A Critical Look at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral during the Renaissance

The two churches, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, have a long, intertwined history. The most notable similarity between the two that was found on Westminster’s website is that Westminster Abbey was once called St. Peter’s and was only renamed Westminster in order to differentiate it from St. Paul’s, or Eastminster. The styles of the churches are different, which reflects the different times in which each one was built. “Minster,” as David explained to us on our tour of Westminster Abbey, is another word for school. While it is not as clear as Westminster, St. Paul’s was, and still is, a school. During the Renaissance, Westminster Abbey served as a Benedictine monastery, only closing in 1539. Similarly, St. Paul’s has had a school associated with it and still does to this day. However, the Abbey was a school for monks and had a place for them to live while St. Paul’s existed to serve as a school for boys who were also choristers, according to the school's website. The functions of each one’s schools, therefore, differed a great deal during the Renaissance. While they are both Catholic, Westminster serves as more of a sanctuary, especially since the monks lived within the abbey walls, while St. Paul’s served as a grammar school, but was differentiated from the cathedral itself.

According to our guidebook, St. Paul’s can trace its roots back to 604, though it was burnt down multiple times; the St. Paul’s that we know today is the fifth St. Paul’s to be built (3). The current St. Paul's was designed by Christopher Wren (5-7). Westminster, on the other hand, traces its roots back to 1066. While the Westminster that we know today is not the original abbey, it was purposefully torn down by King Henry III in order for a new church to be rebuilt in his name. In addition, the style of the current Westminster Abbey is Gothic, and it was begun in 1245. St Paul’s, on the other hand, is Baroque, and the current church was built between 1675 and 1711 (3). Another connection the two churches have is St. Paul's architect, Christopher Wren, was sent to Westminster Abbey to be educated.

 

Every single monarch since 1066 has been crowned at Westminster, save for the two, Edward V and Edward VIII, who were not crowned at all, and 17 of those monarchs are also buried there. This is obviously the church of monarchs and more full of tradition, as the beginning and ends of most monarchs’ reigns, since 1066 at least, have been at Westminster. One similarity that would have been present during the Renaissance is the decoration of the two churches. To me, Westminster was beautiful, but it seemed cold and gray. It seemed much more like a crypt than the beautiful St. Paul’s. While St. Paul’s was open and beautiful, according to Britain Express, the mosaics were only painted after 1872, when Queen Victoria complained that the building was “dirty, dark, and undevotional.” This stark difference between today and when it was built is shown in St. Paul’s Guidebook on page 9, in a picture of the Duke of Wellington’s funeral, where the dome is much less magnificent than it is today. This shows us that the interior of the two churches were more similar during the Renaissance than they are today.

We have also heard through word of mouth that both places served as marketplaces and playhouses, but I have not been able to find any information online to support that, which is why I chose to focus on their looks and their functions as a school.