I have realised that my last post grossly oversimplified the number of mason-contractors involved in undertaking work at St. Paul’s. Yes, Thomas Strong and Joshua Marshall signed the initial contract, and Edward Strong took over following Thomas’s premature death in 1681, remaining the only contractor involved from beginning to end. But there were at least four others involved in taking on contracts, as shown in a diagram in James Campbell’s excellent book, Building St. Paul’s, including Edward Pearce, himself a very skilled sculptor, responsible for the bust of Wren in the Ashmolean, who had the contract for the south portico. Pearce was then superseded by Christopher Kempster and Ephraim Beauchamp, who were responsible for the south-west tower. William Kempster’s day books, relating to work at the west end and the dome, demonstrate how complicated it is to work out exactly who did what (see https://manyheadedmonster.com/2019/02/11/a-page-in-the-life-of-william-kempster-master-mason-and-scribbling-accountant/):-