ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 21, 25 January 1913, Page 7

ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

PROPOSED SUBWAY ABANDONED. By Telegraph .—Press Association.—Copyrlglit. LONDON, 24th January. The London County Council has decided to withdraw its proposal for the/ construction of a subway, near St. Paul's' Cathedral, as it threatened the Cathedral's safety. WREN'S MASTERPIECE. t The sinking of the foundations of St. Paul's Cathedral has been referred to in recent cable news, and only this week a message was received stating that an appeal was being made for funds to strengthen the structure. In the opinion of those responsible for the fabric, the proposed tramway-tunnel that forms an important fart of the St. Paul's bridge scheme is regarded with apprehension. "The Parliamentary Bill seeking power for this new venture has just been deposited by the London County Council, and so we feel that we must make our protest at once," said Canon S. A. Alexander, treasurer of the Cathedral, to a Daily Chronicle representative recently. "The danger arises out of the fear entertained by our expert advisers that the proposed subway, through which trams will run from a terminus at Cheapside, under the east side of the Churchyard and Cannon-street to a point near the new bridge, will drain our foundations. The Cathedral Is built on water-bearing soil above the clay, and the constant danger is that this soil may become dry, and decrease in bulk, thus leading to settlements of the foundations, and cracking of the walls. Indeed, Mr. Mervyn Macartney, architect to the Dean -and Chapter, takes so serious a view of any such drainage, that he is unable to say where the damage might end. When we remember that Holy Trinity in Kingsway, which stands beside a similar 'subway, had to be rebuilt, we cannot but do ill in our power to save St. Paul's from the possibility of ruin. "A protest has to-day been addressed to the chairman of the London County Council by the Dean and Chapter, and as custodians of a, great national monument we trust that due weight will be given to our point of view. About five years ago the Council diverted a big sewer scheme which it was thought threatened the Cathedral just as the proposed subway would do, and so we are hopeful in this matter. The cost of fighting the L.C.C.'s Bill would be so heavy for us, and it is so difficult to find funds even for the present necessary repairs, that we feel sure the public will be with us in urging the authorities, to drop that part of their scheme which, in the opinion of all experts, would seriously threaten Wren's great masterpiece."