,,sir ,,christopher ,,wren              
,illustration3 ,,country ,,life         
,illustration3 ,,the ,,chief ,,works    
,,of ,,wren4    ,a tribute by ,c4 ,r4   
,cockerell1 ,r4,a4            ,,sir     
,,christopher ,,wren      ,,scientist1  
,,scholar ,,and    ,,architect      ,,by
 ,,sir    ,,lawrence ,,weaver           
,k4,b4,e41 ,f4,s4,a41 ,,hon4            
,a4,r4,i4,b4,a4      ,,london           
,,published ,,at ,,the ,,offices ,,of   
8,,country ,,life10 ,,ltd41    #bj1     
,,tavistock ,,street1 ,,covent ,,garden1
 ,w4,c4 #b1    ,,and ,,by ,,george      
,,newnes1 ,,ltd41 #h-aa1 ,,southampton  
,,street1 ,,strand1 ,w4,c4 #b4 ,,new    
,,york3 ,,charles    ,,scribner',s      
,,sons      ,,mcmxxiii                  
,,printed ,,in ,,great ,,britain        
,,preface      ,this little book        
pretends to be neither a ,life of ,wren 
nor a detailed  record of his           
achievement4 ,his working years were    
more than seventy4  ,at fifteen the     
inventor of a weather-clock and the     

author of a ,theory  of ,trigonometry   
which delighted ,sir ,charles           
,scarborough1 he died in  his           
ninety-first year1 not indeed in        
professional harness1 but still  working
 at the multitudinous problems to which 
his life had been  devoted4    ,when the
 definitive 8,life and ,works0 comes to 
be written1 it will  itself be someone's
 life-work1 if it is to be adequate4    
,i attempt no more than to give         
impressions of the many sides of a great
  ,englishman1 and have taken the       
liberty to ignore the chronological     
order which is fitting in a biography4  
,my old friend ,henry ,wheatley pleased 
himself with the notion that  people who
 write get a grossly unfair share of the
 world's praise1 for  the relative      
greatness of men is judged by what      
writers say of them1  and writers are   
obsessed by the importance of their own 
craft4    ,it is also true that         
architecture has been in ,england an    
inarticulate  trade1 and one regarded in

 our generation as a technical mystery  
with  which we are little concerned4    
,the greatness of ,wren has been        
obscured by the modesty which checked   
any inclination he may have had to      
enshrine his thought in writing1  save  
in few and disjointed but admirable     
fragments on science and  architecture3 
in any case his prodigious output of    
building left little  time for his pen4 
,it is because ,sir ,christopher ,wren  
brought to his superb architectural     
accomplishment the equipment of a       
mathematician1 of a master of natural   
science1 and of a scholar1 that it is   
what it is4 ,he has been called  the    
,english ,leonardo4 ,the praise1 though 
great1 is not excessive1 but  the       
parallel falls short of completeness4   
,leonardo was poet and mystic  as well  
as painter1 sculptor1 scientist1 and    
philosopher4 ,but if ,wren  did not     
carry his head in the clouds1 he was    
still something more than  our architect
 of greatest achievement4 ,he was a man 

of scientific and  intellectual stature 
worthy to be measured with our best4 ,he
 was1 above  all1 a great ,english      
gentleman4 ,his contemporaries knew his 
quality3  it were very shame if we      
ignored it4 ,the ,bicentenary           
,celebrations have  given us opportunity
 to pay the homage due4                 
,february #be1 #aibc4    7,two hundredth
 anniversary of the        death of     
,wren47          ,,authorities ,,and    
,,acknowledgments      ,the ,parentalia 
or ,memoirs of the ,wrens1 by           
,christopher1 the son of  ,sir          
,christopher1 is the main source of     
information about the great  architect4 
,it is as ill-constructed a book as one 
may meet1 yet it  possesses a charm of  
its own4 ,christopher's idea of a       
biography seems  to have been to print  
notes1 letters1 and discourses as they  
came to  his hand1 without any thread of
 text to give coherence to very diverse 
material4 ,the result is a rather       
forbidding publication1 which demands   

of the reader no little resolution4 ,the
 ,parentalia deals not only  with ,sir  
,christopher1 but with his father1 ,dean
 ,christopher1 and his  uncle1 ,bishop  
,matthew4 ,the father1 as ,registrar of 
the ,order of the  ,garter and ,dean of 
,windsor1 and the uncle1 as ,bishop of  
,ely1 filled  no small parts in the     
,church history of their day2 but we are
 little  concerned with them here1      
except as they came into ,sir           
,christopher's  life4    ,this          
ill-compiled miscellany when completed  
by the younger ,christopher1  who died  
in #agdg1 was published by his son      
,stephen in #agej4 ,it served  as a mine
 for the ,lives by ,elmes1 ,miss        
,phillimore1 and ,miss ,milman1  and has
 necessarily been consulted freely by   
all who have made ,wren the  subject of 
their pens4 ,in #aijc that part of the  
,parentalia which  referred to ,sir     
,christopher was reprinted by ,mr4 ,c4  
,r4 ,ashbee at the  ,essex ,house       
,press1 and twenty fine drawings of     

,wren's churches by ,e4 ,h4  ,new were  
reproduced4 ,it is finely printed1 and  
,mr4 ,ernest ,j4 ,enthoven's  editing   
ensured an accurate transcript of the   
original edition as  published by       
,stephen ,wren4 ,to the kindness of ,mr4
 ,new and ,mr4 ,enthoven  ,i owe the    
permission to reproduce here some of the
 former's drawings4  ,stephen ,wren was 
unmarried1 but contrived to beget a     
daughter1  ,margaret1 who took the name 
of ,wren4 ,for her a copy of the        
,parentalia  was bound sumptuously in   
red leather1 tooled and gilt4 ,it bears 
the  initials 8,m4 ,w40 and ,margaret's 
autograph appears on the title-page4    
,interleaved in this delightful and     
unique volume are many manuscripts1     
autograph letters1 and engravings4 ,some
 are in connection with the ,dean  and  
the ,bishop1 but most have to do with   
,sir ,christopher4 ,about #aijh ,i      
became acquainted with ,mrs4 ,pigott1 ne
 ,catherine ,wren-,hoskyns1 the  last   
surviving direct descendant of ,sir     

,christopher4 ,she was then old  and in 
ill-health1 and contemplated bequeathing
 the heirloom copy to a  distant        
collateral4 ,i persuaded her to allow me
 to collect a suitable  sum of money    
which she might bequeath instead1 and   
the story of that  piece of mendicancy1 
with a list of the people who generously
 backed  me1 is deposited with the      
heirloom copy in the ,library of the    
,royal  ,institute of ,british          
,architects4    ,amongst the manuscripts
 of the heirloom ,parentalia is a       
chronological  ,series ,vit et ,actorum 
,domini ,christophori ,wren in four     
pages4  ,this is a copy1 perhaps even   
may be the draft1 of the list in the    
,lansdowne ,manuscript at the ,british  
,museum1 which was initialed by ,sir    
,christopher himself about a year before
 he died4    ,i am bound to say1        
however1 that even a list so apparently 
authentic  gives me no confidence4 ,wren
 was the last man to be interested in   
materials for his own biography1 and he 

was ninety when he checked  the list4   
,his son was incurably casual and       
inaccurate1 and the ,elmes1             
,phillimore1 and ,milman ,lives were    
based on it blindly1 except in the  case
 of ,miss ,milman1 who used her own     
judgment somewhat4 ,elmes was           
laborious1 and had access to a lot of   
material such as ,state ,papers1  some  
of which mysteriously got into his own  
possession2 but he was  almost blind1   
and he dated his dedication to ,sir     
,humphry ,davy exactly  a hundred years 
before ,i date this1 at a period when   
biography was no  exact science4 ,the   
time has come for someone to go back to 
all the  originals1 including many which
 have come to light since his day4 ,i   
hope this work will not linger until    
,february #be1 #bjbc4    ,for light on  
,wren as a scientist ,i make very       
grateful acknowledgments  to my friend  
,sir ,daniel ,hall1 ,k4,c4,b41          
,f4,r4,s41 an expert in the outlook  of 
the philosophers of ,wren's day4 ,he    

will recognise as his own a  shamelessly
 large number of sentences in ,chapter  
,,iv4 ,professor ,hinks1  ,f4,r4,s41 the
 present ,gresham ,professor of         
,astronomy1 has helped me  with notes on
 that aspect of his great predecessor's 
activities4 ,mr4  ,wells1 the reigning  
,warden of ,wadham1 has kindly checked  
my chapter on  ,wren's ,oxford days4    
,there is a common phrase for men of    
encyclopdic  knowledge1 that they have  
forgotten more than other men ever knew4
 ,it  would be true of my old friend1   
,mr4 ,arthur ,bolton1 ,curator of ,sir  
,john  ,soane's ,museum1 but--he has not
 forgotten4 ,he has been so helpful and 
full of suggestions that it would be    
more honest if his name were with  mine 
on the title-page4 ,but he shares       
,wren's gift of modesty as well as      
learning1 and ,i need only express an   
admiring gratitude4 ,i am indebted  to  
the ,duke of ,portland1 to the ,warden  
of ,wadham1 and to the ,editor of       
,architecture for permission to         

reproduce portraits4    ,i have         
attempted no bibliography1 in which     
,longman's ,three ,cathedrals  would    
have a prominent place4 ,that task and a
 schedule of ,wren's  drawings1 with    
reproductions of those that can be      
definitely attributed  to him1 will be  
amongst the fitting works of the        
projected ,wren  ,society4              
,,contents        ,,chapter             
,,page            ,,preface             
v            ,,authorities ,,and        
,,acknowledgments                       
vii         ,i4 ,,parentage ,,and       
,,childhood                             
#a        ,,ii4 ,,oxford ,,career ,,and 
,,early ,,inventions                    
#i       ,,iii4 ,,family ,,life         
#ah        ,,iv4 ,,astronomer1          
,,mathematician1 ,,and ,,natural        
,,scientist       #bh         ,v4       
,,beginnings ,,of ,,architecture ,,and  
,,visit ,,to ,,paris          #dc       
,,vi4 ,,town-,,planning                 
#ec       ,,vii4 ,,st4 ,,paul',s        

,,cathedral                             
#ei      ,,viii4 ,,the ,,city ,,churches
                                        
#gh        ,,ix4 ,,chelsea1 ,,hampton   
,,court1 ,,and ,,greenwich              
#ig         ,x4 ,,other ,,buildings3    
,,public ,,and ,,domestic               
#ajd        ,,xi4 ,,wren ,,and ,,his    
,,contemporaries3 ,,last ,,years        
#aab       ,,xii4 ,,the ,,professional  
,,man                                   
#abc      ,,xiii4 ,,student ,,and       
,,scholar                               
#acb       ,,xiv4 8,,the ,,architect    
,,of ,,adventure0                       
#add      ,,appendix ,i43 ,a ,,note ,,in
 ,,amplification ,,of ,,the             
,,reference ,,in ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,to   
,,pascal',s        ,,problem            
#aeh      ,,appendix ,,ii43 ,,an        
,,attempt ,,at ,a ,,wren ,,chronology   
#afj      ,,appendix ,,iii43 ,a ,,note  
,,on ,,some ,,portraits ,,of ,,wren     
#afd      ,,index                       
#afg          ,,list ,,of               

,,illustrations      ,,plates           
,,plate         ,i4 ,,the ,,chief       
,,works ,,of ,,wren                     
,frontispiece                           
,,facing ,,page        ,,ii4 ,,wren ,,as
 ,a ,,man ,,of ,,forty                  
#ej       ,,iii4 ,,wren',s ,,plan ,,of  
,,london                                
#ed        ,,iv4 ,,the ,,welbeck        
,,portrait                              
#fj         ,v4 ,,bust ,,by ,,edward    
,,pearce ,,at ,,the ,,ashmolean         
#gj        ,,vi4 ,,the ,,west ,,front   
,,of ,,st4 ,,paul',s                    
#gb       ,,vii4 ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,under
 ,,the ,,dome                           
#gd      ,,viii4 ,,st4 ,,stephen',s     
,,walbrook                              
#hh        ,,ix4 ,,chelsea ,,hospital3  
,,the ,,main ,,portico                  
#ih         ,x4 ,,hampton ,,court3      
,,wren',s ,,two ,,fronts                
#ajj        ,,xi4 ,,greenwich ,,hospital
 ,,and ,,its ,,two ,,domes              
#ajb       ,,xii4 ,,trinity ,,college   

,,library1 ,,cambridge3 ,,river ,,front 
#ajh      ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,wadham        
,,portrait ,,of ,,wren                  
#aad       ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,st4 ,,paul',s 
,,deanery ,,portrait                    
#abj        ,,xv4 ,,the ,,central       
,,portion ,,of ,,the ,,chiaroscuro      
,,engraving      #abf       ,,xvi4      
,,wren ,,medal ,,at ,,wadham ,,college  
#adh      ,,in ,,the ,,text             
,,page      ,,st4 ,,peter',s            
xv1 xvi      ,,st4 ,,augustin',s        
#ee      ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,and ,,st4  
,,paul',s                               
#ef      ,,the ,,second ,,design ,,for  
,,st4 ,,paul',s                         
#fd      ,,plan ,,of ,,the 8,,rejected  
,,design0                               
#ff      ,,west ,,elevation ,,of ,,the  
8,,warrant ,,design0                    
#fh      ,,plan ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul',s    
,,as ,,built                            
#gb      ,,st4 ,,vedast                 
#gi      ,,st4 ,,alban                  
#hj      ,,st4 ,,dunstan',s             

#hb      ,,st4 ,,magnus                 
#he      ,,st4 ,,margaret',s ,,pattens  
#hf      ,,st4 ,,bride',s               
#hg      ,,st4 ,,mildred1 ,,bread       
,,street                                
#ia      ,,st4 ,,bride',s               
#ib      ,,st4 ,,mary-,,le-,,bow        
#adf          ,illustration3 ,s,t       
,,peter',s    ,illustration3 ,s,t       
,,peter',s          ,,sir ,,christopher 
,,wren    ,,scientist1 ,,scholar1 ,,and 
,,architect          ,,chapter ,i       
,,parentage ,,and ,,childhood      ,on  
the #bjth ,october1 #afcb1 ,christopher 
,wren was born in the ,rectory at  ,east
 ,knoyle in ,wiltshire4 ,his father1    
also ,dr4 ,christopher ,wren1 is  said  
to have descended from an ancient       
,english family of ,danish origin  which
 settled in the county of ,durham2 but  
,i can find no authority for  the       
,danish story except ,parentalia4    ,in
 ,j4 ,w4 ,rylands' ,records of ,wroxall 
,abbey there is a pedigree  which shows 
,sir ,christopher's grandfather1        

,francis ,wren1 ,citizen and  ,mercer of
 ,london1 who lived from #aeeb to #afbd4
 ,his father was ,cuthbert  and his     
grandfather ,william ,wren1 of ,sherborn
 ,house1 ,durham1 who  died in #aeci4   
,this ,william is described as brother  
to a ,christopher  ,wren1 of            
,wythebroke1 ,warwick1 who died in      
#aedb1 but the authority is  doubtful4  
,if it is accurate1 however1 it may be  
an added reason for ,sir  ,christopher's
 purchase of the ,warwickshire estate of
 ,wroxall for his  son1 who settled down
 there as a country gentleman4    ,sir  
,christopher's mother was ,mary1        
daughter and heiress of ,robert  ,cox1  
of ,fonthill1 ,wiltshire4 ,so on both   
sides ,christopher was well  born4 ,he  
was an only son1 with seven sisters1 but
 one of them only is  important in      
,wren's story4 ,she married1 in #afdj1  
,dr4 ,william ,holder1 of  ,blechington1
 ,oxford4    ,we know nothing of        
,christopher's mother except her name1  
but his  father cut some figure in      

