8 APRIL 1899, Page 14

ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.

[To THE EDITOR-OP TUE " SPECTAT9H."], SIR,—It is curious that in writing on the important subject of Sir W. B. Richmond's decorations in St. Paul's Cathedral, people do not make themselves acquainted with the facts. From the time of Wren till the year 1874 the whole interior of St. Paul's, except the plastered vaults of the roof, was covered with a thick coating of oil paint, of a yellowish stone colour. One of the first tasks of the Decoration Committee was to clean this off. It can be still seen on the under-side of the southern arcade of the choir. It cost upwards of 26,000 to get rid of it.—I am, Sir, &e., A MEMBER OF THE DECORATION COMMITTEE.