Location: City of London Date completed: 1675-1720, consecrated 1697, "Topping out" 1708 Designers/builders: Sir Christopher Wren Function: Church of England Cathedral

One of the most inspiring images to come out of World War II is the photograph of St Paul's Cathedral standing proud and undefeated amid the flames and smoke of the Blitz. It was a true symbol of the indomitable spirit of the people of Britain and London. St Paul's rose from the ashes of another conflagration - the great fire of London in 1666. This destroyed the old St Paul's begun by the Normans in 1087 to replace a Saxon cathedral, also destroyed by fire. In fact, there may also have been a 4th century Roman cathedral on the site. After the great fire, Sir Christopher Wren was charged with rebuilding some 50 churches in London and in 1669 was asked to design a replacement for old St Paul's. An initial proposal was to retain some of the original cathedral, but ultimately it was entirely demolished and a completely new design accepted. This was in the English baroque style complete with a massive dome. Work started in 1675, the cathedral was consecrated for use in 1697 and the "topping out" was completed on 26th October 1708, although work continued until 1720. When completed it was the second largest church in England and at 365 ft (111 m) high it was the tallest building in London until 1962. During World War II it was a specific target for enemy bombers and was several times struck by bombs. In October 1940 one destroyed the high altar, while another in April 1941 fractionally shifted the entire dome. Another bomb with a time delay fuse struck St Paul's in September 1940 but was defused by a Royal Engineers bomb-disposal squad before it could explode. Had it exploded it would probably have destroyed the entire cathedral. An extensive 15-year restoration project of copper, lead and slate work was completed on 15th June 2011. Today St Paul's is an important part of British national life. The funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher were held here. Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer were married at its altar.