,charles ,i4's reign4 ,a loyalist of    
loyalists1  he succeeded his more       
distinguished brother1 ,bishop ,matthew 
,wren1 in  #afce1 as ,dean of ,windsor  
and ,registrar of the ,order of the     
,garter4  ,when ,st4 ,george's ,chapel  
was plundered by the ,cromwellian       
troops1 the  spoils included the three  
,registers of the ,garter ,knights1 but 
by  making a heavy payment the ,dean got
 them back again1 and cherished  them   
until his death in #afeh4 ,they then    
passed into the safe keeping  of        
,christopher1 who soon after the        
,restoration handed them over to ,dr4   
,bruno ,ryves1 then the ,registrar of   
the ,garter4    ,dean ,christopher was  
educated at ,merchant ,taylors' ,school 
and ,st4  ,john's1 ,oxford1 and his     
son's scientific attainments were       
inherited4  ,he was a man of delightful 
character1 and evidently there was      
between  father and son the closest     
affection1 which shines even through the
  formal phrases used in those days by  

children when writing to their  fathers4
 ,that he added skill in architecture to
 his wide literary and  mathematical    
knowledge is clear from the fact that he
 was employed in  #afcd to design a     
building at ,windsor for ,charles ,i4's 
,queen1 and a  detailed estimate        
prepared by the ,dean has survived4 ,as 
the building  was to cost over #ac1jjj1 
it must have been an ambitious          
undertaking1  but it never took shape   
owing to the disturbances of the time4  
,it was of great importance to ,wren    
that his early training should  have    
been given to him by so able a father1  
especially as he was1 in  childhood1    
exceedingly delicate4 ,the ,rev4        
,william ,shepheard helped  the ,dean as
 domestic tutor1 and the boy's          
mathematics were looked  after by ,dr4  
,william ,holder4 ,aubrey1 in his ,lives
 of ,eminent ,men1  says of ,holder that
 8he was very helpful in the education  
of his  brother-in-law1 a youth of      
prodigious inventive wit1 to whom he was

 as  tender as if he had been his own   
child4 ,he gave him his instructions  in
 geometry and arithmetic1 and when he   
was a young scholar at the  ,university 
of ,oxford was a very necessary and kind
 friend40    ,amongst the manuscripts in
 the heirloom ,parentalia is a letter in
  ,latin1 dated 8,e ,muso meo1 ,calendis
 ,januarii1 #afda10 from ,wren to his   
father1 beautifully written1 and        
expressing filial gratitude in a high   
degree1 and below is a ,latin verse with
 its ,english translation4 ,at  the foot
 the delighted father has written1      
8,scripto hoc1 ,ao tatis  su ,decimo ab 
octobris #bjo elapso40 ,it was certainly
 a remarkable  accomplishment for a boy 
of nine4    ,also amongst the           
,parentalia ,,mss4 is a versified       
paraphrase of the  first to the         
fourteenth verses of the first chapter  
of ,st4 ,john's  ,gospel4 ,the          
penmanship of this is also admirable1   
and ,wren maintained  this merit of     
legibility until the end of his life4   

,wren went in due course to             
,westminster1 and worked under the      
redoubtable ,dr4 ,busby4 ,his father's  
choice of the school was doubtless  due 
to the vehemently loyalist attitude of  
the great headmaster1  but it may also  
have been influenced by the fact that   
,busby1 though  a notable classic1 did  
not frown upon mathematical and         
scientific  studies4 ,christopher was a 
,town ,boy1 and never entered the       
,college  proper4 ,possibly it was at   
,westminster that ,wren first met       
,robert  ,hooke1 with whom he was to be 
so closely associated in after life1    
though this guess is a little doubtful1 
for ,hooke was older by three  years2   
but he was also a ,town ,boy1 and       
boarded in ,busby's house1 going  but   
little into school4 ,john ,sargeaunt    
thought that ,hooke studied  mathematics
 apart1 and that this liberty was       
probably shared by young  ,christopher4 
,it is likely that owing to             
,christopher's delicate health  he left 

,westminster early and pursued his      
studies under the eye of ,sir  ,charles 
,scarborough1 a young but famous        
physician who had developed  a marked   
genius for mathematics and science4 ,if 
,wren had remained at  ,westminster1 he 
would almost certainly have proceeded in
 the ordinary  course1 like most        
,westminster boys1 either to ,christ    
,church1 ,oxford1 or  ,trinity ,college1
 ,cambridge3 the choice of ,wadham was  
no doubt dictated  by his friendship    
with the ,warden4 ,evidently1 however1  
,wren retained  an affection for his old
 school1 because he took much trouble   
over the  design of a new dormitory     
which led to a great deal of wrangling1 
and  the work of building was postponed 
again and again4 ,when1 ultimately1  the
 policy of rebuilding was settled in    
#agba1 ,wren was ninety1 and no  longer 
in practice4 ,his design1 therefore1 was
 put aside1 and the ,earl  of           
,burlington produced what purported to  
be a new one1 but was1 in  fact1        

,wren's1 with some slight modifications4
 ,the existing building1 in  fact1 which
 looks out on the quiet ,abbey ,garden1 
may be regarded as a  work of ,wren1    
though technically the amateur          
,burlington was responsible  for it4    
,if we are to believe ,elmes1 it was not
 until #afdg1 when ,christopher  was in 
his fifteenth year1 that he became      
acquainted with ,sir ,charles           
,scarborough1 but it seems more         
reasonable to ascribe to the            
,scarborough  period1 following ,wren's 
retirement from ,westminster1 a         
manuscript  letter in ,latin verse to   
his father1 dated ,september #ac1 #afde1
  dedicating to him an instrument called
 ,suum ,panorganum ,astronomicum1  and a
 tract ,de ,ortu ,fluminum4 ,on that    
assumption ,christopher left            
,westminster before he had completed his
 thirteenth year4    ,there is very     
little to show that ,wren was much      
interested in the  graphic arts1 but on 
the sheet in the heirloom ,parentalia   

which  contains the ,latin letter is an 
ink sketch of a woman holding up a      
dial-shaped object1 which is possibly   
the ,panorganum4    ,possibly1 however1 
this may be the sketch for a design on  
the ceiling  of a room which he did when
 he was sixteen4 ,it included 8two      
figures1  representing ,astronomy and   
,geometry and their ,attributes1        
artfully  drawn with his pen40 ,i cannot
 affirm that the lady in the heirloom   
copy  is a piece of his 8artful0        
drawing1 but it is likely4    ,what     
seems to fix the start of ,wren's       
studies with ,scarborough as  roughly   
contemporary with his ,panorganum letter
 is the fact that the  boy in #afdg was 
engaged in translating into ,latin1 at  
,sir ,charles'  request1 ,oughtred's    
,clavis ,mathematic4 ,in the same year  
he had a  patent granted him for a      
diplographic instrument for writing with
 two  pens4 ,christopher describes his  
invention at length4 ,an instrument of  
the kind must have then seemed very     

important1 because ,sir ,william  ,petty
 patented a similar contrivance in the  
same year4 ,about three  years later    
someone stole ,wren's invention4 ,he was
 exceedingly  annoyed1 and wrote a      
letter in which he refers to the fact   
that ,oliver  ,cromwell's attention had 
been directed to it4 ,without claiming  
anything  great for the invention       
itself1 he wanted to clear himself from 
the  aspersion of having annexed        
somebody else's device4 ,in later years 
there were to be many examples of people
 picking up an idea of ,wren's1         
developing it to their own great credit1
 and failing to acknowledge  the man    
without whose idea they never would have
 started on their  enterprise4          
,whenever it was that ,wren began       
working under ,sir ,charles             
,scarborough1  it was not until his     
fifteenth year that he informed his     
father that  he was acting as a         
demonstrating assistant to the physician
 who  lectured on anatomy at ,surgeons' 

,hall4 ,the story of his activities  is 
set out in a dignified ,latin letter1   
which refers not only to the            
,scarborough activities1 but to ,wren's 
invention of a weather-clock1 of  an    
instrument to write with in the dark1   
and of a treatise on spherical          
trigonometry4 ,very impressive also is a
 long metrical ,latin essay on  the     
,reformation of the ,zodiac1 which runs 
to nearly fifteen quarto  pages1 in an  
appendix to ,elmes' ,life4 ,he was      
sixteen when he wrote  7again in ,latin7
 to ,mr4 ,oughtred1 whose important     
essay on geometry he  had translated    
into ,latin4 ,we may agree with ,elmes  
that 8these juvenile  essays prove the  
fecundity1 the ripeness1 and the highly 
cultivated  state of his mind1 his zeal1
 and his ardent enthusiasm in the       
pursuit  of knowledge and literary      
honours40    ,but the weather-clock was 
destined to develop from the stage of a 
8juvenile essay40 ,when he wrote to his 
father in #afdg that he was  enjoying   

,scarborough's society1 he added that he
 had imparted to  him 8one of these     
inventions of mine1 a                   
weather-clock--namely1 with  revolving  
cylinder1 by means of which a record can
 be kept through the  night40    ,of    
this ,scarborough thought well enough to
 ask the lad to have one  constructed in
 brass at his expense4 ,i find in       
,birch's ,history of the  ,royal        
,society1 vol4 i41 under date ,december 
#i1 #affc3 8,dr4 ,wren's  description of
 his weather-clock consisting of two    
wings that may be  added to a pendulum  
clock was read40 ,the engraving         
published by ,birch  shows a far simpler
 arrangement than that of the drawing   
among the  heirloom ,,mss4 ,the printed 
,parentalia gives a description of a    
device  more complicated than ,birch's  
description of ,wren's communication of 
#affc1 and refers to a circular         
thermometer designed to correct the     
error caused by the weight of liquid4   
,this does not appear in the  drawing2  

the thermometer is of the ordinary air  
type4 ,the printed  ,parentalia refers  
to ,robert ,hooke's improvements on     
,wren's design1  but they only partly   
appear in the drawing1 which would seem 
to show  an intermediate development    
between ,wren's original device and     
,hooke's  latest achievements4    ,the  
thing itself is of no importance now1   
but is worth remembering1 as  showing   
not only the early blossoming of ,wren's
 scientific achievement1  but also his  
patience and persistence in developing  
an idea over a  period of years4    ,all
 this was a good prelude to his life at 
,oxford1 which began when he  was young 
to be an undergraduate1 by our          
standards1 but older than we  have been 
led to believe4          ,,chapter ,,ii 
,,oxford ,,career ,,and ,,early         
,,inventions      ,the question as to   
when ,wren started his ,university      
career presents  considerable           
difficulties1 but it is worth exploring1
 because his youth  at ,oxford had an   

enduring effect on the development of   
the man4    ,parentalia is explicit3    
8,in the year #afdf and ,fourteenth of  
his  ,age1 ,mr4 ,wren was admitted a    
,gentleman-,commoner at ,wadham ,college
 444  where he soon attracted the       
,friendship and esteem of the two most  
celebrated ,virtuosi and ,mathematicians
 of their ,time1 ,dr4 ,john ,wilkins1   
,warden of ,wadham1 and ,dr4 ,seth      
,ward44440 ,this date is confirmed by   
the  ,lansdowne ,chronology ,,ms41      
prepared by ,wren's son1 and initialed  
by ,sir  ,christopher himself two years 
before his death4 ,the ,,ms4 states3    
8#afdf4 ,admissus in ,collegio de       
,wodham40    ,but it is necessary to    
consider other evidence4 ,r4 ,b4        
,gardiner1 in  ,registers of ,wadham    
,college1 notes that ,wren's caution    
money as  ,fellow ,commoner was received
 on ,june #be1 #afdi or #afej4 ,sir     
,thomas  ,g4 ,jackson gives #afdi as the
 year when ,wren entered the college as 
,fellow ,commoner4 ,wilkins did not     

become ,warden1 in place of ,dr4 ,pitt1 
expelled by the ,parliamentary          
,visitors1 until ,april #ac1 #afdh1 when
 his  name was entered in the ,buttery  
,book4 ,on ,may #e1 #afdh1 ,wilkins had 
a  dispensation for twelve months from  
the full performance of his duties  in  
consequence of his attendance on the    
,prince ,elector1 whose ,chaplain  he   
was4 ,it was not impossible that ,wren  
should have gone to ,wadham  at         
fourteen--the profligate ,rochester     
matriculated at twelve and was  ,m4,a4  
before he was fourteen--but it is       
unlikely4 ,wren was exceedingly         
delicate as a boy1 there was no ,wilkins
 at ,wadham to attract him there  when  
he was fourteen or for two years after1 
and he was1 even in #afdi1  the first   
,fellow ,commoner entered during        
,wilkins' wardenship4 ,if  ,wilkins took
 the year's leave granted him1 and if   
,june #be1 #afdi1 be  taken as the      
correct date for the payment of ,wren's 
caution money1 he  went there a month   

after the ,warden settled down in his   
post4    ,if ,wren had proceeded direct 
to ,oxford at fourteen from being under 
,busby at ,westminster1 he would almost 
certainly have gone to ,christ  ,church1
 not to ,wadham4 ,moreover1 it is       
certain that during his  sixteenth year1
 and perhaps later1 he was very busy    
with mathematics  and science under ,sir
 ,charles ,scarborough in ,london4      
,it is just conceivable that he entered 
at ,wadham soon after ,oxford           
surrendered to the ,parliament in #afdf1
 and that he did not come into          
residence until #afdi or #afej1 but no  
document has ever suggested that1  and  
the theory can be dismissed4 ,it is the 
opinion of ,mr4 ,wells1 the  reigning   
,warden1 that if ,wren only matriculated
 in #afej he could not  have proceeded  
to his ,b4,a4 in #afea1 as in fact he   
did4 ,but the year  #afdi1 accepted by  
,sir ,thomas ,jackson1 is feasible on   
the basis of  ,wren's notable precocity 
and the then readiness of the           

