2-634-490 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Old St Paul's Cathedral before the destruction of the steeple, 1657 (1904). Old St Paul's Cathedral was the medieval cathedral of the City of London that, until 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1087 to 1314, the cathedral was the fourth church on the site. On 4th June 1561 the spire caught fire and fell through the nave roof. According to a newspaper published days after the fire, the cause was a lightning strike, which generated enough heat to melt the cathedral's bells and the lead covering the wooden spire. From London in the Time of Tudors, by Sir Walter Besant. [Adam & Charles Black, London, 1904]