See also:SIR See also:CHRISTOPHER See also:WREN (1632-1723)
, See also:English architect, the son of a clergyman, was See also:born at See also:East Knoyle, See also:Wiltshire, on the loth of See also:October 1632; he entered at Wadham See also:College, See also:- OXFORD
- OXFORD, EARLS OF
- OXFORD, EDWARD DE VERE, 17TH EARL
- OXFORD, JOHN DE VERE, 13TH EARL OF (1443-1513)
- OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF
- OXFORD, ROBERT DE VERE, 9TH EARL OF (1362-1392)
- OXFORD, ROBERT HARLEY, 1ST
Oxford, in 1646, took his degree in 165o, and in 1653 was made a See also:fellow of All Souls
.
While at Oxford See also:Wren distinguished himself in See also:geometry and applied See also:mathematics, and See also:Newton, in his Principia, p
.
19 (ed. of 1713), speaks very highly of his See also:work as a geometrician
.
In 16J7 he became See also:professor of See also:astronomy at See also:Gresham College, and in 166o was elected Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford
.
It is, however, as an architect that Wren is best known, and the See also:great See also:fire of See also:London, by its destruction of the See also:cathedral and nearly all the See also:city churches, gave Wren a unique opportunity
.
Just before the fire Wren was asked by See also:Charles II. to prepare a See also:- SCHEME (Lat. schema, Gr. oxfjya, figure, form, from the root axe, seen in exeiv, to have, hold, to be of such shape, form, &c.)
scheme for the restoration of the old St See also:Paul's
.
In May 1666 Wren submitted his See also:report and designs (in the All Souls collection), for this work; the old cathedral was in a very ruinous See also:state, and Wren proposed to remodel the greater See also:part, as he said, " after a See also:good See also:Roman manner," and not, " to follow the Gothick Rudeness of the old See also:Design." According to this scheme only the old See also:choir was See also:left; the See also:nave and transepts were to be rebuilt after the classical See also:style, with a lofty See also:dome at the See also:crossing—not unlike the See also:plan eventually carried out
.
In See also:September of the same See also:year (1666) the fire occurred, and the old St Paul's was completely gutted
.
From 1668 to 1670 attempts were being made by the See also:chapter to restore the ruined See also:building; but See also:Dean See also:Sancroft was anxious to have it wholly rebuilt, and in 1668 he had asked Wren to prepare a design for a wholly new See also:- CHURCH
- CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
- CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
- CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
- CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
- CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)
church
.
This first design, the See also:model for which is preserved in the See also:South See also:Kensington Museum, is very inferior to what Wren afterwards devised
.
In plan it is an immense rotunda surrounded by a wide See also:aisle, and approached by a See also:double See also:portico; the rotunda is covered with a dome taken from that of the See also:Pantheon in See also:Rome; on this a second dome stands, set on a lofty See also:drum, and this second dome is crowned by a tall See also:spire
.
But the dean and chapter objected to the See also:absence of a structural choir, nave and aisles, and wished to follow the See also:medieval cathedral arrangement
.
Thus, in spite of its having
843
been approved by the See also:- KING
- KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
- KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
- KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
- KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
- KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
- KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
- KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
- KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
- KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
- KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
- KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)
king, this design was happily abandoned—much to Wren's disgust; and he prepared another scheme with a similar treatment of a dome crowned by a spire, which in 1675 was ordered to be carried out
.
Wren apparently did not himself approve of this second design, for he got the king to give him permission to alter it as much as he liked, without showing See also:models or drawings to any one, and the actual building bears little resemblance to the approved design, to which it is. very See also:superior in almost every possible point
.
Wren's earlier designs have the exterior of the church arranged with one See also:- ORDER
- ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
- ORDER, HOLY
order of columns; the See also:division of the whole height into two orders was an immense gain in increasing the apparent See also:scale of the whole, and makes the exterior of St Paul's very superior to that of St See also:- PETER
- PETER (Lat. Petrus from Gr. irfpos, a rock, Ital. Pietro, Piero, Pier, Fr. Pierre, Span. Pedro, Ger. Peter, Russ. Petr)
- PETER (PEDRO)
- PETER, EPISTLES OF
- PETER, ST
Peter's in Rome, which is utterly dwarfed by the See also:colossal See also:size of the columns and pilasters of its single order
.
