the man himself, mounted on his horse, is almost out of sight.
He was not put there until 1912 when John Tweed, using Stevens' original designs, completed a work which was begun in 1856 but was still not finished when Stevens died in 1875.
Against the wall of the South Choir the figure of John Donne in a shroud sculpted by Nicholas Stone (15861647) is delicately, somberly impressive.
Donne, the famous poet and Dean of St Paul's died in 1631 and this is the only monument from the earlier St Paul's to have survived the terrible Fire practically intact.
Interested to know more about Asian Vacations? Check out Bali Tanah Lot for stunning sunset at the temple in middle of sea.
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