St Paul's Cathedral: The Hogwarts Divination Staircase

The Geometric Staircase in the southwest bell tower of St Paul's Cathedral in London is an 88-step helical spiral completed in 1710 that served as the Hogwarts Divination Classroom staircase in two Harry Potter movies. Designed by Christopher Wren and built by William Kempster, its 50-foot stone stairs appear to float, each embedded just 150 millimeters into the wall. The space also features sculptor Antony Gormley's 2010 artwork, Flare Two.

London Β· from the walk β€œMuggle London, Wizarding Secrets” Β· audio ~4 min Β· Generated

St Paul's Cathedral, St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD

Which Harry Potter filming location is hidden inside St Paul's Cathedral in London?

Look up at the mighty dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral... and now imagine something extraordinary. Hidden inside the southwest bell tower of this three-hundred-year-old masterpiece is the Geometric Staircase β€” the very same spiral that became the route to the Divination Classroom in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.......... This helical cantilevered staircase rises fifty feet with eighty-eight stone stairs. It was designed by Christopher Wren and built by a master mason named William Kempster, completed in seventeen ten. But here's the detail that will blow your mind. Each step is embedded only about a hundred and fifty millimeters into the wall... because the steps are mainly supported by the steps below. That's right β€” these stone stairs essentially Float. They hold each other up through sheer geometry, like a three-hundred-year-old magic trick worthy of Hogwarts itself.......... The Harry Potter film crew used this staircase for multiple scenes, adding extra stairs and stained glass windows to make it appear more Hogwarts-like for the movies. It appeared in both Prisoner of Azkaban and the Goblet of Fire as the staircase leading to Professor Trelawney's Divination classroom. This is where Harry picks up the crystal ball that Hermione kicked out of class in anger, before taking it back to Trelawney's classroom where she makes a rather terrifying prophecy.......... But did you know that before Harry Potter ever set foot here, this staircase was already part of a different kind of cinematic magic? Saint Paul's has been featured in a number of much-loved films, including Sherlock Holmes and Mary Poppins. More recently, the Geometric Staircase and Triforium featured extensively in the Netflix series The Diplomat.......... And here's something most visitors never learn. In twenty ten, sculptor Antony Gormley installed a work called Flare Two right inside the Geometric Staircase β€” a falling human figure suspended in a cloud of wire, hovering in that impossible spiral of floating stone.......... Now, the tour request asked how the films Changed these places... and the answer here is fascinating. There are plenty of Hogwarts filming locations around the UK, but this one at Saint Paul's feels particularly special because it's located in a private part of the cathedral. If you're a Harry Potter fan, the recommended way to see it is to book the guided Triforium Tour, which lets you look down the staircase from the exact angle seen in the movies. Before the films, almost nobody outside the cathedral's staff even Knew this staircase existed. Harry Potter didn't just use this location... it revealed a hidden treasure that had been sleeping inside one of London's most famous buildings for three centuries.......... And right across from where you're standing β€” look behind you β€” that's the Millennium Bridge, where the Death Eaters tear through London in the Half-Blood Prince. But that... is a story for another stop.

Nearby stories