,university not  to insist on three     
years1 as is seen by ,rochester's case4 
,it is1 however1 fair to add that the   
entry of ,wren's #e in the ,wadham  book
 is undated1 but it comes at the foot of
 a page headed #afej1 on  which the     
preceding entry is dated ,june #be1 and 
the three previous  names are registered
 by ,gardiner as #afej4 ,it may be1     
however1 that as  the ,wren entry is    
undated1 it was added later4 ,on the    
other hand1 if  he had gone to ,oxford  
in #afdf he could scarcely have occupied
 the then  unheard-of time of five years
 before taking his ,b4,a41 ,march #ah1  
#afej-ea4    ,i attach no importance to 
the ,,ms4 prepared by ,wren's son       
,christopher1  or1 indeed1 to any of his
 documents1 and prefer to rest on the   
,college  records4 ,miss ,phillimore    
followed the ,,ms41 but ,miss ,milman1  
without  setting down any evidence1     
assumed that ,wren spent three years in 
,london between ,dr4 ,busby and ,oxford4
 ,i think she did wisely1 and on all    

the evidence1 obscure and conflicting as
 it is1 ,i accept #afdi as the  year    
when ,wren began his ,oxford career4    
,the rest of the dates can be cleared   
off shortly4 ,he became ,m4,a4          
,december #aa1 #afec1 having been       
elected a ,probationer ,fellow of ,all  
,souls in ,november of the same year1   
and was made ,d4,c4,l4 at ,all ,souls   
on ,september #ab1 #affa4    ,wren was  
fortunate in the influence of the       
,warden of ,wadham1 which  was so       
powerful during the formation of ,wren's
 character that it  is necessary to form
 some picture of the man4 ,john ,wilkins
 reigned  beneficently over the college 
from #afdh to #afei1 and was described  
by  ,aubrey as 8no great-read man1 but  
one of much and deepe thinking2 and  a  
prudent man as well as ingeniose40 ,as  
the late ,dr4 ,wright ,henderson1  the  
biographer of ,wilkins1 wrote of him1   
8his greatness fell short of  genius1   
for it was the effect of ordinary       
qualities1 rarely combined  and tempered

 into one character2 but more effective 
for useful work in  the world than      
genius without sanity40 ,soon after the 
,civil ,war broke  out1 ,wilkins was    
living in ,london as the chaplain of    
,charles ,lewis1  ,prince ,elector      
,palatine1 with whom ,christopher       
renewed a childish  acquaintance4 ,mr4  
,wright ,henderson thinks that ,wilkins 
became the  leader1 as he was certainly 
the friend1 of the group of students of 
natural philosophy who afterwards formed
 the ,royal ,society4 ,it seems  obvious
 that ,wren was entered at ,wadham in   
order that he might be under  ,wilkins4 
,it is certain that he became the       
,warden's favourite pupil4    ,it is    
evident from the amazing 8,catalogue of 
,new ,theories1 ,inventions1            
,experiments1 and ,mechanick            
,improvements10 exhibited by ,mr4 ,wren 
at  the 8,first ,assemblies at ,wadham  
,college in ,oxford for ,advancement of 
,natural and ,experimental ,knowledge0  
which is printed in ,parentalia  that   

,wren took all knowledge for his        
province4 ,there are fifty-three  items1
 ranging from such solemnities as the   
8,hypothesis of the ,moon's  ,libration1
 in ,solid0 and 8,to find whether the   
earth moves0 through the  uncertainties 
of 8,probable ,ways for making ,fresh   
,water at ,sea10 and the  largeness of  
8,divers ,improvements in the ,art of   
,husbandry0 down to the  pleasant       
simplicity of 8,a ,way of ,imbroidery   
for ,beds1 ,hangings1 cheap  and fair40 
,we are reminded of the association     
between architecture and military       
engineering during the height of the    
,italian ,renaissance1 by 8,to  build in
 the ,sea1 ,forts1 ,moles1 etc40 and    
8,secure and ,speedier ,ways  of        
attacking ,forts than by ,approaches and
 ,galleries40 ,sanmicheli had  invented 
the pentagonal bastion3 ,inigo ,jones   
had fortified ,basing  ,house against   
the ,parliament's attack1 and had been  
one of the  defenders4 ,we would give   
much to learn something of ,wren's      

invention  for 8,ways of ,submarine     
,navigation40 ,if he had developed      
8,easier ,ways  of ,whale-fishing10 it  
would have given material for another   
chapter in  ,moby ,dick4 ,eheu fugaces6 
,there is a hint of the coming          
gramophone  in 8,a speaking ,organ1     
articulating ,sounds10 and 8,divers new 
,musical  ,instruments0 helps to explain
 ,wren's devotion to his daughter ,jane1
  whose monument in the crypt of ,st4   
,paul's--she died at the age of         
twenty-six--shows her in ,francis       
,bird's rather heavy-handed sculpture   
as seated at an organ4    ,the technique
 of writing always interested ,wren1 so 
it is natural to  find in the catalogue 
8,to write in the ,dark0 and 8,to write 
,double by an  ,instrument10 the latter 
a dodge he developed to the point of    
patenting  it4    ,the tools of his     
future profession already attracted him4
 8,a  ,scenographical ,instrument1 to   
survey at one ,station0 is followed by  
8,a ,perspective ,box1 to survey with   

it10 and there is a ring of ,bacon  and 
,wotton in the compendious phrase 8,new 
,designs tending to ,strength1          
,convenience1 and ,beauty in ,building40
    ,there is certainly no more rightly 
prophetic entry in the whole            
astonishing list4    8,several new ,ways
 of graving and etching0 gives a certain
 colour to the  story--though it must be
 discredited--that ,wren introduced     
mezzotint4    8,new ,ways of            
,intelligence1 new ,cyphers0 marks his  
early attachment to  an amusement which 
he shared with others of his day1 though
 without the  need to use the art to    
conceal roguish passages in what he     
wrote1 as  was the case with ,pepys'    
shorthand4    ,his later excursions into
 veterinary surgery and the transfusion 
of  human blood are heralded by the     
memorandum 8,to purge or vomit1 or alter
  the ,mass by ,injection into the      
,blood1 by ,plaisters1 by various       
dressing  a ,fontanell40    ,we have a  
glimpse of the experiments connected    

with the working out  of 8,a ,pavement  
harder1 fairer1 and cheaper than        
,marble10 as well as  into the social   
side of these ,wadham assemblies1       
through ,john ,evelyn's  glasses4    ,on
 ,july #ac1 #afed1 he was at ,dr4       
,wilkins'1 at ,wadham1 and saw3         
8,variety of shadows1 dyals1            
perspectives1 and many other            
mathematical  and magical curiosities1 a
 way-wiser1 a thermometer1 a monstrous  
magnet1 conic and other sections1 a     
ballance on a demi-circle1 most of  them
 of his own and that prodigious young   
scholar ,mr4 ,chr4 ,wren1 who  presented
 me with a piece of white marble1 which 
he had stain'd with a  lively red1 very 
deepe1 as beautiful as if it had been   
natural40    ,two days before ,evelyn   
had visited after dinner 8that miracle  
of  a youth40 ,there is no need to fill 
out the ,wadham catalogue of            
inventions3 we can accept ,evelyn's     
valuation1 and he never changed his     
mind4    ,but the list from which ,i    

have quoted does not complete the story 
of  ,wren's early essays in the         
scientific field1 essays1 be it noted1  
which  are overwhelmingly practical4    
,wren was a devotee not of pure but of  
applied science4    ,it is probably at  
,wadham that ,wren concerned himself    
with what he calls  ,cheirologia4 ,in   
the heirloom ,parentalia is a sheet with
 pictures  of two hands1 and on the next
 page1 another hand and various notes   
showing the working of the deaf and dumb
 language invented by ,sir              
,christopher4 ,though more complicated  
than the system now in use1 it is       
another evidence of the agility of      
,wren's mind1 and of his unwearying     
interest in varying problems4 ,but his  
time was not wholly spent in the        
laboratory4    ,a curious incident at   
,oxford in #afej gave occasion for      
,wren's poetic  gift4 ,a girl condemned 
for murdering her illegitimate infant   
was  hanged1 but revived later under the
 care of ,dr4 ,petty and ,thomas        

,willis4 ,it is an extraordinary story  
told with a wealth of unpleasant  detail
 in a pamphlet called ,news from the    
,dead4 ,following the  narrative are    
some dozens of 8,ingenious poems on the 
subject by the  ,prime ,wits0 of the    
,university1 including one by ,wren4 ,it
 is in a  pompous vein1 and cites       
,orpheus1 ,eurydice1 the ,fates1 and    
sculapius in  the fashion of the time4  
,morgan reprinted the pamphlet and poems
 in ,phnix ,britannicus1 where  they may
 be found by the curious4 ,wren's       
effusion is only worth mention  as      
showing him in the full current of      
,oxford life3 it is likely enough  that 
he had some slight part with ,petty and 
,willis in the long business  of        
resuscitating the young woman4    ,his  
fellowship at ,all ,souls did not       
divorce him from ,wadham4 ,in  ,october1
 #affc1 he was paying rent for the      
chamber over ,wadham ,gateway  which had
 once been part of the ,warden's        
lodging4    ,that he long held in       

affection the scene of his early        
scientific  labours is shown by his     
having designed and presented to the    
,college  a clock1 the face of which    
appears on the outside of the chapel4   
,the works were only recently replaced1 
but the old mechanism is  preserved in  
the chapel4 ,in the upper corners of the
 face are two  armorial devices1 one of 
which appears to be the charges from    
,wren's  coat-of-arms4 ,there is also   
amongst the college silver a fine sugar 
castor with an inscription which states 
that it was given by ,wren in  #afec4   
,as1 however1 the maker's mark dates the
 piece as being actually  of #agbj1 it  
is likely that1 as often happened1 the  
old inscription on  the #afec piece was 
transferred to what in #agbj seemed a   
more modish  design4    ,at ,oxford he  
must have stayed off and on1 after his  
marriage in #affi1  because he retained 
the ,savilian ,professorship of         
,astronomy until  ,april1 #afgc1 when he
 finally settled in ,london4            

,,chapter ,,iii    ,,family ,,life      
,of ,wren's mother nothing is known1 not
 even the date of her death4 ,of  his   
seven sisters 7the number given in      
,rylands' pedigree71 the only one  to   
survive was ,susan1 who became ,mrs4    
,holder1 and wisely used her great      
skill in nursing during her brother's   
delicate childhood4 ,she was five  years
 his senior1 and had no children of her 
own4    ,christopher's boyhood must have
 been clouded not a little by the       
misfortunes of his stout-hearted uncle1 
,matthew ,wren1 ,bishop of ,ely1  whose 
son1 another ,matthew1 was a faithful   
cousin to ,christopher in  later years4 
,this is no place to tell the story of  
the ,bishop who1 with  eleven of his    
brethren1 was impeached for resisting   
the ,parliament  in #afda1 and went to  
the ,tower4 ,after a short freedom in   
#afdb he  was imprisoned again1 and1    
being charged with ,catholic practices1 
languished there while ,laud was tried  
and beheaded1 and1 himself never        

brought to trial1 remained a close      
prisoner until he was released by       
,monk's warrant on ,march #ae1 #affj4   
,broken though he was by domestic       
bereavements during his eighteen years  
of captivity1 the brave old man  took up
 again his episcopal duties at the age  
of seventy-five4    ,that he remained a 
prisoner so long was due to his refusal 
to bow the  knee to the new order4 ,it  
does not appear that ,christopher ever  
saw  his uncle in the ,tower1 save on   
one great occasion1 when he made an     
unsuccessful effort to secure his       
release4    ,wren was twenty-four when  
he became professor of astronomy at     
,gresham  ,college1 and made the        
acquaintance of ,richard ,claypole1     
husband of  ,cromwell's favourite       
daughter1 ,elizabeth4 ,at their dinner  
table ,wren  became a frequent guest1   
the more welcome because ,elizabeth     
,claypole  remained a devout ,church of 
,england woman4 ,one day ,cromwell      
strode  in and sat down to dinner1 and  

fixing his eye on ,christopher1 said3   
8,your uncle has been long confined to  
the ,tower40 ,to ,wren's reply1  8,he   
has so1 sir1 but he bears his           
afflictions with great patience and     
resignation10 the ,protector made the   
astonishing reply3 8,he may come  out an
 he will40    ,when ,christopher asked  
if he might take that message to ,bishop
 ,matthew  from the ,lord ,protector's  
own mouth1 he got the answer3 8,yes1 you
 may40    ,but when the young man       
hurried off to the ,tower with his      
message1 the  ,bishop roundly refused to
 deal with the usurper on terms which   
meant  submission1 and preferred to     
tarry the ,lord's leisure and owe his   
deliverance to ,him alone4 ,a loyal     
race1 the ,wrens4    ,in #afef1 not long
 before this incident1 ,dean ,wren had  
died at  ,bletchingdon1 where his       
son-in-law1 ,dr4 ,holder1 had been      
parson for  some years1 and was buried  
in the chancel of the church4    ,it was
 there that ,christopher must have met  

,faith1 daughter of ,sir  ,thomas       
,coghill of ,bletchingdon1 ,oxon4 ,born 
in #afcf1 she was four years  younger   
than ,wren1 who is likely to have known 
her since his childhood4    ,we know    
extremely little of the intimate side of
 ,wren's life4 ,the only  document1 but 
that a very precious one1 is the        
autograph love-letter in  the heirloom  
,parentalia written by him to ,faith4   
,it is as follows3      ,,madam1        
,the ,artificer having never before mett
 with a drowned watch2 like an          
ignorant physician has been soe long    
about the cure1 that he hath    made me 
very unquiet that your comands should be
 soe long deferred3    however ,i have  
sent the watch at last1 and envie the   
felicity of it1    that it should be soe
 neer your side1 and soe often enjoy    
your ,eye1    and be consulted by you   
how your time shall passe while you     
employ    your hand in your excellent   
workes4 ,but have a care of it1 for ,i  
have    put such a ,spell into it2 that 

every ,beating of the ,ballance will    
tell you1 'tis the pulse of my ,heart1  
which labours as much to serve    you   
and more trewly than the watch2 for the 
watch ,i believe will    sometimes lie1 
and sometimes perhaps be idle and       
unwilling to goe1    having received soe
 much injury by being drenched in that  
briny bath1    that ,i dispair it should
 ever be a trew ,servant to you more3   
,but as    for me 7unless you drown me  
too in my teares7 you may be confident  
,i    shall never cease to be           
,your most affectionate humble servant  
,,chr3 ,,wren4      ,june #ad4      ,i  
have put the watch in a ,box that it    
might take noe harme1 and wrapt    it   
about with a little leather1 and that it
 might not jog1 ,i was fain    to fill  
up a few shavings of wast paper4    ,the
 letter is dated ,june #ad1 but there is
 nothing to show whether  it was written
 soon or long before ,wren's marriage to
 ,faith4 ,his  subscription is hardly   
passionate1 and we know from the        

enchanting  letters of ,dorothy ,osborne
 that even in ,puritan days such letters
 were  signed1 8,i am perfectly yours40 
,wren's marriage to ,faith ,coghill took
 place on ,december #g1 #affi1 at the   
,temple ,church1 but most of his        
domestic events thereafter are connected
  with ,st4 ,martin's-in-the-,fields1   
which was his parish church4 ,his first 
son1 ,gilbert1 died an infant4 ,his     
second1 ,christopher1 was born in       
,february1 #afgd-e1 and baptized at ,st4
 ,martin's4 ,this first marriage  only  
lasted a few years1 for ,faith ,wren was
 buried at ,st4 ,martin's on  ,september
 #d1 #afge4 ,wren soon consoled himself1
 for he was married on  ,february #bd1  
#afgf-g1 at the ,chapel ,royal1 ,st4    
,james's ,palace1 to ,jane1  daughter of
 ,william ,lord ,fitzwilliam of         
,lifford4 ,by this marriage ,wren  had a
 beloved daughter1 ,jane1 who was       
baptized in ,november1 #afgg1 at  ,st4  
,martin's1 and a son1 ,william1 born in 
,june1 #afgi4 ,but ,wren was  soon again

 to become a widower4 ,his second wife  
was buried at ,st4  ,martin's on        
,october #f1 #afhj4 ,it is rather       
surprising that there is no  monument to
 either of ,sir ,christopher's wives at 
,st4 ,martin's1 although  some tablets  
from the pre-,gibbs ,church are         
preserved in the crypt4    ,jane ,wren  
was1 by tradition1 ,sir ,christopher's  
favourite child1 and  when she died at  
the age of twenty-six ,wren suffered the
 greatest  sorrow of his life4    ,of   
his son ,christopher's boyhood we know  
little1 but ,sir ,christopher  wrote to 
him in ,france1 probably in #afih1 when 
the young man was  twenty-three1 a very 
charming parental letter1 which has been
 preserved  in the heirloom ,parentalia4
 ,it runs as follows3      ,,my ,,dear  
,,son1      ,i hope by this time you are
 pretty well satisfied of the condition 
of    the ,climat you are in3 if not1 ,i
 believe you will ere ,lent be over1    
and will learne to dine upon ,sallad4444
 ,if you thinke you can dine    better  