The See also:present dome and the drum on which it stands, masterpieces of graceful See also:line and harmonious proportion, were very important alterations from the earlier scheme
.
As a scientific engineer and See also:practical architect Wren was perhaps more remarkable than as an See also:artistic designer
.
The construction of the wooden See also:external dome, and the support of the See also:- STONE
- STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
- STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
- STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
- STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
- STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
- STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
- STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
- STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)
stone See also:lantern by an inner See also:cone of See also:brickwork, quite See also:independent of either the external or See also:internal dome, are wonderful examples of his constructive ingenuity
.
The first stone of the new St Paul's was laid on the 21st of See also:June 1675; the choir was opened for use on the 2nd of See also:December 1697; and the last stone of the cathedral was set in 1710
.
Wren also designed a See also:colonnade to enclose a large piazza forming a clear space See also:round the church, somewhat after the See also:fashion of See also:Bernini's colonnade in front of St Peter's, but space in the city was too valuable to admit of this
.
Wren was an enthusiastic admirer of Bernini's designs, and visited See also:Paris in 1665 in order to see him and his proposed scheme for the rebuilding of the Louvre
.
Bernini showed his design to Wren, but would not let him copy it, though, as he said, he " would have given his skin " to be allowed to do so
.
After the destruction of the city of London Wren was employed to make designs for rebuilding its fifty burnt churches, and he also prepared a scheme for laying out the whole city on a new plan, with a See also:series of wide streets radiating from a central space
.
Difficulties arising from the various ownerships of the ground prevented the accomplishment of this scheme
.
Among Wren's city churches the most noteworthy are St See also:Michael's, Cornhill; St See also:- BRIDE (a common Teutonic word, e.g..Goth. bruths, O. Eng. bryd, O. H. Ger. prs2t, Mod. Ger. Bract, Dut. bruid, possibly derived from the root bru-, cook, brew; from the med. latinized form bruta, in the sense of daughter-in-law, is derived the Fr. bru)
Bride's, See also:Fleet See also:Street, and St See also:Mary-le-See also:Bow, Cheapside, the latter remarkable for its graceful spire; and St See also:Stephen's, Walbrook, with a See also:plain exterior, but very elaborate and graceful interior
.
In the design of See also:spires Wren showed much See also:taste and wonderful See also:power of invention
.
He was also very judicious in the way in which he expended the limited See also:money at his command; he did not fritter it away in an See also:attempt to make the whole of a building remarkable, but devoted it chiefly to one part or feature, such as a spire or a See also:rich scheme of internal decoration
.
Thus he was in some cases, as in that of St See also:- JAMES
- JAMES (Gr. 'IlrKw,l3or, the Heb. Ya`akob or Jacob)
- JAMES (JAMES FRANCIS EDWARD STUART) (1688-1766)
- JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 1358–1388)
- JAMES, DAVID (1839-1893)
- JAMES, EPISTLE OF
- JAMES, GEORGE PAYNE RAINSFOP
- JAMES, HENRY (1843— )
- JAMES, JOHN ANGELL (1785-1859)
- JAMES, THOMAS (c. 1573–1629)
- JAMES, WILLIAM (1842–1910)
- JAMES, WILLIAM (d. 1827)
James's, Piccadilly, content to make the exterior of an almost barnlike plainness
.
The other buildings designed by Wren were very numerous
.
