The Secret Rooms of St Paul's Cathedral

[@lisastallingskeelor3328]

Stunning architecture, engineering and design, what a treat to be able to see.

[@SkarKingg]

Wait until you see the one in Barcelona Spain, I forgot the name but it's the most amazing cathedral in the world. Look it up and reply with your thoughts

[@passthebutterrobot2600]

Wow, i don't think I've ever got vertigo from just watching a KZbin video before! Great stuff though.

[@TheGardener54uk]

i totally agree

[@Richard-pe4cx]

yes i felt it as well

[@deathofasalestactic]

when i was there in person and i got vertigo :S

[@qqleq]

Worse than when I really go up a tower - which is bad enough. Weird!

[@amazingusername8925]

you don't know what vertigo means do you?

[@gaelhillyardcreative]

I wish this video was 100 times longer - totally fascinating. Miss London desperately :(

[@Ladynipchick2]

Ooo, I'd have loved more. That bloke who took them round had such enjoyment in the building!

[@pope400]

This NEEDS to become a two hour documentary.

[@ChrisMelville]

Great to finally see the INSIDE of the golden gallery. You can see from below that there’s some kind of upper gallery there, but not accessible to the public. We can only walk from the whispering gallery, up to the exterior golden gallery. I always remember there being a door there, which I imagined would lead to the inside - and now I see it’s true.

[@jennyd255]

At some points during the 1970's there was temporary public access to some of these places. I do recall that it was rather scary, but also fascinating.

[@magnvss]

Vertigo escalates with every minute. But because you know it's a very old building. And could easily give in or give up at any moment, regardless of whatever you were assured.

[@sailorjohnboy2325]

It's been nearly 40 years since I visited St. Paul's. Still get queasy watching your video.

[@Resenbrink]

Dear God I would love to explore these parts of this simply beautiful building .

[@mamtfasc69]

you guys are amazing. The job you keep carry out makes me prouder, day be day, to work and live in this beautiful city

[@NickieOHara]

Fantastic video from @Londonist showing the secret rooms of St Paul's Cathedral.

[@oneintenman2739]

Amazing. Thank you as always.

[@chappers69100]

Wow, that view from the top looks so scary!!!

[@gordywestmids]

Even more 'scary' when you consider the builders were up there on wooden scaffolds

[@lindawalker4575]

Such a feat of engineering.

[@mscott3918]

Linda Walker I love the story that when old St Paul's had burned down, and the site was being cleared, Wren asked a workman to find him a stone to mark the place for one of the boundary walls. He was brought a large tombstone with the word resurgam, Latin for I will rise again, carved in it.

[@twstf8905]

Awesome 👍

[@J3rs3y_G1rl]

Kudos for the Mary Poppins reference.

[@vickirasmussen4791]

2021 cant see for miles any more

[@TomorrowWeLive]

Wonder how many secret rooms there are in St Peter's Basilica

[@AlbertCanil]

Thank you ever so much for sharing, "you few, you lucky few" .

[@970357ers]

After this pandemic is over, it would be good to see such hidden areas opened up to tourists (with necessary security measures).

[@marlineharrold1937]

Wonderful video! Thanks a bunch. 🖤

[@FarlandHowe]

Very cool. That was fun. Thank you for sharing. Rob

[@ellenkingsley]

omg this is an amazing video I've only gone as high as the Whispering Gallery in St Paul's

[@phina8392]

Amazing

[@danc8278]

Could really feel my fear of heights kick in

[@TheConsettonian1987]

I’ve been up the dome a few times many years ago and I was terrified when I was up there.

[@timothyj1966]

Spectacular place of worship... fortunate enough to visit and attend services on vacation from Canada. The last bit in the Dome overlooking below is staggering... and made me feel queasy - have done the Whispering Gallery - that was enough for me.

[@blackhole7909]

That bit and the stairs is from Paddington 2

[@vinniesuperstar8923]

Even sat here watching that those heights give me the willies

[@philipbrailey]

That hole in the floor looking down is a bit creepy.

[@21stcenturyozman20]

Virtual vertigo!

[@cobraboy4182]

3:29 love the wallpaper

[@jasminejohnston6393]

And what's an old cathedral without the organ room, where all the mechanics of the pipe organ are. It gets pretty noisy because a special fan is part of the organ. The fan blows Air through the pipes, which produces the organ's sound. It's cool, but scary at the same time!