cheape in ,italy you may trie1 but ,i   
thinke the passing the    ,alpes and    
other dangers of disbanded armies and   
abominable ,lodgings    will ballance   
that advantage3 but the seeing of fine  
buildings    ,i perceive temptes you1   
and your companion ,mr4 ,strong1 whose  
inclination and interest leades him1 by 
neither of which ,i can find    you are 
moved2 but how doth it concerne you8    
,you would have it to say    hereafter  
that you have seen ,rome1 ,naples and   
other fine places1 a    hundred others  
can say as much and more2 calculate     
whether this be    worth the expence and
 hazard as to any advantage at youre    
returne4    ,i sent you to ,france at a 
time of businesse and when you might    
make    your observations and find      
acquaintance who might hereafter be     
usefull to you in the future concernes  
of your life3 if this be your    ayme ,i
 willingly let you proceed1 provided you
 will soon returne1    for these        
reasons1 the little ,i have to leave you

 is unfortunately    involved in        
trouble1 and your presence would be a   
comfort to me    to assist me1 not only 
for my sake1 but your own that you might
    understand your affaires1 before it 
shall please ,god to take me from       
you1 which if suddenly will leave you in
 perplexity and losse4 ,i do    not say 
all this out of parsimony1 for what you 
spend will be out    of what will1 in   
short time1 be your owne1 but ,i would  
have you be    a man of businesse as    
early as you can bring your thoughts to 
it4 ,i    hope1 by your next you will   
give me account of the reception of our 
ambassador2 of the intrigues at this    
time between the two nations1    of the 
establishment of the commerce1 and of   
anything that may be    innocently      
talked of without danger and reflection1
 that ,i may    perceive whither you    
look about you or noe and penetrate into
 what    occurres1 or whither the world 
passes like a pleasant dream1 or the    
amusement of fine scenes in a play      

without considering the plot4    ,if you
 have in ten weeks spent half your bill 
of exchange besides    your gold1 ,i    
confesse your money will not hold out1  
either abroad    for yourself or for us 
at home to supply you1 especially if you
 goe    for ,italy1 which voyage forward
 and backward will take up more than    
twenty weekes3 thinke well of it1 and   
let me hear more from you1 for    though
 ,i would advise you1 ,i will not       
discontent you4 ,mr4 ,strong hath       
profered credit by the same merchant he 
uses for his son1 and ,i will    thinke 
of it1 but before ,i change1 you must   
make up your account    with your       
merchant1 and send it to me4 ,my hearty 
service to young    ,mr4 ,strong and    
tell him ,i am obliged to him for your  
sake4 ,i bless    ,god for your health  
and pray for the continuance of it      
through all    adventures till it       
pleases ,him to restore you to me and   
your ,sister    and friends who wish the
 same as doth                           

,your most affectionate ,father         
,,chr4 ,,wren4      ,poor ,billy        
continues in his indisposition and ,i   
fear is lost to me    and the world to  
my great discomfort and your future     
trouble4    ,it would seem that young   
,strong1 the son of ,wren's famous      
master-builder1 was the boy's           
bear-leader4    ,wren is rather fretful 
with his son1 and rather melancholy as  
to his  own health1 but he was then only
 sixty-six1 and was to live until past  
ninety4 ,in a different tone is the     
letter to young ,christopher from  his  
father1 dated ,october #aa1 #agje1 the  
original of which is also in  the       
heirloom ,parentalia4 ,there is no      
longer the note of rebuke which         
followed the young man's extravagance in
 ,paris4 ,his taste had changed1  and   
,holland wooed him rather to the buying 
of good books1 a traffic the  old man   
cannot disapprove4    ,poor ,billy      
managed to live another forty years1    
despite ,wren's  desponding postscript4 

,john ,evelyn stood godfather on ,june  
#ag1 #afgi1  8to a sonn of ,sir         
,christopher ,wren1 surveyor of ,his    
,majesty's  buildings1 that most        
excellent and learned person 7,evelyn   
never misses  a chance of praising      
,wren71 with ,sir ,william ,fermor1 and 
my ,lady  ,viscountess ,newport1 wife of
 the ,treasurer of the ,household40     
,this was  poor ,billy1 whose sponsors  
show that his father was the intimate   
friend  of ,court personages4           
,william seems to have been very        
delicate1 if not defective4 ,when ,sir  
,christopher died he did not bequeath   
anything to ,william1 but left him  in  
the charge of ,christopher4 ,william    
lived on until ,march1 #agch-i1 and  was
 thus close on sixty when he died4 ,his 
elder brother1 ,christopher1  survived  
until ,august #bd1 #agdg1 when he was   
seventy-two4    ,that ,wren lived on    
affectionate terms with his son         
,christopher may be  assumed not only   
from the terms of his will1 but from his

 having sunk  most of his fortune in an 
estate for ,christopher's benefit4      
,his own connection with ,wroxall       
,abbey1 ,warwickshire1 can be set out in
  few words4    ,on ,august #bi1 #agac1 
he bought the estate for #ai1fjj from   
the trustees  of ,sir ,john ,burgoyne1  
,bart41 who had died in #agji4 ,sir     
,john's son1 ,sir  ,roger1 died in      
#agaa1 leaving a widow1 ,constance1     
daughter of ,sir ,thomas  ,middleton4   
,she was one of the signatories of the  
deed of sale1 and the  younger          
,christopher1 then a widower1 married   
her in #agae4 ,probably the  ,wrens and 
the ,burgoynes were old friends1 and as 
,sir ,roger ,burgoyne had  left the     
estate encumbered1 the sale to ,wren was
 doubtless to clear off  the mortgages4 
,the estate consisted of a fine         
,elizabethan brick house  7since ,wren's
 time very badly remodelled7 and #a1hej 
acres1 all of  which ,wren conveyed to  
trustees in ,march1 #agae1 bringing them
 into the  settlement made on the first 

marriage of his son ,christopher1 who   
then  became sole owner4    ,that the   
architect ever visited the estate we do 
not know1 but it is  a tradition that he
 designed a delightful garden wall      
planned in a  series of semi-circles4   
,certainly he never lived there4 ,a     
succession of  ,christophers owned the  
place until #ahbh1 when it went to the  
daughter  of the last of them1 who      
married ,chandos ,hoskyns1 a descendant 
of the  ,sir ,john ,hoskyns who was     
,vice-,president of the ,royal ,society 
when  ,sir ,christopher filled the      
chair4 ,catherine1 the eldest daughter  
of  ,chandos ,wren-,hoskyns1 became in  
time ,mrs4 ,corbett ,pigott1 and died in
  #aiaa4 ,from her ,i secured the       
heirloom copy of the ,parentalia for the
  ,r4,i4,b4,a41 and she gave me a copy  
of the rare ,kirkall engraved portrait  
of ,wren1 which had come to her from    
,margaret ,wren1 daughter of ,sir       
,christopher's grandson1 ,stephen4    ,i
 had hoped that ,sir ,christopher's will

 would include some personal            
expressions about his family1 but it is 
an uninteresting document1  as anyone   
who examines it 7,p4,c4,c4 ,richmond    
#fe7 may discover4 ,he                  
characteristically provided that his    
body should be decently buried  without 
pomp1 and for the rest one sheet of     
paper was enough to set  out his        
dispositions4 ,after reference to the   
trust made at his son  ,christopher's   
first marriage1 he leaves everything to 
him1 desiring  him 8to take particular  
care that my son ,william ,wren be      
comfortably  maintained supported and   
lookt after during his life40 ,the will 
was  dated ,april #ad1 #agac1 and proved
 at ,london on ,march #bg1 #agbc4    ,i 
consulted the will of the son           
,christopher 7,p4,c4,c4 ,potter #bbj7 in
 the  hope that it might make some      
reference to the disposition of         
chattels1  such as drawings1 that had   
belonged to his father1 but it is short 
and  uninforming4          ,,chapter    

,,iv    ,,astronomer1 ,,mathematician1  
,,and ,,natural ,,scientist      ,the   
sketch of ,wren's activities at ,wadham 
7in ,chapter ,,ii7 shows the            
variousness of his mind1 but clearly his
 many inventions1 though they  make an  
astonishing list1 were juvenilia4 ,his  
contemporary ,hooke said  of him1       
8,since the time of ,archimedes there   
scarce ever met in one man  in so great 
perfection such a mechanical hand and so
 philosophical a  mind02 and he         
describes a method of determining the   
parallax of comets  8invented by that   
incomparable mathematician ,dr4         
,christopher ,wren40    ,in estimating  
the value of such an opinion1 one of    
very many1 ,i am  bound to rely on the  
judgment of scientific friends who have 
generously  helped me with this chapter1
 because ,i can only repeat ,professor  
,lethaby's comment on the same text3    
8,these things are beyond my  knowledge1
 but ,i know that they represent        
wonderful powers40    ,we shall only    

understand the part played by ,wren in  
the development of  natural science if  
we see that development as the work of a
 team rather  than of individuals4      
,wilkins1 ,boyle1 ,lawrence ,rooke1     
,hooke1 ,seth ,ward1  ,wallis1          
,scarborough1 ,oughtred1 ,wren and many 
another shared a common  enthusiasm for 
the advancement of knowledge which      
showed itself in  common effort4 ,wren  
was the man to whom his associates      
turned for help  in solving their       
individual problems1 because of his     
extraordinary  ingenuity in inventing   
apparatus which would establish or      
dispel the  truth of some scientific    
idea1 and still more because of his     
ready  kindness and modesty4 ,during the
 early days of the ,royal ,society he   
was  not only in an especial manner the 
cement which kept together the whole    
fabric1 but the inspirer of much work   
which was carried to fruition by        
others4    ,in #afde1 the year when     
,wren invented1 as a boy of thirteen1 a 

new  astronomical instrument1 the first 
meetings took place at which was  sown  
the seed from which the ,royal ,society 
sprang4 ,dr4 ,wallis1 the               
mathematician1 ,dr4 ,goddard1 ,wilkins1 
later ,warden of ,wadham1 and  ,sir     
,christopher's father1 ,dr4 ,wren1 were 
amongst the attendants at  weekly       
gatherings1 when philosophy and         
especially natural science were         
discussed4    ,when ,wallis1 ,wilkins1  
and ,goddard went to ,oxford in         
#afdh-di1 the ,london  meetings         
continued1 but new meetings were held   
also at ,oxford1 first  in ,dr4 ,petty's
 rooms and afterwards at the apartments 
of ,wilkins at  ,wadham4 ,when ,wilkins 
went to ,trinity1 ,cambridge1 the       
,oxford men enjoyed  the hospitality of 
,robert ,boyle4    ,the ,london meetings
 were held often at ,gresham ,college   
and1 when ,wren  was fulfilling his     
duties as ,professor of ,astronomy at   
the ,college1  after his ,wednesday     
lectures and after ,rooke's ,thursday   

lectures4 ,lord  ,brouncker1 the friend 
of ,pepys1 ,john ,evelyn and others were
 frequently  at the meetings1 and the   
,royal ,society took formal shape1 after
 one of  ,wren's lectures1 on ,november 
#bh1 #affj1 when ,brouncker1 ,robert    
,boyle1  ,rooke1 ,wilkins and others    
withdrew to ,wren's private room and    
decided  to constitute themselves       
formally as a college or society4 ,it   
was after  ,wren's next lecture on      
,december #e1 #affj1 that ,sir ,robert  
,moray notified  to the meeting the     
,king's pleasure at the constitution of 
the society  and his promise of         
encouragement4    ,the ,society of      
,philosophers into which the young ,wren
 found himself  plunged owed its        
inspiration above all to the writings of
 ,bacon4    ,bacon was not himself a man
 of science in the sense that ,galileo  
or  even ,descartes was1 for he made no 
observations and arrived at no          
discoveries in any particular branch of 
science4 ,but he summed up  all the     

,renaissance revolt against             
,scholasticism1 and had set forth  in a 
noble literary form a definite system of
 knowledge that could  be opposed to the
 so-called ,aristotelianism which       
hitherto had held  sway over the minds  
of men4 ,bacon's guiding principle was  
the appeal  to experiment1 for his      
famous 8method of induction0 amounts to 
that4  ,the ,scholastic writers worked  
by deduction4 ,they laid down their     
premisses1 they worked out the laws of  
formal logic by which they  could draw  
deductions from them1 and they accepted 
the conclusions  without enquiring      
whether the premisses could bear the    
weight of the  superstructure built upon
 them4 ,bacon opposed to this his       
dictum1  8hypotheses non fingo20 the    
business of the man of science is to    
collect the facts without any           
preconceived theory1 and to let the     
facts themselves reveal the law which   
binds them together4 ,actually1         
scientific discovery does not proceed in

 this way4 ,without a guiding           
hypothesis the mind is lost in a        
wilderness of facts1 but the value of   
the hypothesis must be checked          
continually by its capacity to embrace  
the known facts and to predict new ones4
 ,none the less1 ,bacon's method  was at
 the time a necessary summons to        
experiment1 and under its  stimulus the 
young men of the day attacked the       
problem of the natural  world about them
 with the enthusiasm of crusaders4 ,for 
as a corollary  to his method ,bacon had
 insisted upon the necessity of studying
 the  common arts and crafts hitherto   
regarded as beneath the dignity of      
philosophy4 ,in the operations of the   
mechanic or the smelter1 and in  the    
growth of crops1 were to be found the   
materials of science4 ,so  the new      
philosophers were universally curious   
and their curiosity  about things was   
the note of the society in which ,wren  
grew up and the  dominant feature of his
 own mind until he settled down to      

architecture4    ,wren's scientific     
equipment was primarily that of a       
mathematician1 and  to this he added an 
inventive turn of mind1 which developed 
first in  the construction of apparatus 
and was afterwards so nobly turned to   
account in his building4 ,as a man of   
science he touched everything  and      
adorned it1 but he cannot be regarded as
 a supreme pioneer in any  particular   
direction1 nor is his name associated   
with any fundamental  discovery4 ,as    
mathematician he was abreast of all the 
knowledge of the  day2 he contributed to
 the advancement of knowledge therein as
 in his  discussions of the cycloid1 but
 even in that particular subject his    
work lacks the luminous intuition       
displayed by ,pascal4 ,nor did he break 
fresh ground and conceive new methods   
which afterwards developed into  part of
 the fundamental texture of mathematics1
 as ,wallis did with  his theory of     
infinitesimals1 or as ,newton did a few 
years later in a  larger field4         

