Sir Christopher Wren

Important Buildings

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Sir Christopher Wren – Life Outline

• Wren was born in Wiltshire England in 1632.

• He attended Wadham College, in Oxford, starting in 1649.

• He was made the Gresham Professor of Astronomy in 1657.

• He became an architect around 1661.• He died London, England, in 1723.

Wren’s Family Life

• Wren married twice and had four children, two with each wife; he loved both wives and his children

• He outlived both wives and two of his children: he was unusually long-lived for the time period.

Public Life

• London's Great Fire of 1666 gave Wren a chance to plan a new, perfect, London; this plan was only partially completed.

• Wren was appointed Surveyor General of the King's Works 1669 by Charles II, which meant he did alll the repair and maintenance work on all the royal palaces.

• In 1673 Wren resigned his Oxford professorship because of the king’s work load; this earned him a knighthood for loyalty to the king (the “Sir”)

Wren in Later Life

Buildings of Note

• Greenwich Hospital, at Greenwich, England (near London), 1696 to 1715. Saint Paul's Cathedral, at London, England, 1675 to 1710. St. Clement Danes, at Strand, London, England, 1680. St. James, at Piccadilly, London, England, 1674 to 1687. St. Mary Le Bow, at Cheapside, London, England, 1670 to 1683. St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, at London, England, 1671 to 1681. St. Stephen's Walbrook, at London, England, UK, 1672 to 1687.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

St. Clement Danes

St. Nicholas Cole Abbey

St. Stephen's Walbrook

Sources1.http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Sir_Christopher_Wren.html

2.http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/Sir_Christopher_Wren

3.http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wren_christopher.shtml

4. http://www.arct.cam.ac.uk/personal-page/james/phd/wren/