[@rowlandwateridge906]

St Paul’s organ has ten divisions, spread around the building (including the Dome where the most powerful trumpet ranks and 32’ pedal stops are located) all playable from two consoles, the one at ground level being mobile. The blowing plant is in the crypt.

[@edlynfa4492]

.Nice content

[@tim-williams]

That building must have a very high roof load with all those bricks, wouldn't want to be in it during an EQ.

[@BrotherofSki]

He's terrified 😂

[@JustSomeBloke1]

Hi Geoff. Is that your shoe on display at 15" or just a random piece of footwear added for artistic reasons? :)

[@Londonistvids]

That is Geoff's shoe, yes!

[@EmmaKAlexandra]

Oh that’s the divination tower staircase from Harry Potter 3

[@owenchuarbx]

Nearest tube stations?

[@TheLandOfJonny]

St Pauls on the central line :)

[@REVOLUTIONS51]

The Pope: laughing in sanit Peter's Basilica

[@robtyman4281]

Who cares what the Pope thinks!

[@robtyman4281]

@Bon G ?

[@bill739123]

Nothing should be built that is taller than the Church steeple

[@paddybearuk1]

So where were these secret rooms? What a rip off!

[@AlexWindsor]

Great video - I've been in some of those places. Working for a company called ELP that do all the lights for BBC televised events, we were running cables all through the place, up on the roof, everything. It was a fascinating experience and toe-curlingly frightening at times! He's absolutely right, the thoughts going through your head about putting your life in the hands of hundreds of years old architecture. I had similar experiences at Westminster Abbey as well. One interesting fact not mentioned in the video is that there is a tradition for workmen who find themselves on the roofs of such places to carve their name and date into the masonry - dating back hundreds of years to today - my colleagues were doing this alongside things like Ethelbert was here 1796 etc..

[@richardjellis9186]

"the hand rail was put in,.." Which means that at some point, there was NO rail.!🤯!.

[@WELLINGTON20]

It’s always been there. Of course at some point there was no st. paul’s cathedral.

[@ixlnxs]

Or at the very least, the public wasn't allowed up there until the hand rail was put in. You don't want church service to be disturbed by people falling from the sky, do you?

[@m.on4ca97]

That would make the service more interesting wouldn't you say?

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

Id be tempted to throw bread down from there when they sing that song 🎶 Bread of heaven 🎶 hahahah 🍞

[@cherylhopper6076]

I'd love to see more of the behind-the-scenes rooms in another video.

[@tomsommer9739]

sprich deutsch

[@davekirwin]

Thanks for sharing, very interesting but it makes my feet feel funny looking at the height!

[@flugsven]

David Kirwin Yeh, that's almost killed me on a school trip tour. I only wanted to climb down, but had to follow the neverending stream of tourists. I nearly sh*.. well, nevermind.

[@TMPreRaff]

"The Secret Rooms of St Paul's Cathedral" Now on KZbin. So much for secrets.

[@gormauslander]

Was about to say this

[@madlenox]

Really interesting ! Fascinsting even. And i didnt know that the harry potter's staricase was in st pauls !

[@Matty6968]

***** Yes its to the divination room harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Divination_Stairwell

[@darksymmetry5745]

And also used for the defence against the dark arts staircase aswell

[@adsertheblade]

Our presenter seems to be a bit perpetually scared...Maybe we could get an adult man to do the next video?

[@MarionRelics]

Did the interior of the upper dome have a brick pattern painted on it instead of actual bricks...?

[@krist-yonnarain7786]

Isaac Marion yeah it was a very popular design during the baroque period instead of actually making the the whole dome hollow and visible from the floor a fantastic mural usually portraying heaven was painted on the ceiling

[@mscott3918]

There is a brick cone between the dome you see from looking up and the dome you see from outside. What I mean is that what you see when looking up isn't actually the top of the dome. You can see the iron chains set in lead that hold it all together. Be warned though, if you ever decide to go to the viewing gallery above the top of the dome it's a tough climb.

[@ObviousSchism]

Yes and I believe that the technique is known as Trompe-l'œil

[@rixx46]

@@mscott3918 y wife and I made the climb years ago - well worth it.

[@RobWVideo]

If you take the full tour, you can climb up between the internal and the external domes to the very top, where there is a small glass window set into the floor that you can look down through to see centre of the cathedral below. You can see the other side of that window in the top of the internal dome at 3:25.

