Documented gates · c.1700
The place & the work.
Gilded screens and chancel gates bring flowing ironwork into conversation with Wren’s classical architecture. Alongside the quire, the Geometric Staircase offers another view of the cathedral’s architectural language.
St Paul’s identifies the wrought-iron gates separating the Ambulatory aisles from the High Altar as Jean Tijou’s work, made around 1700. The Geometric Staircase is presented separately as cathedral architecture, not as proof that Tijou made every visible balustrade.
Read the preserved historical account
Preserved from the previous Tijou website. Its historical assertions are retained as archive text; the attribution note above distinguishes what is established from what remains uncertain.
In Sir Christopher Wren’s grand rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London, Jean Tijou’s artistry was enlisted to adorn the new interior with magnificent wrought ironwork. Over the course of two decades, Tijou crafted elegant screens and grilles for the cathedral – including the exquisite choir railings and chancel gates – which harmonized with Wren’s classical design. These pieces showcase a restrained refinement in Tijou’s style, emphasizing flowing scrollwork that complements the sacred architecture. The result was an understated yet sublime set of ironwork features that integrated seamlessly into the cathedral’s awe-inspiring interior.
The photographic collection
Architecture in detail.
12 photographs
The chancel gates — gilded iron against marble and stone.
01 / 12
Craftsmanship
A closer reading.
The quire photographs reveal scrolling foliage, gilded ornament and the contrast between delicate ironwork and monumental stone. Staircase and film photographs provide wider architectural context.
Conservation & restoration
Preserving the record.
No property-specific conservation report is supplied in this collection. Restoration dates, methods and makers are not asserted here.
A Legacy in Motion
The filming location.
These productions are linked to the property in the existing filmography. A location credit does not establish that footage shows ironwork by Tijou.
A Royal Legacy
A place in royal history.
29 July 1981
The wedding of Charles and Diana5 June 2012
A cathedral of thanksgiving3 June 2022
Seventy years of service