,wren's activity at the ,royal ,society 
in the multifarious problems  which its 
members examined must not be allowed to 
obscure the fact  that1 professionally1 
he was an astronomer4 ,gresham          
,professor at  twenty-five1 and         
,savilian ,professor at twenty-eight1 he
 achieved little  that has survived4    
,the world and his own nimble mind      
called him to  an excess of enterprises4
 ,in #affb1 his indulgent friend ,sprat 
wrote1  8,the ,vice-,chancellor of      
,oxford ,university did yesterday send  
for  me to enquire where the ,astronomy 
,professor was1 and the reason of  his  
absence so long after the beginning of  
term4444 ,he most terribly  told me that
 he took it very ill you had not all    
this while given him  any account of    
what hindered you in the discharge of   
your office40  ,sprat stoutly defended  
,wren and urged on the angry            
,vice-,chancellor  that the rebuilding  
of ,st4 ,paul's and the fortifying of   
,tangier 7,wren  toyed with the latter  

but refused it7 were of greater         
8concernment for  the benefit of        
,christendom0 than 8the drawing of lines
 in ,sir ,harry  ,savill's school40 ,it 
was not until #afgc1 however1 that ,wren
 officially  turned his back on         
astronomy by resigning the ,savilian    
professorship4  ,the chief document of  
his astronomical career is his inaugural
 ,gresham  lecture in #afeg1 of which   
,latin and ,english versions are printed
  in ,parentalia4 ,a manuscript lecture1
 ,de corpore ,saturni ejusque  phasibus 
,hypothesis1 flits irritatingly by us as
 having been possessed  by one ,william 
,jones1 ,esquire1 but after             
that--silence4 ,the ,gresham  oration   
was a little pompous and for the        
8politer genii0 whom he espied  in his  
audience4    8,a time would come when   
men would be able to stretch out their  
eyes  as snails do 7,wren worked with a 
thirty-six foot glass at ,oxford7 and   
extend them to fifty feet in length1 by 
which means they should be  able to     

discover ten thousand times as many     
stars as we can40 ,of this  ,professor  
,hinks says1 8,rather poor stuff1       
suddenly rising into this  most         
interesting conclusion--#8and find the  
,galaxy to be myriads of  them1 and     
every nebulous star appearing as if it  
were the ,firmament  of some other world
 444 bury'd in the vast abyss of        
intermundious  vacuum4' ,what would we  
not give ,professor ,hinks continues for
  fuller knowledge of what was in       
,wren's mind when he wrote this  passage
 so strangely before its time1 so       
strongly suggestive of the  island      
universe theory of spiral nebul to-day40
 ,there was also the  matter of the     
method for constructing solar eclipses4 
,the lay reader  may be spared          
bibliographical details1 into which ,i  
have dived1 but  ,professor ,hinks makes
 this significant comment3 8,wren was   
the first  to discover the graphical    
method of computing eclipses that1 with 
some modifications due to much improved 

tables1 remains by far the  most        
instructive1 though not the most        
numerically accurate way of  calculating
 444 and is in use to-day for the       
graphical prediction of  occultations40 
,it was a practical thought of ,wren    
that the ,monument should be used as  a 
gigantic telescope1 and members of the  
,royal ,society tried so to use  it1 but
 failed1 because passing coaches caused 
vibrations4 ,he had a  like idea for the
 great south staircase at ,st4 ,paul's1 
but again1 for  practical reasons1 it   
broke down4    ,the biographers of ,wren
 have made great play with a story taken
 from  a manuscript bound up in the     
heirloom ,parentalia4 ,miss ,milman     
referred to 8the problem which ,pascal1 
444 under the pseudonym of ,jean  de    
,montfert1 challenged the mathematicians
 of ,england to answer by a  certain    
day4 ,he accompanied the challenge with 
a promise of a prize of  twenty pistoles
 to the successful competitor4          
,christopher ,wren solved  the problem1 

but for some unexplained reason never   
received the prize1  while the problem  
from ,kepler which he set in return     
seems never to  have been solved40 ,the 
facts are rather different4 ,in ,june1  
#afeh1  ,pascal put out a challenge to  
all mathematicians 7not ,english alone7 
to find a solution for certain problems 
connected with a cycloid1 the  curve    
described by a point on the             
circumference of a circle when that     
circle rolls along a straight           
line--e4g41 a nail on the rim of a      
carriage-wheel4    ,in an appendix ,i   
set out the story as it has been given  
me by ,sir  ,daniel ,hall4 ,it is rather
 technical1 but may be summed up simply4
  ,pascal received both attempts at     
solutions and replies which merely      
discussed germane matters4 ,wren sent a 
partial but admirable  contribution1    
unfortunately 8without demonstration40  
,it was original  as far as it went1 but
 not the complete solution for which    
,pascal had  asked4 ,cavarci1 the umpire

 in this high contest1 wrote that ,wren 
had  merely solved the easy part of it4 
,it appears clear that in withholding   
the prize ,pascal wronged neither  ,wren
 nor the other contestants4 ,the        
suggestion that ,wren was the master    
mathematician of ,europe will not do4   
,it is enough to affirm of him that  he 
was an ingenious geometrician who made  
several minor advances in  that science4
 ,he left no evidence of mathematical   
genius1 a quality  which ought to be    
reserved to the authors of far-reaching 
and fruitful  conceptions4 ,the true    
significance of ,wren's mathematics lies
 in the  fine way in which he applied   
them in his buildings4 ,no one is a     
better  representative of applied       
science as compared with pure or        
fundamental  science4 ,too much has also
 been made of ,wren's work on the       
barometer4  ,some enthusiasts have1     
indeed1 tried to transfer to him the    
credit  which belongs to ,torricelli and
 ,pascal4    ,wren repeated             

,torricelli's experiment at the top and 
bottom of a hill1  and finding that the 
mercury column stood at a lower height  
on the  top of the hill1 argued that the
 mercury was really balanced by the     
weight of the air1 or1 as we now say1   
measured its pressure4 ,but in  this    
experiment ,wren was anticipated by     
,pascal2 his experiment was  regarded by
 his contemporaries as made             
independently1 but it would be  hard to 
say that the experiment was really      
,wren's own device1 so much  was the    
question a matter of discussion among   
the men of science of  the time4 ,the   
enunciation of the laws of impact was   
made practically  simultaneously by     
,wallis1 ,wren1 and ,huygens4 ,wren's   
may be regarded as  the most elegant    
demonstration1 but it was ,huygens alone
 who perceived  that when the colliding 
bodies are perfectly elastic the energy 
of the  system1 i4e41 the sum of the    
products of the mass of each of the     
bodies multiplied by the square of its  

velocity1 remains unchanged--one  of the
 generalisations at the base of modern  
science4 ,similarly1  although ,wren    
became ,professor of ,astronomy both at 
,gresham ,college and  then at ,oxford1 
no outstanding observation or           
fundamental discovery  remains attached 
to his name4 ,speaking broadly and      
generally we can  say that ,wren was    
universally accomplished in all the     
science of the  time1 that in several   
directions he showed a quality of mind  
that was  only short of the highest1 and
 that finally he abandoned the pursuit  
of pure science too soon to have        
accomplished in any branch such a  mass 
of work as would mark him as one of the 
founders of that science4  ,it must     
always be remembered that ,wren took to 
architecture when he  was just over     
thirty1 and was immersed in a huge      
practice when he was  thirty-five4      
,but perhaps ,wren also was too         
universal4 ,perhaps the very ingenuity  
of  his mind led to distractions in too 

many directions4 ,it may be1 too1  that 
his inclinations towards the practical  
fusion of art1 science1  and            
administration1 which found full        
expression as an architect1 had  always 
tended to draw him away from the pursuit
 of abstract science4  ,we may notice   
that even in the early days of ,oxford  
he was always the  demonstrator and the 
contriver of experiments at the meetings
 of the  philosophers1 and later1 in the
 early history of the ,royal ,society1  
we  find that it was to ,wren that the  
,society continually turned for the     
solution of almost any problem that came
 under discussion4 ,a letter he  wrote  
to ,lord ,brouncker in #affc1 as to an  
appropriate show when the  ,king visited
 the ,society1 suggests he was already  
distrusting his own  skill and pleasure 
in experiment4 8,sciographical ,knacks  
7of which an  hundred sorts may be      
given7 are so easy in the invention1    
that now  they are cheap40    ,the      
extracts from the ,minute ,books of the 

,royal ,society show the  confidence of 
its members in ,wren's universality of  
mind and  constructive ability4 ,at the 
second meeting of the ,society on       
,december  #e1 #affj1 when ,sir ,robert 
,moray brought the ,king's approval1    
8,mr4 ,wren  was desired to prepare     
against the next meeting for the        
pendulum  experiment40 ,a fortnight     
later the record states 8that ,dr4      
,petty and  ,mr4 ,wren were desired to  
consider the philosophy of shipping 444 
and  that ,mr4 ,wren bring in his       
account of the pendulum experiment40    
,wren was at ,oxford in the ,spring of  
#affa1 and things did not go well       
without him4 ,on ,may #h we find a      
resolution that a letter be sent  him   
charging him in the ,king's name to make
 a globe of the moon  and likewise to   
continue the description of several     
insects that  he had begun4 ,sir ,robert
 ,moray transmitted the royal command in
 a  very affectionate letter4 ,the moon 
was duly delivered to the ,king at      

,whitehall1 who received it with great  
satisfaction4    ,on ,september #d there
 is reported some correspondence with   
,sir ,kenelm  ,digby and ,monsieur      
,frenicle concerning ,wren's hypothesis 
about ,saturn's  rings4 ,later there is 
a letter of ,wren's which records that1 
although  in #afeh he had made a model  
to illustrate his theory of ,saturn's   
rings1  he had withdrawn this hypothesis
 as soon as he had learnt of ,huygen's  
more convincing explanation4    ,on     
,january #a1 #affb1 8,mr4 ,wren was     
requested to prosecute his design  of   
trying by several round pasteboards     
their velocity in falling40 ,on  the    
#hth ,dr4 ,wren brought in a scheme of a
 weather-clock4 ,on ,january  #bb the   
pendulum experiment is described at     
length together with ,lord  ,brouncker's
 calculation of the velocity of fall1   
and at the same  meeting it is recorded 
that 8,dr4 ,wren showed his experiment  
of filling  a vessel with water which   
emptied itself when filled at a certain 

height40    ,on ,february #e 8,dr4 ,wren
 was desired to think of an easy way for
 a  universal measure different from    
that of a pendulum40 ,this was a        
question of devising an absolute        
standard of length dependent upon  some 
natural phenomenon1 which finally found 
expression in the metre  and again in a 
standard of length derived by physicists
 from the  wave-length of light4    ,on 
,february #ab 8,dr4 ,wren proposed      
blacklead as a better means than oil    
for preserving the pivots of the wheels 
of watches and clocks from  grating or  
wearing out40    ,on ,march #e 8the     
amanuensis was ordered to attend ,dr4   
,wren to take  directions concerning the
 experiment of water in the long tube40 
,this  means the setting up of a water  
barometer1 with water in place of the   
mercury of ,torricelli's experiment4    
,on ,september #c1 #affb1 it is recorded
 that 8it was referred to ,dr4  ,wren to
 take care of making the several        
experiments mentioned at the  last      

meetings concerning the aqu salientes10 
by which we are to  understand the      
earliest experiments on the rise of     
liquids in capillary  tubes4 ,the record
 goes on to say1 8,the request of the   
,society made at  the last meeting to   
,dr4 ,wren about comparing the ,earl of 
,sandwich's  experiments was continued  
but it being a business of difficulty   
and  much calculation required more time
 than he could yet obtain from  his     
other employments40 ,none the less1 a   
week later 8,dr4 ,wren was  reminded of 
promoting ,mr4 ,rooke's observations    
concerning motions of  the satellites of
 ,jupiter10 and a fortnight later still1
 8,dr4 ,wren  presented some cuts done  
by himself in a new way of etching      
whereby he  said he could almost as soon
 do a piece on a plate of glass as      
another  could draw it with a crayon on 
paper40 ,at the same meeting1 too1 8,dr4
  ,wren proposed the experiment of      
forcing up water in different pieces  of
 different diameter and different       

altitudes 444 and was desired to  bring 
a description of this experiment at the 
next meeting44440 ,on  ,october #h of   
the same year 8,dr4 ,wren offered an    
experiment about the  undulation of     
quicksilver in a crooked tube which he  
suggested was for  the velocity of it   
proportional to the vibration of a      
pendulum4 ,he was  desired to prosecute 
the experiment and to give in an account
 of it40    ,sprat1 in his ,history of  
the ,royal ,society1 lays especial      
stress on a  scheme of work devised by  
,wren in the interests of agriculture4  
8,the second work 7the first was the    
,doctrine of ,motion7 which he has      
advanced1 is the ,history of ,seasons2  
which will be of admirable  benefit to  
mankind1 if it shall be constantly      
pursued1 and derived down  to posterity4
 ,his proposal therefore was1 to        
comprehend a diary of  wind1 weather1   
and other conditions of the air1 as to  
heat1 cold1 and  weight2 and also a     
general description of the year1 whether

 contagious  or healthful to men or     
beasts2 with an account of epidemical   
diseases1  of blasts1 mildews1 and other
 accidents1 belonging to grain1 cattle1 
fish1 fowl1 and insects40    ,nor must  
we forget ,wren's anatomical and        
surgical experiments4 ,in his  early    
,oxford days he devised instruments     
7fully described by ,boyle7  for making 
injections into the blood of a dog1     
which he tried very  successfully 7for  
everyone but the dog74 ,he also         
skilfully removed the  spleen of another
 dog which 8in less than a fortnight    
grew not only  well1 but as sportive and
 wanton as before40    ,bound up in the 
heirloom ,parentalia is a most careful  
drawing  by ,wren's hand of the anatomy 
of the river eel4 ,instances of his     
versatility over the whole field of     
science can be multiplied almost        
indefinitely4    ,from the end of #affb 
,wren's name began to appear less       
frequently in  the records of the ,royal
 ,society4 ,his increasing preoccupation

 with  architecture and1 later1 his     
journey to ,paris provide the reason4   
,but these extracts do make clear that1 
even when he was preoccupied  with      
science1 ,wren's energies were to some  
extent dissipated by  the universality  
of his interests and his practical skill
 as an  experimenter4 ,they can be      
accepted as explaining why he did not   
become  supreme in any one branch of    
science1 although any loss in this      
direction was1 perhaps1 more than       
compensated for by the richness of  the 
experience and the breadth of mind that 
he was thereby enabled to  turn to the  
service of architecture4    ,though     
architecture became an exacting         
mistress1 he always kept in  touch with 
the ,royal ,society and1 after a period 
as ,vice-,president  when he was often  
in the ,chair1 served as ,president in  
#afhj4 ,he could  not give the time to  
experiment1 but he was an effective     
stimulus  in the organisation of        
scientific thought1 and took an         

exceedingly  active part in discussions 
which ranged from comets to the making  
of jessamine-scented gloves with        
daffodils1 from ,mr4 ,mercator's new    
projection of maps to the conclusion    
that 8all wholesome food should  have   
oils0 7which smacks of vitamines71 from 
the structure of peat to  the           
contrivance of an azimuth compass4      
,the incredible boy of ,wadham days had 
become the tireless ,president at       
fifty1 immersed in the greatest         
architectural practice of his century1  
but still the enthusiastic scientist4 ,i
 find it all very astonishing4          
,,chapter ,v    ,,beginnings ,,of       
,,architecture ,,and ,,visit ,,to       
,,paris      ,wren's work as an         
architect seems to have begun in #affa1 
when1 at the  instance of ,john ,evelyn1
 the ,king sent for him to come from    
,oxford  to serve as assistant to ,sir  
,john ,denham1 ,surveyor-,general to    
,his  ,majesty's ,works4 ,denham was a  
moderate poet1 but no architect1 and    

his appointment was merely an excuse for
 giving him a salary4 ,john  ,webb1     
8,inigo ,jones's man10 had been serving 
,denham as an assistant  and was        
naturally distressed at the             
interposition of ,wren4 ,this is no     
place to attempt to estimate ,webb's    
place in ,english architecture4 ,he  is 
put very high by some critics1 but      
,evelyn's description of him as  8,inigo
 ,jones's man0 is probably fair4 ,he had
 attempted unsuccessfully  to obtain the
 succession to ,inigo ,jones1 and1 on   
this second failure1  he seems to have  
retired from practice4 ,the neglect of  
him in ,wren's  favour may have been a  
personal hardship1 but nobody will      
believe  that ,english architecture was 
the sufferer4 ,webb belonged to another 
generation1 and the indolent ,charles   
had a right perception when he  summoned
 the scientist to shape the architecture
 of the new era of the  ,restoration4   
,in relation to ,wren's later and       
definitive appointment as               

