Fire at Old St Paul's Cathedral
- When
- 1561
- Where
- Old St Paul's Cathedral, Ludgate Hill; Old St Paul's Cathedral
- Episodes
- 2
On 4 June 1561, a fire destroyed the spire of Old St Paul's Cathedral in London. The blaze, attributed to a lightning strike, melted bells and lead, crashing the structure through the nave roof. The spire was never rebuilt.
Episodes
- Lightning Attribution
The fire was attributed to a lightning strike, a claim interpreted by some as divine judgment.
- Spire Fire and Collapse
The spire caught fire on 4 June 1561, collapsing through the nave roof and melting bells and lead.
Background and detail
The 1561 Fire. On 4 June 1561, the cathedral's spire caught fire and collapsed through the nave roof. The intense heat melted the bells and caused the lead covering to pour down like lava, destroying the roof structure. Roman Catholic writers later interpreted the event as divine judgment on Protestant rulers.
People involved
- Citizens of London · Contributors to repair funds
- Clergy · Contributors to repair funds
Sources
- Old St Paul's Cathedral Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-16
- St Paul's Cathedral Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-11
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.