Only a few of the See also:principal ones can be mentioned: the See also:Custom See also:House, the Royal See also:Exchange, See also:Marlborough House, See also:- BUCKINGHAM
- BUCKINGHAM, EARLS, MARQUESSES AND DUKES OF
- BUCKINGHAM, FIRST DUKE
- BUCKINGHAM, GEORGE VILLIERS, 1ST DUKE 0E1
- BUCKINGHAM, GEORGE VILLIERS, 2ND DUKE 0E1 (1628-1687)
- BUCKINGHAM, HENRY STAFFORD, 2ND DUKE OF3 (1454-1483)
- BUCKINGHAM, JAMES SILK (1786-1855)
Buckingham House, and the See also:- HALL
- HALL (generally known as SCHWABISCH-HALL, tc distinguish it from the small town of Hall in Tirol and Bad-Hall, a health resort in Upper Austria)
- HALL (O.E. heall, a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. Halle)
- HALL, BASIL (1788-1844)
- HALL, CARL CHRISTIAN (1812–1888)
- HALL, CHARLES FRANCIS (1821-1871)
- HALL, CHRISTOPHER NEWMAN (1816—19oz)
- HALL, EDWARD (c. 1498-1547)
- HALL, FITZEDWARD (1825-1901)
- HALL, ISAAC HOLLISTER (1837-1896)
- HALL, JAMES (1793–1868)
- HALL, JAMES (1811–1898)
- HALL, JOSEPH (1574-1656)
- HALL, MARSHALL (1790-1857)
- HALL, ROBERT (1764-1831)
- HALL, SAMUEL CARTER (5800-5889)
- HALL, SIR JAMES (1761-1832)
- HALL, WILLIAM EDWARD (1835-1894)
Hall of the College of Physicians—now destroyed; others which exist are—at Oxford, the Sheldonian See also:theatre, the Ashmolean museum, the Tom See also:Tower of See also:Christ Church, and See also:Queen's College See also:chapel; at See also:Cambridge, the library of Trinity College and the chapel of See also:Pembroke, the latter at the cost of See also:Bishop See also:Matthew Wren, his See also:uncle
.
The western towers of See also:Westminster See also:Abbey are usually attributed to Wren, but they were not carried out till 1735-1745, many years after Wren's See also:death, and there is no See also:reason to think that his design was used
.
Wren (D.C.L. from 166o) was knighted in 1673, and was elected See also:president of the Royal Society in 1681
.
He was in See also:parliament for many years, representing Plympton from 1685, See also:Windsor from 1689, and See also:Weymouth from 1700
.
He occupied the See also:post of surveyor of the royal See also:works for fifty years, but by a shameful See also:cabal was dismissed from this See also:- OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")
office a few years before his death
..
He died in 1723, and is buried under the choir of St Paul's; on a tablet over the inner See also:north See also:doorway is the well-known See also:epitaph—Si monumentum requiris, circumspice
.
For further See also:information the reader should consult the Parentalia, published by Wren's See also:grandson in 1750, an See also:account of the Wren See also:family and especially of See also:Sir See also:Christopher and his works; also the two See also:biographies of Wren by See also:Elmes and See also:Miss See also:Phillimore; See also:Milman, See also:Annals of St Paul's (1868); and Longman, Three Cathedrals dedicated to St Paul in London (1873), pp
.
77 seq
.
See also See also:Clayton, Churches o Sir C
.
Wren (1848-1849) ; See also:- TAYLOR
- TAYLOR, ANN (1782-1866)
- TAYLOR, BAYARD (1825–1878)
- TAYLOR, BROOK (1685–1731)
- TAYLOR, ISAAC (1787-1865)
- TAYLOR, ISAAC (1829-1901)
- TAYLOR, JEREMY (1613-1667)
- TAYLOR, JOHN (158o-1653)
- TAYLOR, JOHN (1704-1766)
- TAYLOR, JOSEPH (c. 1586-c. 1653)
- TAYLOR, MICHAEL ANGELO (1757–1834)
- TAYLOR, NATHANIEL WILLIAM (1786-1858)
- TAYLOR, PHILIP MEADOWS (1808–1876)
- TAYLOR, ROWLAND (d. 1555)
- TAYLOR, SIR HENRY (1800-1886)
- TAYLOR, THOMAS (1758-1835)
- TAYLOR, TOM (1817-1880)
- TAYLOR, WILLIAM (1765-1836)
- TAYLOR, ZACHARY (1784-1850)
Taylor, Towers and Steeples of Wren (London, 1881) ; Niven, City Churches (London, 1887), illustrated with See also:fine etchings; A
.
H
.
Mackmurdo, Wren's City Churches (1883); A
.
Stratton, The See also:Life, Work and See also:Influence of Sir Christopher Wren (1897) ; See also:Lena Milman, Sir Christopher Wren (1908)
.
In the library of All Souls at Oxford are preserved a large number of drawings by Wren, including the designs for almost all his See also:chief works, and a fine series showing his various schemes for St Paul's Cathedral
.
(J
.
H
.
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