The Protection of Views of St Paul's Cathedral and its Influence on the London Landscape

Abstract

The preservation of views of St Paul's Cathedral and the future of the London skyline is a controversial subject. To the dismay of the conservation profession, the former Mayor, Ken Livingstone, liberalised London's view policies to make it easier to construct tall buildings in London. Views of St Paul's have been protected since the 1930s; this paper examines the context of existing measures to protect views of the Cathedral, their effectiveness, and the impact they have had, often unwittingly, on the London landscape. The findings are based on research at St Paul's Archive, fieldwork, and interviews with key policy- and decision-makers. The paper ends by making predictions regarding the likely effect of the more lenient GLA policies and the London View Management Framework.