Christopher Wren FRS (abt. 1631 - 1723)

Born about 20 Oct 1631 in East Knoyle, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Faith (Coghill) Wren — married 7 Dec 1669 (to 1675) in Temple Church, City of London, England

Husband of Jane (Fitzwilliam) Wren — married 24 Feb 1677 (to 1680) in St James, Westminster, London, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 25 Feb 1723 at about age 91 in London, England

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Noted English architect responsible for rebuilding many of London's churches, including St Paul's Cathedral, after the Great Fire of 1666

Biography

Christopher Wren FRS is Notable.

Uncertain Birth Date

Christopher Wren was the fifth child and second son of the Reverend Christopher Wren, Rector of East Knoyle, Wiltshire, England and his wife, Mary Cox. He was baptised at the parish church of East Knoyle on 10 November 1631. From the parish register (the superscript writing is in another hand and ink which looks very much like the hand and ink from that year's Bishop's Transcripts): ^[1]
[1631] Christopher ^2d sonne of Christopher ^Wren Dtr in Divinitie & Rector: Nov: 10th

... and from the Bishop's Transcript for 1631 presumably compiled by the curate, Tristram Knapton who signed at the bottom: ^[2]
[1631] Christopher ye sonne of Christopher Wren Dr in divinitie and Rector here, was baptised the 10th November

"Paternalia or Memoirs of the Family of the Wrens" written from documents compiled by his son, also Christopher, and published by his grandson Stephen Wren in 1750, stated that he was born on 20 October 1632, ^[3] and this date has been propagated through many subsequent biographies including the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. ^[4] It is probable, but not certain that he was born on 20 October 1631 and was then baptised on 10 November 1631.

Christopher was the second son to bear this name as his older brother named Christopher had died in infancy. Christopher also had three older sisters and two younger sisters, all baptised at East Knoyle.

Early life

In 1635 his father was appointed Dean of Windsor in succession to his own brother, Matthew and the family spent several months each year at the Castle until 1642 when the Deanery was raided by parliamentary soldiers. These were dangerous times for families loyal to the Crown. Indeed Christopher's uncle Matthew, the Bishop of Ely, was sent to the Tower in December 1641, ^[5] released in May 1642 then returned there in August where he would remain for 18 years. The family took refuge at East Knoyle and sometimes at Bristol. Little is known about young Christopher's education until he went to Wadham College, Oxford in 1650. He is thought to have attended Westminster School for some time. ^[4] He was particularly interested in mathematics and science, and by the age of seventeen had several inventions to his credit. These included an instrument that wrote in the dark, a weather clock, a pneumatic engine and a new sign language for the deaf. This was probably in connection with the efforts of his brother-in-law, William Holder to teach the deaf Alexander Popham to speak. ^[6] William Holder was the rector of Bletchingdon in Oxfordshire, and it was there that the Wren family retreated after being evicted from East Knoyle in 1646. ^[4]

At Oxford, Christopher gained a reputation as a brilliant scientist. He carried out a series of experiments that was to prove very important for health care. For example, he showed how it was possible to send people into a deep sleep by injecting them with opium. Wren himself used this system to remove a spleen from a dog. He also successfully used a syringe to transfer blood from one dog to another. A student of astronomy he became interested in the laws of motion. He carried out several experiments on this subject, and when Isaac Newton developed the theory of gravity he was quick to point out that he owed a great deal to the work of Wren. ^[7] He graduated BA in 1650 and MA in 1653 as noted in Cambridge Alumni though he was never a student. ^[8]

In 1657 Christopher was appointed as professor of astronomy at Gresham College in London. ^[9] His inaugural speech shows clearly how he was thinking. "Mathematical demonstrations being built upon the impregnable foundation of geometry and arithmetick are the only truths that can sink into the mind of man, devoid of all uncertainty" ^[10] Christopher was part of the group of mathematicians, scientists and scholars that met to discuss new ideas and in 1662 Charles II granted them a charter to establish the Royal Society of London for Promoting Natural Knowledge. In 1661 he was appointed Assistant Surveyor of the Royal Works.

Architect

In 1665 he went abroad for the only time to visit Paris, missing the worst of the outbreak of plague that ravaged London that summer but was back in the city by March 1666 in time to witness the event that was to make his name immortal. On 2nd September, 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed much of the City of London and Christopher was appointed Surveyor-general for rebuilding London and St. Paul’s Cathedral. ^[11] His brief included rebuilding more than fifty churches in the city. ^[12] St. Paul's took thirty-five years to build. The most dramatic aspect of St. Paul's was its great dome, the second largest dome ever built (the largest was St. Peter's Basilica in Rome).