[@brendonmcmorrow3886]

I've been lucky enough to see most of these secret places on what the Virgers call a Heineken tour (because it reaches parts other tours cannot reach). You have to know someone in the Cathedral to get on one of these tours but they are without doubt one of THE best things anyone can do in London. They hardly ever happen as the Virger who used to conduct most of them has moved to another cathedral.

[@ProfessorPesca]

I was scared totally rigid just going up the lantern at Ely Cathedral and I would have simply never been able to do this - just watching the video made my heart rate increase! It’s good to be able to see from a safe location though!

[@TMob56]

I 100% agree... I'm not a fan of heights...

[@seantig479]

Thank you for expanding on the tour of St. Paul's I enjoyed first hand, years ago. British engineering is breathtaking.

[@ivormctin6367]

I visited St. Paul's in, I think 2007. It was early on a weekday in October so it was very quiet. I don't know if there is still this option, but I paid £2 extra (student price) for a group guided tour. There were, however, so few visitors at that time, that I got the guided tour all to myself. I was shown a lot of areas that were off limits to the regular visitor. We went up to that area above the ceiling that you see in this video, out onto the roof and to the stone staircase in the thumbnail. It was about 90 minutes in total, I think.

[@davedrew9328]

How was the hand rail constructed i can’t imagine it was pulled up ?

[@CeciliaDyckhoff]

I went up into the golden ball when I was a child, back in the 50s.

[@danih9523]

No secret basement...where the satanic rituals take place ? 😂...of course they exist just not being shown here

[@sutats]

That's where the naughty altar boys go.

[@Aquarius.]

so many mesmerised by beautiful architecture on the one hand whilst clinging onto their pennies from universal credit with the other

[@andrenewcomb3708]

400 year old engineering.

[@theknowledgewithin6514]

Its utterly mind boggling that people on horse and cart built these buildings LMFAO not a chance in hell. Founded meaning found

[@theknowledgewithin6514]

these places were never built when they said they were found. They were on horse and cart back then so no way they could have build such impossible structures with no power tools. Also these buildings were used for gathering energy from the ether. look closely at the tops which contained rare metals and also wires spikes to gather the energy. our history is a lie.

[@cmotherofpirl]

Amazing, but absolutely terrifying :)

[@nanholcomb991]

Fascinating! Thank you for posting.

[@mrwibble70]

Some of these corridors in the interior of at Paul's cathedral are very narrow. I used to use some of them to get to various parts of the organ to tune. The West end gallery is impressive, when tuning the some and West end reeds, you have to have ear defenders to tune them.

[@richardharrold9736]

Those 1977 Mander Royal Trumpets are foul. Ironically, Brenda has forbidden their use in her hearing. The 1930 Gottfried Trompette Militaire in the NE quarter-dome is much better. Sadly, the 1900 Willis dome reeds (the 15" Posaunes and 25" Tubas) were replaced with five new Mander ranks in 2008, and they just aren't the same... hopefully now Mander is no more the St Paul's organ will return to Willis's care (it is currently, unfortunately, in the hands of the same overrated northern firm which has royally cocked up the reeds and mixtures at Salisbury) and can have the original 1900 ranks reinstated. Nothing is beyond salvation, as their restoration of the 1924 Tuba Magna at Liverpool Cathedral (which H&H had vandalised beyond belief in their brief, disastrous period in charge of that organ in the 1970s) is currently demonstrating.

[@RadioJonophone]

That last part was really scary. You are so brave, I would not be able to do that.

[@suzyqualcast6269]

So, one may no longer access the Whispering Gallery ¿? Glad I was taken in bout 69.

[@michael_mouse]

1:30 ... only 9" thick... now that's a REAL terrifying thought!

[@kathryncarter6143]

I can't even begin to fathom the grandeur of this building. Such an incomprehensible scale; to say nothing of the beauty. And to think that this was all accomplished centuries ago without any modern machinery. Just that incredibly heavy door, at such a significant height! And even the realitively unimportant crawl spaces, have each brick layed with care. I think the tour guide is right about the discovery. You could spend a whole lifetime wandering about & exploring; but you still wouldn't be able to discover everything. How any one man could accomplish such a feat, just boggles my mind.

[@LaWendeltreppe]

Thx for sharing! Amazing! I miss London so much and am counting the days till I will be there again. Your videos are a real consolation for those who can't be there. And that bloke Oliver has got such a warm smile.

