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in the nave itself. John Colet, the eminent Dean of St. 
Paul’s and founder of St. Paul’s School, tried hard to mend 
this state of things, but failed owing to the supremity of vested 
interests and the slackness of the Chapter of that day. 
Before the reign of James 1. decay had begun in the old 
building, and an effort was made to raise money to put it 
in order and improve it, Inigo Jones being the appointed 
architect. A classical portico was erected in the hope that 
the buyers and sellers would do their business there, but the 
hope was disappointed. In the reign of Charles I. Bishop Laud 
did a great deal to improve the existing state of affairs. Then 
came the period of the Long Parliament, during which the 
the historic Paul’s Cross was pulled down and the building 
suffered much in other directions. 
Another twenty years of neglect under Puritan rule and 
we find the old cathedral, with the advent of the Restoration, 
entering upon its last phase. It served as a hospital during 
the Plague. Then the great fire of 1666 took place, which 
completely destroyed the old Cathedral of St. Paul’s. Pepys 
gives a very interesting account of the fire, and tells us how 
the Cathedral was thought at first to be quite safe, and large 
quantities of furniture and books were allowed to be stored 
in the churchyard for safety. It was the setting fire of these 
by flying sparks which caused the building itself to take fire. 
It was decided to pull down the remnants of the old building. 
The magnitude of the task may be judged from the fact that 
it took 16 years to clear the site for the purpose of rebuilding. 
Christopher Wren, son of an eminent Dean of Windsor and 
a Fellow of All Souls’, Oxford, was appointed architect. His 
uncle was then Bishop of Ely, at whose place Wren, in his 
younger days, was a frequent visitor. It was largely Ely’s 
grand old Cathedral which gave him his ideas for the re-con- 
struction of St. Paul’s. One leading idea was that ample 
space should be provided for preaching, chiefly because the 
outside preaching, of which the former St. Paul’s Cross was 
the great centre down to the time of its destruction during 
the Civil War, had ceased. This idea was carried out by 
the erection of a great central dome in preference to the 
long-drawn aisles of a Gothic Minster, and a great central 
space was to be provided for the accommodation of as large 
a number of worshippers as possible. This central space 
was perhaps the main desideratum. Wren had to submit 
his plans and designs to a very incompetent body for approval. 
In 1675 his design was accepted by Charles II. The original 
plans of the “ approved design ” can be seen to-day in the 
Library of All Souls’ College, Oxford. The design was poor, 