,surveyor-,general1 there is a reference
 in ,pepys' ,diary which ,i never  read 
without a sense of personal relief4     
,on ,march #bast1 #affh-i1 ,pepys met   
,hugh ,may1 very grieved that he had    
failed to secure the reversion of the   
,surveyorship of the ,king's ,works1  on
 the recent death of ,sir ,john ,denham1
 8by the unkindness of the ,duke  of    
,buckingham1 who hath brought in ,dr4   
,wren1 though1 he tells me1 he  hath    
been his servant for twenty years       
together10 and so on1 8and yet  the     
,duke is so ungrateful as to put him by1
 which is an ill thing1  though ,dr4    
,wren is a worthy man40 ,it was a lucky 
escape for ,english  architecture1 but  
it is difficult to believe that         
,buckingham1 or indeed  anybody1 even in
 such venal times1 would have denied to 
,wren the post  which he filled so      
perfectly1 in favour of so sorry a      
fellow as ,hugh  ,may4 ,it is worth     
noting that when ,may died in ,february1
 #afhc-d1 his  post as ,controller of   

the ,works at ,windsor ,castle fell to  
,wren4 ,if ,may  had never been in      
charge at ,windsor that ,castle might   
have been spared  the indignity of the  
,upper ,bailey1 which he designed of an 
ugliness so  surpassing that            
,wyattville's remodelling1 dreary as it 
is1 was a vast  improvement4    ,how    
,may saw the duties and opportunities of
 ,surveyor-,general of the  ,king's     
,works is shown by his consoling        
thoughts recorded by ,pepys4 ,the  ,king
 was kind to ,may and promised him a    
pension of #cjj out of the  ,works      
7presumably an euphemism for out of     
,wren's emoluments71 and that  would be 
better than the place1 because1 owing to
 the lack of money1 he  would have had  
to disoblige most people1 being not able
 to do what they  desire to their       
lodgings4    ,there are many documents  
to show that ,wren dealt assiduously and
  successfully with the daily task of   
8lodgings0 and other trivialities       
belonging to the interminable routine of

 his post1 but it is evident  that ,hugh
 ,may would have done that and no more4 
,it was an escape4    ,for the first two
 years of ,wren's new appointment as    
,denham's  assistant1 he received no    
commissions for public works1 and when  
the  ,king1 at the close of the war for 
,tangier1 offered him the task of       
designing the mole and fortifications he
 wisely declined on grounds of  health4 
,the letter of invitation was1 it is    
worth noting1 written by  his cousin1   
,matthew ,wren1 the bishop's son1 who   
was secretary to ,hyde1  the ,lord      
,chancellor4 ,wren's decision lost him a
 good salary and risked  the reversion  
of ,sir ,john ,denham's post of         
,surveyor-,general1 which  was promised 
him if he would go to ,tangier2 but we  
may be thankful  that he resisted even  
so honourable an exile1 and he seems not
 to have  suffered by it4 ,his early    
labours at old ,st4 ,paul's will be     
described  in the proper chapter1 but   
his first original work in architecture 

dates from early in #affc1 if we except 
a doorway at ,ely ,cathedral1  of the   
same year4 ,on ,april #bi he submitted  
to the ,royal ,society his  model for a 
theatre to be built at ,oxford for the  
public acts of the  ,university4 ,the   
,sheldonian struck a note that was to   
become typical of  ,wren's work1 for he 
was not afraid to adventure on a flat   
ceiling with  a span of no less than #fh
 feet4 ,it was a cunning piece of       
construction  and covered in a chamber  
of great interest but of uncertain      
design4  ,in the same year1 #affc1 was  
begun the ,chapel of ,pembroke ,college1
  ,cambridge1 a thank-offering made by  
his uncle1 ,bishop ,matthew ,wren1  for 
coming safely through his long          
imprisonment4 ,pembroke ,chapel is a    
fine achievement of much greater        
artistic interest than the ,sheldonian1 
and1 being completed long before the    
theatre1 was no doubt the model to      
which people turned1 in ,wren's early   
days of architecture1 as the proof  of  

his real capacity in his new profession4
    ,in #affe he was called in by       
,trinity ,college1 ,oxford1 to design a 
new  inner court with the definite      
instruction that he was to build a      
quadrangle4 ,wren protested that this   
idea was wrong1 but showed his  skill in
 dealing with troublesome clients thus  
early4 ,writing to ,dr4  ,bathurst1 then
 ,president of ,trinity1 he said3 8,i am
 convinced with  ,machiavel1 or some    
unlucky fellow1 'tis no matter whether  
,i quote true1  that the world is       
generally governed by words4 ,i perceive
 the name  of a quadrangle will carry   
with it those whom you say may possibly 
be your benefactors1 though it be much  
the worse situation for the  chambers1  
and the beauty of the college1 and of   
the particular pile of  building 444    
but1 to be sober1 if any body1 as you   
say1 will pay for a  quadrangle1 there  
is no dispute to be made2 let them have 
a quadrangle1  though a lame one1       
somewhat like a three-legged table40    

,wren had his way3 the ,trinity court is
 three-sided4 ,elmes1 in his ,life  of  
,wren1 says that the additions to       
,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 were     
going on at the same time1 but this is a
 characteristic and obvious  blunder1   
for the letter from ,wren to the        
authorities of ,trinity1 quoted  by     
,elmes1 refers to the filling of the    
library arches with 8relieves  of stone1
 of which ,i have seen the effect abroad
 in good buildings40  ,wren's journey   
abroad did not take place until the     
summer of #affe1 and  occupied about    
eight months4 ,he started for ,paris in 
the first week  of ,july1 bearing a     
letter to the ,earl of ,st4 ,albans1 who
 represented  ,english virtuosity in the
 ,french capital4 ,so much we know from 
the  reprint in ,parentalia of a letter 
which returned thanks to a friend  for  
getting him the introduction2 but the   
chief value of it for us is  that ,wren 
took the opportunity to record some of  
his impressions4 ,he  was enchanted with

 the collections of rarities that he    
saw1 and no  doubt pleased himself with 
infinite conversations about science and
  philosophy with the scores of         
distinguished men he must have met4     
,but1  unhappily1 he was too busy to    
keep a diary or to write home at length1
  and we have to be content with a few1 
albeit precious1 obiter dicta4    8444  
,i hope ,i shall give you a very good   
,account of all the best  ,artists of   
,france2 my ,business now is to pry into
 ,trades and ,arts1 ,i  put myself into 
all ,shapes to humour them2 'tis a      
,comedy to me1 and  tho' sometimes      
expenceful1 ,i am loth yet to leave it40
    ,wren had a delightful and fruitful 
visit4    8,i have10 he wrote1 8busied  
myself in surveying the most esteem'd   
,fabricks of ,paris1 and the ,country   
round2 the ,louvre for a while was  my  
daily ,object1 where no less than a     
thousand ,hands are constantly  employ'd
 in the ,works2 some in laying mighty   
,foundations1 some in  raising the      

,stories1 ,columns1 ,entablements1 etc41
 with vast ,stones1  by great and useful
 ,engines2 others in ,carving1 ,inlaying
 of ,marbles1  ,plaistering1 ,painting1 
,gilding1 etc41 ,which altogether make a
 ,school  of ,architecture1 the best    
probably1 at this ,day in ,europe4 ,the 
,college  of ,the four ,nations is      
usually admir'd1 but the ,artist hath   
purposely  set it ill-favouredly that he
 might shew his ,wit in struggling with 
an  inconvenient ,situation40 ,this last
 is a shrewd bit of criticism which  did
 not apply to ,wren's own work1 for he  
always made the best of his             
opportunities4    ,it was the ,abb      
,charles who introduced him to ,bernini1
 8who shew'd me  his ,designs for the   
,louvre and of the ,king's ,statue 444  
his design of  the ,louvre ,i would have
 given my skin for1 but the old reserv'd
 ,italian  gave me but a few ,minutes   
view2 it was five little ,designs in    
,paper1  for which he hath receiv'd as  
many thousand ,pistoles2 ,i had only    

,time  to copy it in my ,fancy and      
,memory2 ,i shall be able by ,discourse1
 and a  ,crayon1 to give you a tolerable
 account of it40    ,he had evidently   
planned to spend at least six months in 
studying  ,french architecture1 for he  
wrote3 8,my ,lord ,berkley returns to   
,england  at ,christmas1 when ,i propose
 to take the ,opportunity of his        
,company1  and by that ,time1 to perfect
 what ,i have on the ,anvil3            
,observations of  the present ,state of 
,architecture1 ,arts and ,manufactures  
in ,france40    ,unhappily1 his         
sight-seeing seems to have absorbed all 
his time in  ,paris1 and when he got    
back the torrent of work carried him    
along and  made impossible the          
fulfilment of the final promise of this 
letter4  ,wren had an easy pen1 and it  
is sad to think that what he had 8on the
  ,anvil0 never got into the muddled    
mass of manuscript from which his son   
compiled the ,parentalia4 ,what would we
 not give for more portraits of  ,french

 architects and artists like his        
thumb-nail sketch of ,bernini1  that    
8old reserv'd ,italian0 whose plans for 
the ,louvre never went any  further8 ,in
 the result1 we have lost the           
observations which would  have been a   
great addition to the literature of     
architecture4 ,he did  not confine      
himself to the buildings of ,paris4     
8,the ,palace1 or if you  please1 the   
,cabinet of ,versailles call'd me twice 
to view it2 the  ,mixtures of ,brick1   
,stone1 blue ,tile and ,gold make it    
look like a rich  ,livery3 ,not an ,inch
 within but is crowded with little      
,curiosities of  ,ornaments3 the ,women1
 as they make here the ,language and    
,fashions1  and meddle with ,politicks  
and ,philosophy1 so they sway also in   
,architecture2 ,works of ,filgrand1 and 
little ,knacks are in great ,vogue2  but
 ,building certainty ought to have the  
,attribute of eternal1 and  therefore1  
the only ,thing uncapable of new        
,fashions4 ,the masculine  ,furniture of

 ,palais ,mazarine pleas'd me much      
better where is a great  and noble      
,collection of antique ,statues and     
,bustos40    ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii
    ,,wren ,,as ,a ,,man ,,of ,,forty4  
,probably ,wren had little sympathy with
 the efforts of that typical  ,frenchman
 ,philibert de l',orme to invent new    
,orders a century earlier2  and is there
 a finer epigram of architecture than   
the phrase in italics8    ,but his      
travels took him wider than ,versailles4
    8,after the incomparable ,villas of 
,vaux and ,maisons1 ,i shall but name   
,ruel1 ,courances1 ,chilly1 ,essoane1   
,st4 ,maur1 ,st4 ,mande1 ,issy1 ,meudon1
  ,rincy1 ,chantilly1 ,verneul1         
,lioncour1 all which1 and ,i might add  
many  others1 ,i have survey'd2 and that
 ,i might not lose the ,impressions of  
them1 ,i shall bring you almost all     
,france in ,paper1 which ,i found by    
some or other ready design'd to my      
,hand1 in which ,i have spent both      
,labour and some ,money40    ,would that

 ,wren's collections and drawings had   
been preserved with  something of the   
faithfulness which makes the ,adam      
collection at  ,sir ,john ,soane's      
,museum such a mine of information on   
one of ,wren's  greatest successors4    
,one reference is helpful as showing the
 source of  much of ,wren's detail1     
though the work itself is informing     
without his  note3    8,i have purchas'd
 a great deal of ,taille-douce1 that ,i 
might give  our ,country-men ,examples  
of ,ornaments and ,grotesks1 in which   
the  ,italians themselves confess the   
,french to excel40    ,it would have    
been better if ,wren had relied more on 
,english decorative  motives4           
,unfortunately there is silence in the  
letter on the purpose of the  jaunt     
abroad4 ,was the stay in ,paris the     
prelude to an intended visit to  ,italy1
 or was it an end in itself8 ,it is odd 
that he should not have  followed the   
example of ,inigo ,jones and studied the
 ,renaissance at its  source1 but there 

is no written evidence that he ever     
projected an  extension of his journey  
southwards4 ,the effect of the ,paris   
journey  was to give a ,french accent to
 ,wren's work throughout his life1 and  
to  dilute the current of ,palladian    
influence1 which was not fully renewed  
in ,england until the ,earl of          
,burlington1 ,william ,kent1 and others 
returned to ,inigo ,jones and his       
,italian master as the fountains of     
inspiration4    ,it is useless to       
speculate as to how ,wren would have    
developed on a  fuller ,italian basis4  
,his art would have been more informed3 
he would  almost certainly have avoided 
the technical uncertainties that mar    
some  of his finest achievements3 but he
 could hardly have lost the freedom  and
 inventiveness which make him one of the
 most individual of ,english            
architects4    ,one of the results of   
,wren's ,french orientation might have  
been that of  becoming a follower of    
,vignola rather than ,palladio4 ,in     

spite1 however1  of ,mansard's work at  
,maisons and ,blois1 ,wren1 probably    
from the  influence of his great        
predecessor1 ,inigo ,jones1 remained on 
the whole  faithful to ,palladio and the
 ,ancients4 ,as we shall see1 the       
two-order  system of the exterior of    
,st4 ,paul's was a practical necessity1 
and not  an artistic preference4 ,there 
is evidence enough from his work that he
  did not regard architecture as bound  
up with the application of ,orders  to  
building1 or as the only means of       
salvation4          ,,chapter ,,vi      
,,town-,,planning      ,perhaps the most
 pregnant thing that ,wren learnt in    
,france was the  value of planning on   
spacious lines4 ,england was1 in #affe1 
a country  of medival cities4 ,such     
classical buildings as marked the change
 of  taste were set down amidst         
surroundings of picturesque confusion4  
,if  ,inigo ,jones had been able to     
create the great ,palace of ,whitehall1 
of  which the ,banqueting ,hall is but a

 symbolic fragment1 the ,grand ,manner  
would have been established in the land1
 but when ,wren returned from  ,france  
early in ,march1 #afff1 there was       
nothing to stimulate him except  the    
,piazza of ,covent ,garden and          
,lincoln's ,inn ,fields laid out by     
,inigo  ,jones1 and his memory of the   
,place des ,vosges of ,henri ,quatre4   
,perhaps  ,bernini spoke of his great   
lay-out in front of ,st4 ,peter's4      
,the ,great ,fire of #afff gave him the 
opportunity4 ,by command of the  ,king1 
inspired doubtless by ,john ,evelyn1 who
 was himself an amateur  town-planner of
 skill1 ,wren 8took an ,exact ,survey of
 the whole ,area  and ,confines of the  
,burning1 having traced over with great 
,trouble and  ,hazard1 the great ,plain 
of ,ashes and ,ruins2 and designed a    
,plan or  ,model of a new ,city1 in     
which the ,deformity and ,inconveniences
 of the  old ,town were remedied44440   
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iii            
,,wren',s ,,plan ,,of ,,london4    ,the 

outlines of his plan are seen in ,plate 
,,iii4 ,they provided that the  ,royal  
,exchange should stand in a great piazza
 from which ten streets  were to        
radiate2 three were to run to the river1
 the midmost to ,london  ,bridge1 and   
the river was to be embanked from       
,blackfriars to the ,tower4  ,round the 
,exchange1 on the islands formed by the 
radiating streets1  were to be built the
 halls of the ,goldsmiths' ,company 7the
 ,insurance  ,office71 the ,mint1 and   
the ,post and ,excise ,offices4 ,from   
the ,exchange  and running westwards    
were to be two great streets1 one       
passing the  ,guildhall1 surrounded by  
the halls of the twelve great companies1
 and  another leading to ,st4 ,paul's4  
,the ,cathedral was to stand in a great 
triangular piazza at the junction of the
 street from the ,royal ,exchange  and  
another running eastwards through two   
great octagonal or round  piazzas to    
,tower ,hill4    ,westwards of the      
,cathedral ,wren devised a circular     

