Sir Christopher Wren (1632 – 1723)
After the Great Fire of London, Sir Christopher Wren designed new churches and supervised the reconstruction of some of London’s most important buildings.
In the seventeenth century, architecture was considered a pursuit that could be practiced by any gentleman educated in the field of mathematics. Christopher Wren began designing buildings when his uncle, the Bishop of Ely, asked him to plan a new chapel for Pembroke College, Cambridge.
King Charles II commissioned Christopher Wren to repair St. Paul’s Cathedral. In May 1666, Wren submitted plans for a classical design with a high dome. Before this work could proceed, fire destroyed the Catheral and much of London.
The Great Fire of London:
In September 1666, the “Great Fire of London” destroyed 13,200 houses, 87 churches, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and most of London’s official buildings. Christopher Wren proposed an ambitious plan that would rebuild London with wide streets radiating from a central hub. Wren’s plan failed, probably because property owners wanted to keep the same land they owned before the fire. However, Wren did design 51 new city churches and the new St Paul’s Cathedral. In 1669, King Charles II hired Christopher Wren to oversee reconstruction of all the royal works (government buildings).
Architectural Style of Christopher Wren:
Classical: Christopher Wren was familiar with the 1st Century Roman architect Vitruvius and the Renaissance thinker Giacomo da Vignola, who outlined Vitruvius’s ideas in The Five Orders of Architecture (compare prices). Wren’s first buildings were inspired by the classical works of English architect Inigo Jones.
Baroque: Early in his career, Christopher Wren traveled to Paris, studied French baroque architecture, and met the Italian Baroque architect Gianlorenzo Bernini.
Prominent Work:
1671: Monument to the Great Fire of London (with Robert Hooke)
1671: St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, London
1672: St. Stephen’s Walbrook, London
1674: St. James, at Picadilly, London
1675: Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London
1680: St. Clement Danes, at Strand, London
1682: Christ Church College Bell Tower
1696-1715: Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich
