London’s Cathedrals – What You (Probably) Didn’t Know…

OK, let’s start with a quick quiz. How many Cathedrals are there in London?


If you answer one, chances are that you’re either a tourist or a Londoner who isn’t really into exploring, because you’re obviously thinking about St Paul’s, the large Anglican Cathedral in the London diocese and the site of various important events including the fateful marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. If you answer two, then you’ve clearly noticed the other Anglican Cathedral on your travels, this time on the south side of the Thames – Southwark Cathedral, which is quite near London Bridge and difficult to miss if you’re ever in that area. If you answer three I would guess that you’re the kind of person who really keeps your eyes open when they’re walking around because this one isn’t easy to find – Westminster Cathedral, this time dedicated to the Catholic faith, is fairly well-hidden between two rather ugly office blocks on Victoria St. But I want to tell you about the fourth today – St George’s…

St George’s?? Well, it happens to be the Catholic Cathedral south of the river, on Lambeth Road quite near Lambeth North tube station. It was built in the mid 1800s and survived for almost one hundred years until it was virtually destroyed by German bombs during the Blitz. Reconstruction began soon after the end of the war and the Cathedral was completely restored by 1958 (in comparison, St Paul’s, which suffered only minor damage, was not fully repaired until the late 1960s).

It’s a beautiful building, constructed on a much more modest scale than it’s compatriots, and probably has the finest stained glass windows of them all. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the blood and guts of the Imperial War Museum just across the street I’m sure that the calm and quiet found in St George’s Cathedral will have a restorative effect, as I discovered yesterday.

Oh, and did I mention that London actually has five Cathedrals in total? I’ll be visiting the fifth soon and I’ll report back afterwards…