piazza from which  radiated eight       
streets4    ,it was a gallant scheme    
which avoided all acute angles1 and set 
the  parish churches on sites           
8conspicuous and insular40 ,the streets 
were to  be of three magnitudes--the    
three greatest1 which ran east and west1
  and the two chief cross streets #ij   
feet wide1 secondary streets #fj  feet1 
and no lanes less than #cj feet4 ,a     
great canal was to run from the  ,thames
 up ,bridewell northwards under ,holborn
 ,bridge1 and all offensive  trades and 
those that used great fires were to be  
banished out of  the ,city4             
,illustration3 ,s,t ,,augustin',s       
,the ,king approved the plan1 as well he
 might1 and then the trouble  began4    
,wren worked out a scheme whereby the   
freeholders of the ,city  were to       
surrender their properties temporarily  
to ,commissioners4 ,their  areas and    
frontages were to be noted1 and new     
sites given to them  on the new         
alinement of streets with equal         

advantages as to area and  frontage1    
and1 needless to say1 vastly greater    
advantages in amenity  and ultimate     
value4 ,no proprietor would have been   
seated exactly on  his own site1 but    
none at any considerable distance from  
it1 and  the intelligent grouping of    
trades would have been of advantage  to 
everyone4 ,but the individualism of the 
,londoner overbore every  advantage that
 ,wren offered him4 ,he was content to  
lose the chance  of being citizen of the
 most convenient if not the most        
magnificent  ,city the world had seen1  
and incidentally of benefiting his      
pocket  enormously1 if only he could    
build again on the odd-shaped sites that
  he had inherited from his forefathers4
 ,but we must not blame the             
seventeenth-century ,londoner too much4 
,wren was an honest man1 but  the       
citizens might well be suspicious lest  
his town-planning schemes  developed    
into a typical piece of ,caroline       
jobbery4 ,there was the  little affair  

of a vast sum of money voted for a noble
 monument to  ,charles the ,first4 ,wren
 designed it1 as bidden1 and the money  
was  forthcoming1 but the monument      
remained on paper1 to the benefit of    
,charles the ,second's pocket4 ,wren was
 an apostle of town-planning born  out  
of due time1 and his vision faded4 ,we  
are constrained as the years  go by to  
spend millions in re-creating small     
scraps of his scheme in  the name of    
street improvements4    ,illustration3  
,s,t ,,martin',s  ,s,t ,,paul',s    ,but
 the labour he gave to his great plan   
was not all wasted4  ,he perceived that 
the ,cathedral and the parish churches  
were  architecturally the keys of the   
situation1 and when he came to the      
rebuilding of both he saw ,london as a  
,city marked by its churches4  ,foiled  
in his attempt to set them as elements  
in long vistas of noble  streets of     
uniform houses1 he at least could       
determine that they should  give a      
beautiful skyline1 and that the parish  

churches should be  grouped justly in   
relation to the great bulk of the domed 
,cathedral4    ,the picture of ,london  
from the ,thames which ,canaletto drew  
in #agfg  shows what we have lost with  
the destruction of so many of ,wren's   
towers and spires and the blotting out  
of many others by the hideous  incubus  
of ,cannon ,street ,station and rows of 
ten-storied warehouses4    ,wren        
travelled much by the highway we        
neglect1 in a boat on the ,thames1  and 
he must have thought much of the skyline
 as he passed from ,hampton  ,court to  
,st4 ,paul's1 and watched the ,city     
growing under his hand4    ,it seems    
clear that1 defeated in his major       
design1 ,wren determined on  the next   
best policy of renewing the skyline of  
the old ,city4 ,generally  speaking1 he 
rebuilt a tower where a tower only had  
stood and provided  a spire where one   
had been before4 ,it is only from the   
lantern of ,st4  ,paul's or from the    
gallery of the ,monument that we can now

 get an idea  of how entrancing         
,london's skyline was when ,wren died1  
but there is  still enough to be seen to
 mark him as a great town-planner and to
 make  the student breathe ineffectual  
sighs that the ,london of #afff was not 
worthy of him4          ,,chapter ,,vii 
,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,cathedral      ,turner
 said of ,wren's ,cathedral that 8the   
dome of ,st4 ,paul's makes  ,london10   
but the same shrewd appreciation fell in
 better phrase from  the lips of a      
friend of mine aged seven4 ,he had been 
taken by his  father to ,st4 ,paul's1   
and on his return home was observed to  
be drawing  industriously4 ,when        
questioned as to his task1 he held up a 
rudimentary  sketch of the ,cathedral1  
in which the crowning feature of ,wren's
  achievement loomed unduly large1 and  
replied3 8,i've drawn the ,dome of      
,london40 ,i have met no better phrase  
of architectural criticism in  more than
 thirty years of reading4 ,the monument 
of ,italian ,unity has  shifted the     

architectural command of ,rome from the 
dome of ,st4 ,peter's  to the           
,capitoline ,hill1 but ,st4 ,paul's     
still crowns ,london with ,wren's  dome4
    ,sir ,christopher's connection with 
the ,cathedral dates from #affc1 when   
the derelict state of the old church    
drove the ,king to appoint a            
,commission to consider its restoration4
 ,it is not certain1 though it is       
likely1 that both ,wren and ,evelyn     
served as ,commissioners2 but little    
was done save casual repairs until about
 ,may1 #afff1 when ,wren laid  before   
the ,commission a report descriptive of 
the state of the fabric  with           
recommendations as to what should be    
done4    ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,iv    
,,the ,,welbeck ,,portrait4    ,there   
were two parties on the ,commission3 one
 for mere patching  and mending1        
another1 with ,wren as protagonist1 for 
a substantial  reconstruction on        
classical lines4 ,inigo ,jones1 when he 
added the  great western portico1 had   

refaced the outside of the church with  
big  stones1 part of a general scheme by
 which the cathedral would have been    
re-fronted1 as happened to so many of   
the older churches of ,france  and      
,italy4 ,wren's policy was to do the    
same to the interior1 8and it  will be  
as easy to perform it after a good      
,roman manner as to follow  the ,gothick
 ,rudeness of the old ,design40 ,he     
favoured a new vault and  cupola1 not of
 lead-covered timber1 but of 8brick1 if 
it be plaistered  with ,stucco1 which is
 a harder plaister40 ,the essence of his
 proposals  was1 to remodel the tower   
and crossing4 ,he was1 in fact1         
proposing to  remove the four great     
piers of the old crossing1 as ,alan of  
,walsingham  had done at ,ely1 where the
 old central tower had collapsed4 ,as   
,wren's  uncle was ,bishop of ,ely1 he  
was familiar with this bold idea4 8,i   
cannot  propose a better remedy than by 
cutting off the inner corners of the    
,cross1 to reduce this middle part into 

a spacious ,dome or ,rotundo1  with a   
,cupola or hemispherical roof1 and upon 
the ,cupola a ,lantern with  a spring   
top1 to rise proportionably4 ,by this   
means the ,church will be  rendered     
spacious in the middle1 which may be a  
very proper place for  a vast auditory40
 ,here was the germ of the ,st4 ,paul's 
which we know4  ,on ,august #bg1 #afff1 
there was a lively meeting of the       
,commission when  ,evelyn1 as we learn  
from his ,diary1 backed ,wren's         
proposals against  ,chichele and ,pratt1
 who were against any new-fangled       
notions1 and  wanted merely to repair   
the steeple on its old foundation4 8,but
 we10  writes ,evelyn1 8totally rejected
 it and persisted that it required a    
new foundation1 not only in regard of   
the necessity1 but for that the  shape  
of what stood was very mean and we had a
 mind to build it with a  noble cupola1 
a form of church building not as yet    
known in ,england but  of wonderful     
grace40 ,it is difficult to guess why   

,pratt1 as a pupil of  ,inigo ,jones1   
resisted the idea of extending to the   
interior what the  elder master had done
 outside4 ,perhaps ,pratt resented the  
intrusion  of ,wren on some personal    
grounds4 ,alternatively it is           
conceivable  that the ,jones school were
 more impressed with the merits of      
medival  architecture than is commonly  
supposed4 ,as it turned out1 ,chichele  
and  ,pratt were right about the        
solidity of the old central piers4      
,contrary  to experience outside ,london
 they proved very difficult to demolish4
 ,it  may be that some tradition of the 
old ,roman secret remained in ,london1  
where old walls are a byword for        
resistance to removal4 ,if ,wren had    
known as much about mortars as the old  
builders1 much of the trouble  with his 
,st4 ,paul's would have been avoided4   
,after much argument it was agreed the  
innovators should produce a  plan and   
estimate4 ,this design is preserved at  
,all ,souls1 and shows  an inner and    

outer dome surmounted by a lantern      
crowned with a huge  openwork pineapple 
#fh feet high1 of what ,sir ,reginald   
,blomfield justly  calls 8a monstrous   
and horrible design40    ,but the scheme
 went no further4 ,on ,sunday1          
,september #bnd1 within a week  of the  
,commission meeting1 the ,great ,fire   
broke out4 ,by the #gth ,pepys  saw the 
8miserable sight of ,paul's ,church1    
with all the roof fallen  and the body  
of the quire fallen into ,st4 ,faith's40
 ,evelyn was there  the same day and    
infinitely concerned3 8,thus lay in     
ashes that most  venerable ,church40    
,the destruction was complete4    ,very 
soon after the ,fire1 ,wren was         
appointed principal architect for       
rebuilding the whole ,city1 and set     
about fitting part of ,st4 ,paul's      
ruins for temporary use in ,divine      
,service4 ,on ,january #ae1 #affg1 the  
,king made order to that effect1 and on 
,march #e a sub-committee was set  up to
 do something4 ,they seem to have been  

lamentable dullards1 for  they still    
harped on the idea of patching up the   
ruins1 and attempted  to do so1 despite 
,wren's protests4 ,he seems to have     
followed the  wise course of leaving    
them to their tinkerings and to the     
,nemesis  of a tottering fabric1 with   
good and inevitable results4 ,after the 
shattering experience of the ,fire1 the 
new facing of large stones  could not be
 secured properly to the old walls4 ,a  
year and some money  had been wasted    
before ,dean ,sancroft wrote to ,wren1  
then at ,oxford1  on ,april #be1 #affh1 
to say3 8,what you whispered in my ear1 
at your  last coming hither1 is come to 
pass4 ,our work at the west end of ,st4 
,paul's is fallen about our ears40      
,sancroft expected worse would follow1  
confessed that they were helpless       
without ,wren1 and begged him to come   
to ,london4 ,it would appear that ,wren 
was not satisfied as to their  change of
 heart1 and thought it wiser to let them
 muddle along into  worse trouble before

 he went to their aid4    ,they still   
went on patching until things got quite 
hopeless1 when  ,wren received a        
peremptory order from the ,archbishop   
and the other  ,commissioners to attend 
with all speed4 ,in one thing ,sancroft 
seems to  have been wiser than ,wren4   
,he was all for the planning of a       
8design1  handsome and noble1 and       
suitable to all the ends of it1 and to  
the  reputation of the city and the     
nation1 and to take it for granted that 
money will be had to accomplish it40    
,wren wanted to know what money  they   
would provide before he set about a     
design1 and to delay action  until men's
 minds were less distracted with all the
 troubles that  followed the ,fire4     
,after more argument ,wren convinced    
everyone that the  first business was to
 give up all ideas of patching and to   
sweep the  site clear of the ruins4     
,this task lasted until ,april1 #afgd4  
,illustration3 ,,the ,,second ,,design  
,,for ,,st4 ,,paul',s1 ,,also ,,known   

,,as ,,the  8,,rejected ,,design0 ,,and 
,,the 8,,model ,,design40    ,the story 
of ,wren's many designs for the new     
,cathedral is confusing  and need not be
 followed here in detail4 ,the ,first   
,design1 made before  the ,fire1 has    
been mentioned4 ,the ,second ,design1   
also known as the  8,rejected ,design0  
and the 8,model ,design10 was an attempt
 to gratify  8the taste of the          
,conoisseurs and ,criticks with         
something coloss  and beautiful1        
conformable to the best stile of the    
,greek and ,roman  architecture40       
,this was one of several submitted to   
the ,king1 and was approved by  ,royal  
,warrant of ,november #ab1 #afgc4 ,a    
model of it was made1 now in the  ,south
 ,kensington ,museum1 and its plan and  
perspective are reproduced  here4 ,it   
represented a great break from          
traditional ,cathedral  treatment4      
,planned as a ,greek cross1 to which a  
short western arm 7a  vestibule or      
narthex7 was added later1 a central     

space #abj feet in  diameter was formed 
by eight great piers carrying a dome1   
and the  ambulatory included four       
shallow domes4 ,the octagonal church of 
,santa  ,maria della ,salute gives      
perhaps as good an idea as any of the   
general  scope of the scheme1 which ,sir
 ,charles ,barry thought might supply a 
hint for ,english church building4 ,the 
western vestibule was roofed  with a    
smaller dome and finished with a        
colonnaded portico4 ,it was a  noble    
idea1 but the clergy thought it         
unsuitable for services1 and the        
absence of chapels annoyed the ,duke of 
,york1 who1 with his supporters1  still 
hoped for a restoration of the old      
religion4 ,wren had to abandon  the     
scheme1 not1 it is said1 without actual 
tears4 ,it is recorded in  ,parentalia  
that 8the ,surveyor1 in private         
,conversation1 always seem'd  to set a  
higher value on this ,design1 than any  
he had made before or  since2 as what   
was laboured with more ,study and       

