THE P RTAL
September 2012 Page 7
Sir Christopher Wren
Anglican Luminary by Fr Keith Robinson
Not this time a cleric , poet , or philanthropist , but an architect , Christopher Wren was rooted by birth within the Anglican establishment . Born in 1632 to the Rector of East Knoyle in Wiltshire , in March 1634 his father became Dean of Windsor .
This seems to have given the Wren family direct contact with the royal family , which would be significant for Christopher ’ s future , when eventually Charles II came to the throne . Christopher ’ s uncle Matthew was Bishop of Ely . Christopher was probably at Westminster School when the chaotic period known as “ the Commonwealth ” began .
The Wrens suffered greatly as a family . With the abolition of the Church of England , the family were ejected from the Deanery at Windsor and uncle Matthew languished for eighteen years in the Tower of London .
Extraordinarily gifted
Christopher , meanwhile , turned out to be something of a polymath . He graduated in Latin and Physics from Wadham College Oxford in 1651 , became a Fellow of All Souls in 1653 , and was appointed Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College London in 1657 . He was quite extraordinarily gifted in a wide range of subjects and made many discoveries and inventions . He belonged to a group of Oxford academics which later became the Royal Society . He was even returned as MP for Old Windsor more than once , but never took his seat !
the Great Fire
Wren ’ s visits abroad were quite limited , but a visit to Paris in 1665 introduced him to continental baroque and the drawings of the Italian Bernini . On his return to England he prepared ideas for the restoration of St Paul ’ s Cathedral which was suffering two centuries of severe neglect . His designs were accepted on the 27 August 1666 , but only one week later St Paul ’ s and two thirds of the City of London were reduced to smouldering ruins by the Great Fire .
fifty new churches Christopher ’ s first adventure into architecture
was in 1663 , when he was already thirty three . His uncle invited him to design a chapel for Pembroke College Cambridge . It almost seems as though it was something of aside-line .
In 1669 Charles II appointed his old friend Surveyor of Works , and Wren certainly rose to the challenge . He designed well over fifty new churches , including his great Masterpiece , the new Cathedral of St Paul , which took thirty five years to build , and was completed during his own lifetime .
the northern Protestant answer to St Peter ’ s
St Paul ’ s is the northern Protestant answer to St Peter ’ s , and Wren replicates the sort of dome which Michaelangelo had designed for the latter , though it is not clear whether he ever saw St Peter ’ s . But unlike St Peter ’ s , the rather more graceful St Paul ’ s is entirely the conception of one great mind . It was to exert influence for many years to come , not least in the New World .
Si monument umrequiris circumspice
It is not easy to discover what Sir Christopher Wren actually believed . His experiences during the Commonwealth , and his loyalty to “ High Church ” Anglicanism suggest that he would rejoice at the Restoration . When he eventually died , aged 91 , on the 25 February 1723 he was buried within his new Cathedral .
There , the famous inscription , carved by his son ( another Christopher ) reads : Si monumentum requiris circumspice – if you seek his monument , look around you ! It was said , “ He was always loving , gentle , modest : the famous architect possessed these qualities still . In a corrupt age all testimony leaves him spotless .” He is certainly a giant among men of whom Britain , and perhaps also the Church of England , ought to be proud .