St. Paul's Cathedral
Greater London, England (1 castle)
Very little if any at all
Only open at certain times
The first of three serious fires in the Catherdral's history took place in 961 or 962. But money for rebuilding was not a problem as the church was supported by the Saxon kings. Edward the Confessor became King of England in 1042 and in 1044 he gave the Bishopric of London to Robert of Jumieges, the first Norman bishop. In 1087, the same year as the death of William the Conqueror, another serious fire took hold within the Saxon Cathedral leading to its destruction. The remains of the old Saxon church were wiped away and construction of a new Norman building using the latest techniques was started under the direction of the Norman bishop, Maurice.
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Timeline
962
...
The church of St. Paul's built by Ethelbert burnt down this year.
1087
Work on rebuilding St. Paul's Cathedral started after the Old St. Paul's burnt down and a good deal of London as well. The person in charge of the rebuilding work was Mauritius, chaplain to William the Conqueror and Bishop of London. The new Cathedral was reportedly extremely large.
1135
Building work at St. Paul's Cathedral was underway when a major fire broke out and damaged the half-completed structure. The fire possibly started on London Bridge and spread to the city. [1]
1136
January
Reconstruction work on the Cathedral at St. Paul's had been going on since the last major fire of 1087, and this fire again did much damage to the building.
1213
October 3
King John appeared at St. Paul's Cathedral in a second act of submission to the Pope. [2]
1240
In London, the central tower and the choir of St. Paul's had been rebuilt during the first part of the thirteenth century and by 1240, building work was completed. Some changes were made at the end of this century, but then no major alterations occurred until after the Reformation.
1314
Work on the old St. Paul's Cathedral was finally completed in this year. [3]
1374
Henry Yevele was commissioned to design a tomb for John of Gaunt and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster to be built at St. Paul's Cathedral. [4]
1444
February 1
This was the time before lightning conductors and when lightning struck the tower on St. Paul's Cathedral it started a fire. [1]
1501
November 14
After several days of celebration and reception Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon were married at St. Paul's Cathedral. [1]
1509
April 21
King Henry fell ill and within a day he had died. His body was first moved to St. Paul's and then to Westminster Abbey where he was buried next to his wife. [5]
1561
Lightning again struck the spire of St. Paul's Cathedral. The roof and much of the cathedral were damaged by the resulting fire requiring extensive repairs. [1]
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