Christopher Wren

Life and Times

Wren is particularly known for his design for St Paul's Cathedral, one of very few cathedrals in England to have been built after the medieval period, and the only Renaissance cathedral in the country. An inscription inside the cathedral, dedicated to the architect, reads, "Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice" ("Reader, if you seek his memorial, look around you").

Born in 1632 in Wiltshire, Wren was the son of the dean of Windsor. His academic career was centered at Oxford, where he was a member of both Wadham and All Soul's Colleges. In 1657, he became professor of astronomy at Gresham College and four years later he became the Savilian Professor of astronomy at Oxford until his resignation in 1673. Wren was also one of the founding members of the Royal Society, of which he was president from 1680 to 1682.

His first serious architectural venture was the Sheldonian Theatre, which can still be seen at Oxford, and he designed various other university buildings in both Oxford and Cambridge.

After the Great Fire of London, he was selected as the architect of St Paul's, the previous building having been destroyed. The design and construction of the new cathedral took from 1675 to 1710, and in the interim Wren designed many other buildings, including over fifty London churches, many of which remain standing. These include St Bride's, St Mary le Bow, St Clement Danes, St Benet Paul's Wharf, and St Stephen Walbrook. In addition, he was involved in the design of the Monument to the Great Fire of London, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Chelsea Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Marlborough House, the Ashmolean Museum, the Wren Library, and many other distinguished buildings.

Christopher Wren was Knighted in 1652 and also served as a member of Parliament in 1685-1688 and 1702-1705.

Wren died in 1723 and was buried at St Paul's.

Major works attributed to Wren

Chapels

• Pembroke College Chapel, Cambridge
• Emmanuel College Chapel, Cambridge
• Catholic Chapel, Whitehall Palace

Churches

• St Christopher-le-Stocks, Threadneedle Street, London
• St Dunstan in the East, London
• St Benet Fink, Threadneedle Street, London
• St Vedast, Foster Lane, London
• St Dionis Backchurch, Fenchurch Street, London
• St Michael, Wood Street, London
• St Mildred, Poultry, London
• St Olave, Old Jewry, London
• St Mary-at-Hill, Thames Street, London
• St Mary, Aldermanbury, London
• St Edmund King and Martyr, Lombard Street, London
• St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, London
• St George Botolph Lane, London
• St Magnus Martyr, Lower Thames Street, London
• St Lawrence, Jewry, London
• St Nicholas, Cole Abbey, London
• St Bride, Fleet Street, London
• St Stephen, Walbrook, London
• Ingestre Church, Staffordshire
• St Stephen, Coleman Street, London
• St Bartholomew, Exchange, London
• St Peter, Cornhill, London
• St Paul's Cathedral
• St Michael, Bassishaw, London
• St James, Garlick Hill, London
• St James's Church, Piccadilly, Westminster
• St Michael, Queenhithe, London
• St Anne and St Agnes, Gresham Street, London
• St Antholin, Watling Street, London
• St Benet Paul's Wharf, Queen Victoria Street, London
• All Hallows the Great, Lombard Street, London
• St Martin, Ludgate, London
• All Hallows, Bread Street, London
• St Swithin, Cannon Street, London
• Christ Church, Newgate Street, London
• St Clement Danes, Strand, Westminster
• St Augustine, Watling Street, London
• St Matthew, Friday Street, London
• St Mary Abchurch, London
• St Benet, Gracechurch Street, London
• St Mildred, Bread Street, London
• St Alban, Wood Street, London
• St Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, London
• St Clement, Eastcheap, London
• St Margaret Pattens, London
• St Michael, Crooked Lane, London
• St Andrew, Holborn, London
• St Anne's Church, Soho
• St Andrew by the Wardrobe, London
• St Margaret, Lothbury, London
• St Michael, Paternoster Royal, College Hill, London
• All Hallows, Lombard Street, London
• St Mary Somerset, Thames Street, London
• Tower of St Mary Aldermary, Bow Lane, London
• St Michael, Cornhill, London (tower and upper half of main building)
• Enlarged the Protestant Church in the Savoy, London

College Halls of Residence

• Garden Quadrangle, Trinity College, Oxford
• Williamson Building, The Queen's College, Oxford

Court Rooms

• Court House, Windsor

Gateways & Entrances

• Tom Tower, Christ Church, Oxford

Government Offices

• The Custom House, London
• The Navy Office, Seething Lane, London

Guard Houses

• Guard House, Windsor Castle

Hospitals

• The Royal Hospital, Chelsea
• Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich

Houses

• Tring Manor House, Hertfordshire
• Thoresby House, Nottinghamshire
• Bridgewater Square Development, London
• Winslow Hall, Buckinghamshire
• Marlborough House, St James's, London

Libraries

• Lincoln Cathedral Library, Lincoln
• Trinity College Library, Cambridge

Monuments

• The Monument, Fish Street Hill, London

Observatories & Scientific Buildings

• The Royal Observatory, Greenwich
• Repository, Royal Society, Crane Court, Fleet Street, London

Palaces

• Winchester Palace, Winchester
• Catholic Chapel, Council Chamber and Privy Gallery, Whitehall Palace
• Queen's Apartment and Terraced Garden, Whitehall Palace
• South and East Ranges, Hampton Court Palace
• Reconstruction of Kensington Palace

Schools & Colleges

• Upper School, Eton College, Buckinghamshire
• Writing School, Christ's Hospital, London
• St John Moore's School, Appleby, Leicestershire
• College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

Theatres

• Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford (not for plays but for University ceremonies)
• Drury Lane Theatre, London

Referenced By