Remember Me: St Paul’s opens dedicated inner portico entrance for COVID-19 memorial
A memorial for those of all faiths and none who have died as a result of COVID-19 in the UK.
Visitors can now enter the Cathedral via a beautifully designed equal access entrance into the North transept door, passing through the Remember Me inner portico into a designated memorial space. It is free to enter this part of the Cathedral, and is open to people of all faiths and none.
Designed by Oliver Caroe, the Surveyor to the Fabric of St Paul’s, the Remember Me inner portico is a beautiful, elliptical timber structure crafted in the UK and made with British Oak. Etched into the wood in golden letters are the words ‘Remember Me’, a poignant reminder of all the people who have died due to the pandemic. The elegant design is a modern 21st century addition to the Cathedral, in sympathy with its iconic surroundings, echoing the geometry of Wren’s design.
Phase 1 – Online COVID-19 memorial
In May 2020 St Paul’s Cathedral launched Remember Me, an online memorial to help people cope with the over whelming grief and isolation caused by the increasing number of deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Remember Me is open to people of all faiths and none, and will remain open for entries for as long as it is needed.
The Remember Me memorial was made possible through a combination of donor and pro-bono support, in particular the generous support and leadership of philanthropist Sir Lloyd Dorfman.
Phase 2 – Remember Me Physical Memorial
Following the public response to the Remember Me online memorial, we sought to give the memorial a physical home within the Cathedral itself. In partnership with the Daily Mail in 2021, and through the generosity of the public, we were able to raise over £2m to build the new Remember Me memorial you now see in the Middlesex Chapel within St Paul’s Cathedral.
In July 2022 we were able to publicly open our first permanent equal access entrance to the Cathedral. Designed by Caroe Architecture, the project is the most significant change to Christopher Wren’s exterior in 300 years. Visitors to the Cathedral are now able to enter via an elegantly designed ramp or steps into the North Transept entrance. Once inside, visitors pass through the Remember Me memorial inner portico, a physical memorial to those who have died due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phase 3 – Digital Memorial Space
Our next challenge, subject to raising over £1m, is to be even more ambitious in bringing Remember Me into the Cathedral.
Therefore, the final stage of this project will see the creation of a state-of-the-art digital memorial space – world-leading in its innovation.
This flexible and interactive environment, free of charge to enter, will house the Remember Me memorial book in perpetuity, whilst also enabling the Middlesex Chapel to be used for daily worship and also a digital capability – responding to future commemorative events of national and international importance in real time.
How to donate
We continue to fundraise for Remember Me phase 3. If you would like to donate, please do so either at the Tap to Donate point next to the Remember Me memorial or visit our Crowd Funder page
Add a memorial
Remember Me is open to anyone, from all faiths or none, to add a name of a person who died due to COVID-19 in the UK.
If you wish to add a memorial please visit RememberMe2020.uk or email rememberme@stpaulscathedral.org.uk
Credit: Caroe Architecture Ltd/Fergus Connolly
To support this project please click here.