St Paul's rebirth

This is the magnificent interior of St Paul's Cathedral as Sir Christopher Wren meant it to be seen.

A £10.8 million interior cleaning project has removed a layer of grime to reveal a gleaming dome and intricate stonework, mosaics, gilding and sculpture.

The project is completed today when the last scaffolding is removed. Spokeswoman Lorna Fletcher said: "It has taken four years and was a really big job, though, amazingly, the cathedral remained fully functioning.

"It looks absolutely superb - the stone is so white and glowing."

The four-year project is part of a £40million renovation of Wren's masterpiece in time for its 300th anniversary in 2008.

The east and west facades and the columns around the dome have already been cleaned and work is now beginning on the grimiest south side - the most damaged because it faces the former Bankside power station.

Since internal scaffolding went up in May 2001, 11,000 square metres of plain stone and 4,500 square metres of carved stone have been cleaned. The difference is dramatic; a single panel near the west doors has been left untouched to show how it once looked.

More than 1,000 containers of dust were removed during the project, which was financed by a single donation from banker Robin Fleming and his family.

While cleaning the dome, conservationists discovered that 18th-century murals extended almost as low as the Whispering Gallery but had been damaged by water and then painted over. They have now been recreated.