St Paul's Cathedral

Christopher married Faith Coghill at the Temple Church on 7 December 1669. ^[13] The brief marriage to Faith produced two children: Gilbert, born October 1672, who suffered from convulsions, died at about 18 months old and was buried in the chancel of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Christopher. Christopher was knighted on 14 November 1673. ^[14] Faith died of smallpox in 1675 and on the 24th February 1677 Christopher married Jane Fitzwilliam. The ceremony was performed by his brother-in-law, Dr William Holder. ^[15] Jane bore him a daughter, Jane, and a son, William.^[16]

Having unsuccessfully sought election to Parliament in 1667 and again in 1674 he was, in 1685, returned to Parliament as member for Plympton in Devon, receiving also the freedom of the borough. He was returned for Windsor in 1689 and for Weymouth in Dorset in 1701. According to the Ailesbury list he voted to agree with the Lords that the throne was not vacant when James II fled the country in 1688. ^[17] In 1698 he made mention of his younger son, William who was in some way disabled. He called him 'poor Billy … lost to me and to the world'.

St Paul's was declared complete by Parliament on Christmas Day 1711. Christopher was 80 years old. Other buildings designed by him included the Chelsea Hospital (1692), ^[18], The Custom House, ^[19] Tom Tower, Oxford (1682) ^[20], Hampton Court Palace ^[21] and, of course, The Monument. ^[22]

"In later years Wren complained to his son that Charles had done him a disservice in making him an architect, and that he would have made a better living in medicine". ^[4]

Death and Will

From Paternalia, Sir Christopher Wren died on "25 February 1723 in the 91st year of his age..." ^[23] He was buried "in the Vaults of the Cathedral Church of St Paul, under the South-aile of the Quire." ^[24] His was the first burial within St Paul's. ^[25] Although the year of his death inscribed on his memorial stone was 1723, the year was actually 1722 Old Style as his will (see below) shows. Two potential memorial stone inscription designs were discussed in "Paternalia", both in Latin, one with quotes from Martial and Juvenal, the other with his coat of arms. The black marble slab covering his tomb reads (in English): ^[26]

The marble memorial on the wall next to it contains the famous phrase "Lector, Si Monumentum Requiris, Circumspice" (Reader, if you seek a monument, look around you). ^[26]

Sir Christopher left a short will which he had written in 1713 and proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 26 March 1723, two days after the start of the Old Style New Year. The previous entries in the will register show the turn of the year from 1722 two days previously, showing that he had actually died in 1722. He left the bulk of his estate to his son Christopher and his wife, with provision for making sure his other son William was "comfortably maintained, supported and lookt after during his life". ^[27]

Legacy

Of the 51 London churches which Wren designed in the rebuilding of London, only 13 remain in their original form, the majority of the remainder having either been demolished during the 19th century or destroyed in the London Blitz during WW2.^[28]

The Wren Building at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia named in Sir Christopher's honour in 1931. The design was not attributed to him until the 18th Century and the current building, restored in 1928, differs in many ways from the original. ^[29]

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism (Parish register):"Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812"
   Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; Wiltshire Church of England Parish Registers - East Knoyle, Wiltshire; Reference Number: 536/2
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 61187 #1238770 (accessed 15 August 2022)
2. ↑ Baptism (Bishop's Transcript): "Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812"
   Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire; Wiltshire Church of England Bishop's Transcripts, East Knoyle, Wiltshire; Reference Number: BT/EtKy/Bdl. 1
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 61187 #3100436 (accessed 15 August 2022)
3. ↑ Paternalia or Memoirs of the Family of the Wrens Wren, Christopher and Wren Stephen, published London 1750 Internet Archive, frontispiece and birthdate quoted here page 181 Accessed 15 August 2022
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Sir Christopher Wren Kerry Downes, 2012 ODNB online free to view, Accessed 15 August 2022
5. ↑ Wikipedia: Matthew Wren
6. ↑ Wikipedia: William Holder
7. ↑ Cannot find the source for this observation. ODNB entry for Isaac Newton says "In August 1684 Newton received a visit from Edmond Halley, and this intrusion proved to be decisive. In London, Halley had been in a discussion with Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke about the shape of an orbit in an inverse square force field. Clearly Hooke was misled in thinking that he alone had come upon the inverse square relation. Newton had derived it twenty years earlier, and apparently Halley and Wren had done the same more recently"
8. ↑ Cambridge Alumni: Christopher Wren
9. ↑ Wikipedia: Gresham College and the formation of the Royal Society
10. ↑ Paternalia or Memoirs of the Family of the Wrens
11. ↑ History of Parliament online: WREN, Sir Christopher (1632-1723), of Scotland Yard, Whitehall
12. ↑ Wikipedia: List of Christopher Wren churches in London
13. ↑ Marriage record Temple Church, London (Christopher Wrene married Faith Cogg 7 December 1669). Viewed at Ancestry. Text only
14. ↑ Knights of England: Page 248
15. ↑ Marriage record St James, Westminster Feb 24th 1676 (OS) Sir Christopher Wren and Madam Jane FitsWilliams were married by Dr William Holder sub Dean of the Chapel
16. ↑ ThePeerage.com: Sir Christopher Wren Thepeerage.com: Sir Christopher Wren. Cites: George Edward Cokayne, editor, The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes (no date (c. 1900); reprint, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), volume II, page 105. Accessed 15 June 2013
17. ↑ History of Parliament online: WREN, Sir Christopher (1632-1723), of Scotland Yard, Whitehall
18. ↑ Wikipedia: Royal Hospital Chelsea
19. ↑ Wikipedia: Custom House, City of London,
20. ↑ Wikipedia: Tom Tower
21. ↑ Wikipedia: Hampton Court Palace
22. ↑ Wikipedia: Monument to the Great Fire of London
23. ↑ Paternalia page 346 Accessed 15 August 2022
24. ↑ Paternalia page 347 Accessed 15 August 2022
25. ↑ Walter Thornbury, 'St Paul's: The new church', in Old and New London: Volume 1 (London, 1878), pp. 249-262. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol1/pp249-262 [accessed 15 August 2022].
26. ↑ ^{26.0 26.1} Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1941/christopher-wren: accessed 15 August 2022), memorial page for Sir Christopher Wren (20 Oct 1632–25 Feb 1723), Find a Grave Memorial ID 1941, citing Saint Paul's Cathedral, London, City of London, Greater London, England; Maintained by Find a Grave.
27. ↑ Will of Sir Christopher Wren 1723: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
    The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 1; Class: PROB 1; Piece: 60
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 5111 #2000058 (accessed 15 August 2022)
28. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "List of Christopher Wren churches in London," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Christopher_Wren_churches_in_London&oldid=1083947387 (accessed August 15, 2022).
29. ↑ William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia The Wren Building Accessed 15 August 2022