[@rr7firefly]

Suspended in space, between the church crossing far below and the interior of the upper dome overhead. Unnerving -- not for the timid.

[@WELLINGTON20]

so much for “so many rooms” when it’s a short video

[@StarWarsJay]

I remember standing in the whispering gallery with my back against the railings and locking up at the inside of the dome. The feeling of vertigo was overwhelming.

[@tomkoch7515]

so where are the secret rooms ?

[@CanyonWanderer]

Amazing that at that hand rail part, there is a lot to look down on, but still quite al lot to look up to as well! So many levels!

[@hausaffe100]

a video by geoff without any mentioning of railways, didn't know that's possible

[@dlevi67]

Well, they did talk about handrails...

[@graffitijunkiejfk]

Done that tour with Oliver. His knowledge was unbelievable...

[@davidmcclelland2661]

Great tour for us on the other side of the world! Cheers.

[@WAX6428]

So, how are rooms secret when there is a video showing them...............................................that being said, perhaps I should be in MI6 since I've been to all the places shown as well as more. Something tells me the "narrator" chickened out and refused to go any higher, after witnessing how he held on to the banister out on the roof............................

[@garytucker8696]

Does anybody know who the chief correspondent to William Butterfield was that was in charge of the north transit timbers of the roof at St Paul's cathedral on may 15 1884? initials C.J.P!!???

[@jeffcampbell1555]

Insane in the brain...VERTIGO from watching on an 8"x 4" screen...no Londonist, don't go through that little door!!

[@angelcorrea5268]

It is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have visited. A colorful artistic experience. I like that place.

[@stwee4655]

They didn't show Shinbone Alley where the three domes inside each other are atttached. Named by the Blitz firewatchers in the little room at the top of the dome. My great uncle was a firewatcher and showed me around.

[@greenie2600]

What's with the Super Mario bricks on the walls inside the dome (at the end of the video)? They look painted on.

[@paulkirkland3263]

Fascinating, but it really triggered my vertigo. Perhaps that means it was well filmed!

[@Engineer9736]

Great video. I really like such enormous buildings. With all the different kinds of rooms and spaces.

[@analogkid4957]

At 1:30 I got scared that with the 400 year old engineering the floor could collapse?

[@egparis18]

You can't hear half of what people are saying. Get a better microphone or something.

[@richard281150]

As a child back in the late 50's early 60's I can remember visiting St. Paul's and going right up to the top where you had to traverse through the space between the inner and outer dome which had huge heavy beams inside; you had to be very careful not to bang your head. The pièce de résistance though was being able to climb a ladder inside the cross at the top of St. Paul's where there was a viewing window to see out over London. I can find no mention of that ladder letting you get inside the cross anywhere so maybe someone else has a memory of this?

[@paulnewman851]

Yes Richard. I too climbed that ladder when I was around 12 (circa 1956). I remember having to wait one's turn, as there was so little room there. When at the top of the ladder my head was in the space under the ball (supporting the cross) I believe, with the breeze blowing straight through. Amazing!

[@lindahartley421]

@@paulnewman851 so dis i

[@rixx46]

I didn’t have any issue with heigh5s when I was younger, but my guts churned and my knees went to jelly watching this 🙀

[@BarronVonSchnoot]

Little nooks and crannies for priests and boys to find some privacy.

[@QUIAPOPOWERPOINTMASS]

Thanks, now i can hide secret entrance at my minecraft church

[@stevenfielden8955]

WOW, - is that where Paul McCartney lives?

[@JakeSpeed69]

I'm not too sure he really was enjoying that experience?

[@samiam619]

Too many shots of the guide and guest. I wanted to see more of what they were seeing and not them...

[@gilesgbradley]

Vertigo inducing, truly scary.It took me three attempts to reach the top of St. Paul's, never felt so scared in my life.

[@sunithapottur8724]

chithi thali Prardhini Born talented Girl ra , God bless you, so cute love you maa

[@windyhillfoundry5940]

Thanks for the tour, I went through what I call the attick, the area between the inner dome and the outer dome back in the late 90's. From in there we were able to see the old hewd timbers that held things together.

[@robertharrison1623]

Poor bloke was clearly bricking himself

[@EmmaAppleBerry]

Ah yes so secret theyre on the internet great place to keep things hush hush