Key Dates for St. Paul’s Cathedral
1666: Great Fire of London destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City’s 80,000 inhabitants.
1667: St Paul’s collapses in on itself after being damaged heavily by the Fire.
1669: Christopher Wren’s proposal for building a new St Paul’s is accepted.
1672: Funding from coal dues begins to be allocated to St Paul’s project.
1675: Ceremony at St Paul’s with Bishop of London, setting the first stone for construction.
1677: The book trade had set back up in the churchyard and most taverns/coffeehouses surrounding St Paul’s reopened.
1678–86: Funding from coal dues halted for St Paul’s project, prompting widespread requests for donations.
1687–1710: A combination of coal dues and monarchical funding paid for the remainder of St Paul’s project.
About two more decades of coal tax funds being distributed to the already expensive project, this period (1687–97) is when the most intense backlash against St Paul’s was expressed, in poetry, pamphlets, and newspapers.
1697: 2nd December was the opening service (and consecration) for the chancel (with the rest of the cathedral still incomplete) to celebrate the signing of the Ryswick Treaty, which ended the Nine Years’ War. Perceived by many (especially Royalists) as a great triumph, and to others, it was met with indifference. Services resume in the chancel from here forward, even with construction happening all around it
1706: the dome is placed onto the top of the cathedral
1710: the cathedral’s official opening ceremony takes place