See also

• Wikipedia: Christopher Wren

• page 181, The Wren Society Volume XVIII, Oxford University Press, 1941, Arthur T. Bolton & H. Duncan Hendry editors

• Elmes, James (1852). Sir Christopher Wren and his times. Chapman & Hall.

• The Architecture of Wren, Redhedge, 2nd Edition 1988, Kerry Downes page 131

• The Introduction of Self-Registering Meteorological Instruments, Robert P. Multhauf; United States National Museum Bulletin, 1961.

• Grattan-Guinness, Ivor; Landmark Writings in Western Mathematics, 1st ed., 2005, pp. 64–65

• Hart, Vaughan (1995). St Paul's Cathedral: Sir Christopher Wren. Phaedon. ISBN 0-7148-2998-6.

• Jardine, Lisa (2003). On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Career of Sir Christopher Wren. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-710775-7. ISBN 0-00-710776-5 paperback

• "Sir Christopher Wren". The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. Retrieved 30 September 2006.

• Tinniswood, Adrian (2001). His Invention So Fertile: A Life of Christopher Wren. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514989-0.

• "Sir Christopher Wren (English architect) : Concurrent projects – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 12 June 2012.

• 'Michael Faraday - a Sandemanian and Scientist' by Geoffrey Cantor

Other sources

• http://wrenkin.com/ Only says there is no evidence Sir Christopher has living descendants
• "Discover the Crypt – St Paul's Cathedral, London, UK". www.stpauls.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2009. Got message Not secure.
• J Wren 1750 Unidentified
• "Wren, Sir Christopher: Biography from Answers.com". www.answers.com. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
• "Wiltshire Council – Wiltshire Community History Get Wiltshire History Question Information". History.wiltshire.gov.uk. 17 May 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
• Tinniswood 2001, p. 184 (Some time earlier, Faith had dropped her wristwatch into a pool of water. It had been sent to Wren in London for it to be repaired. This letter was part of a package.)
• Tinniswood 2001, p. 239
• Clare Buchanan (11 April 2013). "Sir Christopher Wren's magnificent home up for sale". Richmond and Twickenham Times (London). Retrieved 7 July 2013.
• Tinniswood 2001, p. 366
• Elmes 1852, p. 411
• London: city guide – Google Books. books.google.co.uk. 2008. ISBN 978-1-74104-712-7. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
• Sir Christopher Wren: Natural Cause of Beauty
• Bolton and Hendry, eds., The Wren Society, 20 vols.
• Jardine 2003, p. 440
• Westminster Abbey Muniments
• From www.Answers.com re Lutyens: Lutyens' Neo-Georgian work, which he jokingly referred to as his "Wrennaissance Style" (after the great English baroque architect Christopher Wren) is typified by the use of English baroque forms and details.
• "Manifesto of 1778 issued by The Lodge of Antiquity, formerly The Old Lodge of St Paul, to preserve the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth" (PDF). Lodgeroomus.net.
• Mark Noble, Biographical History of England, [1806] p.327
• Ward, J. (1740). The lives of the professors of Gresham College.
• Krieger, Larry S. (2003). The Americans. Rand McNally. ISBN 0-618-37719-0.
• Escott, John (1996). London. OUP. ISBN 0-19-422801-0.
• Downes, Kerry (1988). The Architecture of Wren. Redhedge. ISBN 0-9513877-0-7.
• Campbell, Dr James (2011). Was Sir Christopher Wren a Freemason?. Prestonian Lecture. privately printed.