The entrance to the CHOIR is at the end of the south choir-aisle, with fine iron gates by Tijou. On the right side of this aisle, beyond the monument of Dean Milman (1791-1868), by Williamson, is the figure (clad in a shroud) of Dr. John Donne (1573-1631), poet and Dean of St. Paul's, by Nicholas Stone. This is the only comparatively uninjured monument that survived the destruction of Old St. Paul's, and it still shows traces of fire. Opposite, Bishop Mandell Creighton (1843-1901), by Thornycroft. At the end of the aisle, Reginald Heber (1783-1826), Bishop of Calcutta and hymn-writer, by Chantrey. A beautiful iron gate by Tijou admits to the Jesus Chapel, which occupies the apse of the cathedral and has been fitted up in memory of Canon Liddon (1829-90), whose monument is by Bodley and Garner. The altarpiece is a copy of Cima da Conegliano's 'Incredulity of St. Thomas'. We now enter the choir proper. Behind the High Altar is an elaborate white marble Reredos, by Bodley and Garner (1888), with sculptures referring to the Incarnation and Life of the Saviour, and culminating in a figure of the Risen Christ. The brass gates at the sides below are dedicated to St. Paul (North door, inscribed Vas Electionis, 'a chosen vessel') and St. Peter (South; inscribed Pasce Oves Meos, 'feed my sheep'). The beautiful carved Choir Stalls and the Organ Case are by Grinling Gibbons. The curious closets on the pews behind the stalls should be noticed. The organ was originally built in 1695 by Father Smith and stood upon the screen at the west end of the choir. It was renewed and enlarged by Willis, and it now has 4822 pipes and 102 stops.
The Mosaics with which the vaulting of the choir is decorated were designed by Sir W. B. Richmond and were executed in 1891-97. The coloured-glass tesserae are arranged in the broad ancient method, i.e. each is separated from its neighbours by a narrow space and each was placed in position on the wall separately. The general effect is successfully decorative, but the details of the designs can scarcely be made out from below. The stained-glass windows, by the same artist, are included in the general scheme.
In the central panel of the great apse is Christ in majesty, seated upon the rainbow; in the side panels are Recording Angels. On the pilasters are Virtues, and on both sides is the Sea giving up its Dead, below which are Melchizedek receiving tithes from Abraham (north) and Noah's Sacrifice (south). In the shallow cupolas above the choir proper are (from west to east) the Creation of the Beasts, of the Birds, and of the Fishes, and these subjects are amplified in the panels of the triforium stage. In the spandrels of the west bay appear the Creation of the Firmament and the Expulsion from Paradise; in those of the central bay, the Annunciation and Eve's Temptation; in those of the east bay, Angels of the Crucifixion (north) and of the Passion (south). In the panels between the clerestory windows, on the north side are (from west to east), Job, Abraham, Cyrus, Alexander the Great, the Persian and Delphic Sibyls; on the south side (west to east), Jacob, Moses, Bezeleel and Aholiab, David, and Solomon. Leaving the choir by the gate at which we entered, we walk past the pulpit of coloured marble and the choir screen formed of the original altar rails by Tijou. Just beyond the entrance to the north choir aisle (closed) is a statue of Dr. Johnson (1709-84), in a Roman toga, by Bacon.
