A sermon preached from St Paul's Cross in 1614 (Society of Antiquaries)

St Paul's Cross (alternative spellings - "Powles Crosse") was a preaching cross and open air pulpit in the grounds of Old St Paul's Cathedral, City of London. A Preaching cross is a Cross, sometimes surmounting a Pulpit, erected out of doors to designate a Preaching place A pulpit (from Latin pulpitum "scaffold" "platform" "stage" is a small elevated platform where a member of the clergy stands For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically

History

The first 'folkmoot' (or general assembly of the people) known to be held here was by John Mansell, a king's justice, on St Paul's Day in 1236, to announce to them that Henry III wished London to be well-governed and its liberties guarded. In Anglo-Saxon England, a folkmoot or folkmote ( Old English - a meeting of the people was a governing general assembly consisting of all the free members Henry III (1 October 1207 &ndash 16 November 1272 was the son and successor of John "Lackland" as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 The Archbishop of Canterbury and the King attended the next such meeting we know of, in 1259, at which Londoners came to swear their allegiance to the latter and to his heirs (though under duress, as a royal army was holding the city gates at this time). They also gathered here later to swear allegiance to Henry's opponent Simon de Montfort. Simon de Montfort or Simon de Montford may refer to Simon I de Montfort (c

A Richard Walker from Worcester, a chaplain, pleaded guilty to sorcery charges here in c. Worcester (ˈwʊstə is a city and County town of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands of England. 1422 but, after forswearing such practices and being arraigned by the Bishop of Llandaff (then John de la Zouche), he was marched to Cheapside with his 2 magic books open upon him, where the books were burnt and he freed without any other punishment. The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Cheapside is a street in Cheap ward of the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street Cornhill Reginald Pecock, Bishop of St. Asaph, attacked Lollardy from this cross in 1437 but himself did public penance there in 1447 (by which time he was Bishop of Chichester) before a mob of 20,000 and the Archbishop of Canterbury, throwing various examples of his own heretical writings into a fire. Reginald Pecock (or Peacock) (c 1395 - 1460 was an English prelate and writer The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales Diocese of St Asaph. Lollardy was the political and religious movement of the Lollards from the mid- 14th century to the English Reformation. See also List of Bishops of Chichester and precursor offices The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief Thomas Netter also preached against Lollardy here. Thomas Netter (c 1375 &ndash 2 November[[ 430]] was an English theologian and controversialist

Bishop Thomas Kempe rebuilt the cross in the late 15th century in grand architectural form, as an open air pulpit of mostly timber with room for 3 or 4 inside it, set on stone steps with a lead-covered roof and a low surrounding wall. Thomas Kempe was a medieval Bishop of London. He was the nephew of John Kemp, Archbishop of Canterbury. From here was preached much of the English Reformation, along with many major events in London's history, with sermons preached here usually printed and thus redistributed to a wider audience. The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope It was a speech here that triggered the 1517 Evil May Day anti-foreigner riots. Evil May Day or Ill May Day is the name for a Riot which took place in 1517 as a protest against foreigners living in London. Ultra-Lutheran Robert Barnes attacked Stephen Gardiner from it, and in 1566 Matthew Hutton, later Archbishop of York, preached here. Robert Barnes may refer to Robert Barnes (martyr Bootsie Barnes, real name Robert Barnes jazz musician Robert Barnes (cricketer For the British architect see Stephen Gardiner (architect. Stephen Gardiner (c The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first sermon preached here after Catholic Queen Mary's accession (by Bishop Bourne) provoked a riot - a dagger was thrown at Bourne (but missed him, sticking in one of the side posts) and he had to be rushed to safety in St Paul's School. Mary I (18 February 1516 &ndash 17 November 1558 was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death Gilbert Bourne (date of birth unknown d 10 September, 1569 at Silverton, Devon) was the last Roman Catholic Bishop of Bath and Wells St Paul's School is the name of many schools with St Paul's School in London, (founded 1509 being the oldest Thus, Mary's successor Elizabeth I kept the pulpit empty for a long time after her accession to keep the people from riot. However, when it finally came to Dr Samson's appearance at the Cross to announce Elizabeth's religious policy, the keys to the Cross's pulpit were found to be mislaid and, when the Lord Mayor ordered the door to be forced, it was found to be too dirty and badly maintained for use on this occasion. The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation. However, John Jewel was appointed the Cross's select preacher on 15 June 1559, and on 26 November that year challenged all comers to prove the Roman case out of the Scriptures, or the councils or Fathers for the first six hundred years after Christ. John Jewel (sometimes spelled Jewell) ( May 24, 1522 - September 23, 1571) was an English Bishop of Salisbury. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Events 43 BC - The Second Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian" later "Caesar Augustus"

The Puritans destroyed the cross and pulpit in 1643 during the First English Civil War. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, The First English Civil War (1642–1646 was the first of three wars known as the English Civil War (or "Wars" The cross (but not the pulpit) was reconstructed in 1910 out of funds from the will of Mr. Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting H. C. Richards, KC, MP.

External links

• Britannia.com
• E. Beresford Chancellor's 'St. Paul's Cathedral' (1925)