St Paul's Cathedral in London....?

Question

Since this is the "world-wide web" can any of my fellow Yahoo patrons in London across the water, tell me if St. Paul's Cathedral was called "St. Paul's" in the 14th century? I know from some research that there has been a church or cathedral on that site sine the 7th century & that the various buildings have suffered from fires and other disasters since then and have been built & rebuilt, and that the present St. Paul's was completed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1710, but I can't find out with my current resources just when it became known as "St. Paul's". I am doing research for an historical piece I am writing. Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer 1

It was then called "Old St Paul's", as of about AD 1087. Here's an interesting piece:
http://www.britainexpress.com/London/st-pauls.htm

http://www.explore-stpauls.net/oct03/textMM/OldStPaulN.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/gallery_st_pauls_01.shtml

Answer 2

What I have found out (you may know all this already ) is that the site of the present building has long been associated with religion. It is believed that it was originally the site of an ancient megalith and then later a temple dedicated to the goddess Diana, in alignment with the Apollo Temple which once stood at Westminster. (definitely not called St. Paul's then).
The first cathedral was built by the Saxons in wood in 604 AD, just 8 years after the first Christian mission under St. Augustine landed in Kent. The cathedral was established by King Ethelbert of Kent as the home of the first bishop of the East Saxons, Mellitus. Mellitus, (who died 624) , the first Bishop of London was, of course, a missionary. Surely, it is reasonable to deduce that when he founded this church he would have named it either after St. Paul or St. Peter, the most notable of early Christian missionaries? I believe that the name of cathedral would have dated from this time.

Answer 3

the first Saxon cathedral was built out of wood, probably by Mellitus or another of the Augustinian missionaries, on the see's re-foundation in AD 604 on Ludgate Hill in the western part of the old Roman city and the eastern part of Lundenwic. It was these missionaries' habit, as in mainland Europe, to build cathedrals within old Roman city-walls. This building is traditionally said to have been on the site of an ancient megalith, or stone circle, and a temple dedicated to the goddess Diana, in alignment with the Apollo Temple that once stood at Westminster, although Christopher Wren found no evidence of this (Kruger, 1943). This would have only been a modest chapel at first and may well have been destroyed after Mellitus was briefly expelled from the city by Saeberht's pagan successors. It burned down in 675.
The cathedral was rebuilt, in stone, in 685. In it was buried King or Saint Sebbi of Essex. It was sacked by the Vikings in 961, as cited in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
The third cathedral was begun in 962, again in stone. In it was buried Ethelred the Unready. It burnt, with the whole city, in a fire in 1087The fourth St Paul's (known as Old St Paul's, a nineteenth century coinage, or the pre-Great Fire St Paul's), was begun by the Normans after the 1087 fire. Work took over 200 years, and a great deal was lost in a fire in 1136. The roof was once more built of wood, which was ultimately to doom the building. The church was consecrated in 1240, but a change of heart led to the commencement of an enlargement programme in 1256. This 'New Work' was completed in 1314 - the cathedral had been consecrated in 1300. It was the third-longest church in Europe. Excavations in 1878 by Francis Penrose showed it was 585 feet long and 100 feet wide (290 feet across the transepts and crossing), and had one of Europe's tallest spires, at some 489 feet (149 metres).

By the 16th century the building was decaying. Under Henry VIII and Edward VI, the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Chantries Acts led to the destruction of interior ornamentation and the cloisters, charnels, crypts, chapels, shrines, chantries and other buildings in the churchyard. Many of these former religious sites in St Paul's Churchyard, having been seized by the crown, were sold as shops and rental properties, especially to printers and booksellers, who were often evangelical Protestants. Buildings that were razed often supplied ready-dressed building material for construction projects, such as the Lord Protector's city palace, Somerset House.

Answer 4

Timeline here - most interesting :)

http://www.stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerID=29030O5fig2NDnpKO6Kz69841xRj5eq3