Dome Discovery: Virtual Tour of the Galleries

it would be hard not to notice saint paul's cathedral's enormous dome but did you know the dome has a number of galleries you can visit to get to them there are a lot of stairs and it is a bit of a climb if you are a little anxious about visiting these galleries or just not sure what to expect you can watch this film to find out what goes on at the top if you're a wheelchair user have limited mobility health concerns or would prefer not to visit the galleries you can watch the film to discover

the stories behind the cathedral's graffiti why pineapples might be a feature in the decoration and find out how simple cathedral fits into the modern london skyline today to visit the dome or for more information you will need to find the entrance to the galleries on the cathedral floor found on the south side of the cathedral there you will find a friendly and welcoming member of our visitor experience team who will answer any questions you have and will show you the way to visit the dome if you're visiting as part of your school you may be

asked to line up and wait to be signed in if you're visiting with your family you might be asked to show your tickets the first set of stairs are wide and comfortable to climb with railings on the right keep to one side as you go up and people coming down can pass you easily remember to take your time and stick together there's no rush to get to the top and there's plenty to see on your way from mysterious doors to secret windows take time to look at the architecture on your journey there are 376 steps

to the stone gallery and on your way you might spot some graffiti some of the graffiti you will see is hundreds of years old what names and dates can you read when we run our fingers over the dates and letters we can feel the cold and roughness of the stone we can imagine the lives of the different people who carved them and the many many people who have passed through here why do you think people wrote their names here maybe they wanted to show their love for the cathedral or show that they are a part

of the building today we would consider writing graffiti on the building as being very disrespectful as it would damage it and ruin it for other visitors today we might just take a quick photo instead once you reach the stone gallery you are greeted by incredible views of london the gallery is outside and is wide and open the walls are high and there are places to sit and relax after the climb london's skyline is so iconic largely due to its diversity from old buildings to modern architecture historic bridges and of course the river thames it really

does have it all let's take a closer look what famous structures can you see the shard is the tallest building in the uk and holds the record for the highest swimming pool in europe sitting at 600 feet high millennium bridge is famous for being featured in harry potter and the half blood prince lesser known is its location as a home for 400 tiny pieces of art that you might not notice unless you look down created by the chewing gum man or ben wilson litter has literally become art shakespeare's globe would have appeared on the south

bank of the thames over 400 years ago today the reconstruction continues to inspire audiences with amazing performances was there anything you recognized perhaps somewhere you've visited before or would like to from here you can continue on to the golden gallery or head back down but before you go let's take a look at one of saint paul's cathedral's most unexpected features the pineapples do you think it's strange that there are bronze pineapples on top of the towers well there's an interesting reason for this in the 17th century when saint paul's was built pineapples had to be

imported from south america they were incredibly expensive and rare pineapples would be the centerpieces at dinner parties and were often not even eaten but only viewed and revered some people would even rent a pineapple for an evening or display them outside their doors to welcome guests pineapples became a symbol of peace prosperity and hospitality so they stand here to welcome in visitors to the cathedral these pineapples were supplied by a woman coppersmith called jane brewer in 1707 we think she was the wife of a man who started working on the pineapples but then died jane

then finished the work and was paid for it she is the only woman whose name appears in the cross directory you can get a different view of the pineapples on the next level the golden gallery from the stone gallery to the golden gallery is a further 152 steps totaling a whopping 528 steps from top to bottom getting to the golden gallery takes you up a beautiful spiral staircase on the way up take a look at the shapes and patterns in the iron staircase although the spiral steps are beautiful they can get a bit narrow and

steep remember to take your time the gallery at the top isn't as spacious as a stone gallery but there is plenty of room to walk around and take in the epic views just above the golden gallery sits the ball in lantern which weighs seven tons other parts of the cathedral sits below like the bells and the clock the cathedral clock was installed in 1893 and has three faces on three different sides each is more than five meters tall and wide think about how tall you are and how many of you would fit into the clock

inside the southwest towers are the bells and simples have you heard any bells on your visit some of the bells have names one of them is great pool the largest bell ever cast in the british isles which weighs a whopping 16 and a half tons sadly great pool has not sounded for several years because of a broken chiming mechanism there are three other clock bells and the next largest to great pool is great tom which weighs over five tons you can hear great tom striking at each hour there are also 12 change ringing bells which

all have different notes in the key of b-flat these play together in different orders to make a tune each of these bells was given to simples by important people and organizations in the 19th century including the fishmongers the grocers and the drapers of london these bells also have short prayers inscribed on them such as my trust is in god alone and god grant grace why do you think people put prayers on bells can you imagine the prayers ringing out into the world as the bells are rung phew and there we have it the galleries of

saint paul's cathedral and all the weird and wonderful things we can discover on the way saint paul's cathedral and its iconic gravity-defying dome is a protected view from eight different points across london this means new projects for building must not obstruct the view this is often why we find unusually shaped buildings in the city for example 20 fenchurch street more commonly known as the walkie-talkie this building had to change shape so it didn't block the view take a look at the official list linked and see if you live near or can visit any of the

protected views thank you for joining us on this journey today whether you walked it or watched it we hope you enjoyed exploring another part of this fantastic building you