Who designed St. Paul's Cathedral in London?

Christopher Wren designed St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The present cathedral is an English Baroque rebuilding that followed the destruction of much of medieval London in the Great Fire of 1666. Wren was officially assigned the replacement cathedral in 1669, and construction began in 1675. The building was completed in 1710, with its famous dome becoming one of London’s defining landmarks.

Wren’s final design combines classical ideas with the long plan and ceremonial requirements of an English cathedral. Its dome uses an ingenious three-part structure: an inner dome, a brick cone for support, and an outer lead-covered dome crowned by a lantern. The extensive crypt also helps distribute the building’s weight on London’s relatively soft clay soil.

Nicholas Hawksmoor worked as Wren’s principal assistant, which explains why he is sometimes mentioned in connection with the cathedral. Inigo Jones influenced aspects of the earlier cathedral’s classical treatment, but Wren was the principal designer of the present structure.