,success2 and 7had he  not been         
over-rul'd by those1 whom it was his    
,duty to ,obey7 what he  would have put 
into ,execution with more ,chearfulness 
and ,satisfaction  to himself than the  
latter40    ,illustration3 ,,plan ,,of  
,,the 8,,rejected ,,design40    ,about  
eighteen months passed before the ,third
 ,design was submitted to  the ,king and
 approved by warrant dated ,may #ad1    
#afge4 ,it is known as the  ,warrant    
,design4 ,so unworthy is it of ,wren's  
genius that his apologists  have been   
ingenious in explaining it away4 ,miss  
,phillimore thought it  the result of   
overwork and worry4 ,loftie believed    
that ,wren was 8in  the nearest thing to
 a bad temper of which his meek and     
quiet spirit  was capable10 and pitched 
it at ,charles as a joke1 thinking that 
the  ,king might as well sign the       
silliest design he could produce as he  
had  rejected a sound scheme4 ,be that  
as it may--and it is not very like      
,wren to play the fool--,charles passed 

this preposterous design as 8very       
artificial proper and useful10 giving   
,wren 8liberty in the prosecution  of   
his work1 to make some ,variations1     
rather ,ornamental than ,essential1  as 
from time to time he should see proper1 
and to leave the ,whole to  his         
management40 ,the design now reproduced 
carries its own condemnation  on its    
face4 ,the western towers and the       
portico with its single skinny  ,order  
were exceedingly feeble1 and the        
crowning of the dome by a kind  of      
parody of ,st4 ,bride's steeple is a    
feature that is best passed over  in    
silence4    ,but if it were not simply a
 lark1 it might have been the result of 
a  demand for a spire that should remind
 ,london of the glory of ,st4 ,paul's   
old spire1 which had been the highest in
 ,europe4    ,illustration3 ,,west      
,,elevation ,,of ,,the 8,,warrant       
,,design40    ,happily ,wren interpreted
 his permission for ornamental          
variations  by drastic changes in       

essentials in the elevations1 but he did
 not  greatly change the 8warrant0 plan4
 ,his frame of mind may well be  judged 
by the note1 which follows the recital  
of the #afge ,warrant1  in ,parentalia3 
8,from that time1 the ,surveyor resolved
 to make no  more ,models1 or publickly 
expose his ,drawings1 which 7as he had  
found  by ,experience7 did but lose     
,time1 and subjected his ,business1 many
  ,times1 to incompetent ,judges40      
,therefore1 just as the present ,houses 
of ,parliament grew out of the castle   
design1 done by ,barry in #ahcf1 by  his
 twenty years of thought and work1 so   
the grandeur of ,st4 ,paul's  developed 
with the mind of ,wren incessantly      
occupied in its creation  for nearly    
double that time4 ,no one could help him
 in this gradual  evolution of his      
thought1 but many could1 and did1       
obstruct its  execution4    ,the taking 
down of the vast ruins of the old       
,cathedral made a heavy  task1 and ,wren
 took to gunpowder for demolishing the  

piers of the old  central tower4 ,this  
worked well1 but on its second          
employment by a  subordinate1 when ,wren
 was out of town1 too much gunpowder was
 used  and a stone was blown into a     
neighbouring house4 ,no bones were      
broken1  but ,wren was told to find less
 desperate methods and achieved his end 
with 8that ancient ,engine in ,war1 the 
,battering-ram40 ,wren's troubles  with 
the foundations made a long and too     
technical story for so slight  a sketch 
as this1 but it is fair to his memory to
 set down that though  some early       
trouble was experienced from settlements
 which young ,edward  ,strong1 the son  
of ,wren's master-mason1 was called in  
to repair1 the  present troubles are due
 more to the draining of the subsoil by 
recent  engineering works1 such as great
 sewers1 and to the use of rubble       
inside a casing of ashlar1 than to any  
defect in the foundation design4  ,one  
notable change in the design of the     
,west ,front must be emphasised  because

 it marks the influence1 in this case   
the overmastering  influence1 of        
material over design4 ,wren devised the 
front with a  single great ,order 7as   
,inigo ,jones had done in the portico he
 added71  therein following the scheme  
of ,st4 ,peter's at ,rome4 ,bramante had
  quarried at ,tivoli pieces big enough 
for the drums of his columns1 but  had  
to spoil his cornices for lack of stones
 of adequate size4 ,wren was  defeated  
in his hope of securing drums big enough
 from the ,portland1  ,rock ,abbey1 and 
other quarries1 and 8for these ,reasons 
the ,surveyor  concluded upon           
,portland-stone1 and was able to use two
 ,orders and by  that ,means to keep the
 just ,proportions of his ,cornices2    
otherwise he  must have fallen short of 
the ,heighth of the ,fabrick1 which now 
exerts  itself over all the ,country1 as
 well as ,city1 as it did of old1 when  
that ,structure1 tho' rude1 was lofty   
and majestick40    ,illustration3       
,,plate ,v    ,,bust ,,by ,,edward      

,,pearce ,,at ,,the ,,ashmolean1 ,,done 
,,about #afgc1 ,,and ,,showing  ,,wren  
,,as ,a ,,man ,,of ,,forty-,,one4       
,the first stone of the new church was  
laid in #afge1 and during  thirty-five  
years1 from the forty-third to the      
seventy-eighth of the  architect's life1
 ,st4 ,paul's was his constant          
preoccupation4 ,troubles  were many4    
,the #afge plan was without the two     
western chapels 7that now  used by the  
,order of ,st4 ,michael and ,st4 ,george
 and its fellow on the  north side74    
,they were introduced into the scheme by
 the insistence  of the ,duke of ,york4 
,but the fundamental novelty of ,st4    
,paul's1 the  double dome1 was present  
in his pre-,fire design1 and whatever   
else was  changed1 that remained4       
,persons of ,revival ,gothic mind have  
been much troubled in conscience by  the
 8falsity0 of this treatment1 though it 
has the admitted result of  giving an   
absolutely right effect inside and out1 
and has been followed  in nearly all the

 subsequent domes of this scale4 ,the   
provision of an  inner and an outer dome
 is held nowadays to be justified       
abundantly  by the result4 ,the brick   
cone that triumphantly carries the      
lantern1  which is as high and large as 
many a church tower1 is one of the many 
evidences of ,wren's engineering skill4 
,the architect was fortunate in the men 
who carried out his work4 ,edward       
,strong1 the master-mason1 and ,richard 
,jennings1 the master-carpenter1  were  
faithful servants in carrying out the   
bones of the great  structure2 and such 
artists as ,grinling ,gibbons in the    
choir stalls1  and ,tijou in the        
wonderful iron screens served ,wren's   
turn to  perfection4 ,at ,st4 ,paul's   
there is none of that carelessness of   
detail  which defaces many of the ,city 
churches4 ,there is little doubt that   
,wren was constantly on the works1      
watching everything in detail1  revising
 and directing on the spot the great    
fabric as it grew under  his hand4      

,illustration3 ,,plan ,,of ,,st4        
,,paul',s ,,as ,,built4    ,the dotted  
lines show the alinement of railings as 
intended by ,wren4    ,the cost of      
rebuilding was borne by the             
8coal-money10 a duty of #as4  #f;d4 a   
chaldron on all coal imported into      
,london1 of which four-fifths  were     
allocated to ,st4 ,paul's4 ,even so the 
works were often in danger  for lack of 
funds1 and money had to be borrowed in  
advance of the  coal-money receipts4    
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi    ,,the    
,,west ,,front ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul',s4    
,the funds received from all sources1   
including borrowings1 amounted in  #agjj
 to #a1afg1dgd1 but part of this went in
 interest paid out and in  repaying     
loans and part in acquiring neighbouring
 property4 ,the net  cost is given by   
,longman as #gdf1ffa4    ,the choir was 
opened for ,divine ,service on ,december
 #b1 #afig1 on the  ,thanksgiving ,day  
for the ,peace on the ,treaty of        
,ryswick4 ,by #agjh  the dome was ready 

to be covered4 ,the ,committee wanted   
copper to be  used4 ,wren held out for  
lead1 and lead it was and is4 ,in #agaj 
young  ,christopher ,wren was deputed by
 his father to lay the top-stone of the 
lantern which surmounts the dome1 and   
did it in the presence of ,sir          
,christopher and ,edward ,strong and    
other workmen who had been engaged on   
the building4 ,it was a proud day for   
the old man of seventy-eight who  had   
carried through a unique task despite   
every difficulty4    ,he was treated    
with incredible meanness4 ,from the     
start of the work he  had received the  
meagre salary of #bjj a year1 and in    
#afif-g an ,act  8for the completing and
 adorning the ,cathedral ,church0 was   
passed which  included the miserable    
provision 8to suspend a moiety of the   
,surveyor's  salary until the said      
,church should be finished1 thereby the 
better  to encourage him to finish the  
same with the utmost diligence and      
expedition40    ,it was a spiteful      

business1 which ,wren bitterly resented1
 and not  until ,christmas1 #agaa1 did  
he secure the payment of the arrears of 
half-pay on the passing of an ,act which
 certified the ,cathedral was  finished4
 ,but even then much remained to be     
done1 and in the doing of  it ,wren was 
hampered and thwarted at every turn by  
the narrow-minded  ,commissioners4 ,it  
is a miserable story and hardly worth   
telling but  that ,wren's reputation    
needs to be defended as to some features
  of ,st4 ,paul's which he resisted     
ineffectually4 ,the squabble about  the 
enclosing railings is no longer         
interesting because they have           
disappeared1 but the painting of the    
inner dome by ,thornhill with  opaque   
masses of figures instead of the mosaic 
,wren had intended  was a severe trouble
 to him4 ,still worse was the insistence
 of the  ,commissioners on the          
balustrade which crowns the upper       
cornice4 ,wren's  letter to them in     
,october1 #agag1 was a vigorous protest 

for a man of  eighty-five4 8,i take     
leave1 first1 to declare that ,i never  
designed  a balustrade4 ,persons of     
little skill in architecture did expect1
 ,i  believe1 to see something they had 
been used to in ,gothic structures1  and
 ladies think nothing well without an   
edging4 ,i should gladly  have complied 
with the vulgar taste1 but ,i suspended 
for the reasons  following40 ,the       
reasons were good and many1 but the     
,commissioners  preferred to be         
lady-like1 and the balustrade was put   
up4 ,this was in  #agag4 ,in #agah ,king
 ,george the ,first superseded ,wren as 
,surveyor-,general  in favour of a      
rascal called ,william ,benson1 so      
incompetent that he was  dismissed      
ignominiously a year later4             
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vii    ,,st4   
,,paul',s ,,under ,,the ,,dome4    ,from
 an old engraving dedicated to ,bishop  
,van ,mildert by ,josiah  ,taylor4      
,in ,wren's own writing there appears in
 the ,,ms4 chronology of his life  and  

works an entry in ,greek which runs1    
translated3      ,april #bf1 #agah4     
,and there arose a king that knew not   
,joseph4      ,and ,gallio cared for    
none of these things4    ,he retired to 
his house at ,hampton ,court observing  
8,nunc me jubet  ,fortuna expeditius    
philosophari0 and1 in a strain of piety1
 which was  as truly characteristic as  
the ,stoic note1 8,if ,i glory1 it is in
 the  singular mercy of ,god1 who has   
enabled me to begin and finish my great 
work1 so conformable to the ancient     
model40 ,after more than two hundred    
years we rejoice to add1 in the words of
 the ,bicentenary ,service1 8,we  render
 ,thee thanks1 ,o ,lord1 for the        
singular gifts which ,thou didst  bestow
 upon ,thy servant1 ,christopher ,wren40
    ,the malevolence of his masters at  
the ,cathedral pursued him to the       
grave1 but it gave his son the          
opportunity of inventing an immortal    
epitaph4 ,sir ,christopher was buried in
 the crypt1 but the suggestion of  a    

monument was rejected by the            
authorities4    ,so the younger         
,christopher1 seeking to explain the    
absence of a fitting  memorial in the   
place of his father's greatest triumph1 
wrote on the  plain tablet which marks  
his resting-place1 as the closing words 
of his  epitaph1      8,,si ,,monumentum
 ,,requiris3 ,,circumspice40    ,but the
 fatuous proceedings of ,commissioners  
and ,king alike have faded  into their  
proper perspective1 and ,st4 ,paul's    
remains the supreme  monument of the    
genius of a single architect4    ,what1 
in fact1 did ,wren achieve in the       
building of ,st4 ,paul's8 ,much  can be 
written of his handling of the ,orders1 
of his structure of the  dome1 of the   
details of the plan1 and so forth2 but  
there are broader  issues involved4 ,st4
 ,paul's gave the first opportunity     
since the  ,middle ,ages for the        
creation of a ,cathedral in ,england1   
and ,wren's  task was a ,protestant     
,cathedral4 ,hitherto the ,cathedral    

builder had  made two churches under one
 roof1 a choir for ,canons1 whether     
secular  or regular1 or for monks1 and a
 nave for the laity1 the two divided by 
a solid screen which prevented nave     
worshippers from seeing the high  altar4
 ,wren's plan was a half-way house      
between the medival type and  the idea  
of ,st4 ,peter's with the high altar as 
the central feature  under the dome4 ,it
 was a classical translation of the plan
 of his  uncle's ,cathedral of ,ely1 in 
so far as it retained the aisle vistas  
by supporting the dome on eight piers   
instead of four4 ,it was ,english  in   
that it set the altar in a ritual choir 
well to the east of the  crossing4 ,it  
was ,protestant and characteristic of   
,wren's views in its  provision of an   
admirable 8auditory40    ,st4 ,paul's   
,cathedral may fairly be called the     
apogee of ,english  ,baroque1 because it
 is the finest ,english expression of   
what ,mr4  ,geoffrey ,scott calls the   
,architecture of ,humanism4 ,it         

represents  with peculiar faithfulness  
the outlook of the best minds of the    
last  half of the seventeenth century1  
for ,wren was one of them1 and had  the 
power to give it expression4 ,st4       
,peter's1 the only church with  which it
 is not unnaturally compared1 was a     
pasticcio of many minds  brought to bear
 in succession on a far larger but not  
sthetically  more difficult problem1 and
 it suffers from a consequent confusion1
  as well as from its abnormal scale4   
,st4 ,paul's was the work of one        
commanding personality1 who developed   
indeed in the course of its             
building--the difference between the    
warrant plan and the church itself  is  
proof enough of that--but he did so     
consistently and with a single  aim4    
,westminster ,abbey is the supreme      
flower of ,gothic art in ,england1  if  
not in the world1 and the perfect       
expression of the ,age of ,faith4  ,st4 
,paul's is a no less perfect emblem of  
what ,england could make of  humanistic 

ideals in art joined with robust        
,english ,churchmanship  expressed      
through so sincere an ,anglican as was  
,sir ,christopher ,wren4    ,st4 ,paul's
 is incomparable--the word is used      
advisedly--as a piece of  architecture1 
and it is prodigiously ,english4        
,,chapter ,,viii    ,,the ,,city        
,,churches      ,the parish churches of 
,sir ,christopher ,wren once numbered   
fifty-three4  ,of these1 ,st4 ,andrew   
,holborn1 ,st4 ,clement ,danes1 and ,st4
 ,james  ,piccadilly1 cannot rightly be 
included amongst the ,city churches1  as
 they are outside 8the square mile40 ,of
 the remaining fifty1 ,st4              
,dunstan-in-the-,east1 ,st4 ,mary       
,aldermary1 ,st4 ,sepulchre1 and the    
destroyed ,st4 ,christopher1 were only  
repaired by ,wren4 ,fifteen have  been  
wholly destroyed1 and of ,st4 ,mary     
,somerset only the tower remains4  ,only
 thirty therefore remain in the ,city1  
and of these many have been  so         
modernised that their value has in part 

disappeared4    ,illustration3 ,s,t     
,,vedast    ,many devout admirers of    
,wren have done his memory a serious    
disservice  by indiscriminate praise4   
,it is no doubt an amiable fault1 but it
  does much to confuse serious public   
issues1 such as the question of  8the   
nineteen doomed churches0 which has     
lately agitated the public  mind and    
will do so again4 ,i will not discuss   
here whether it is  ever permissible to 
remove any church1 but if destruction   
can in any  circumstances be allowed1   
discussion must revolve round the       
quality of  what is doomed4 ,it is      
common form for disputants to talk as   
though  all city churches were ,wren    
churches1 and all ,wren churches perfect
  churches4 ,in point of fact thirteen  
of the nineteen were by ,wren4 ,of  the 
six that were not1 ,st4 ,mary ,woolnoth1
 by ,hawksmoor1 is of as great          
importance as a ,wren church1 and much  
more interesting than many4 ,of  the    
8doomed0 thirteen by ,wren1 ,st4 ,vedast

 ,foster ,lane1 is said now to  be out  
of danger3 the steeple is superb1 the   
nave merely a restoration  with some    
good fittings left4 ,the leaded lantern 
on the tower of ,st4  ,nicholas ,cole   
,abbey1 is exceedingly valuable1 and its
 removal would  be a crime1 but it would
 be a waste of tears to shed them on the
  modernized nave4 ,st4 ,stephen's1     
,coleman ,street1 also has a pleasant   
little lantern1 but if anyone supposes  
the interior is typical ,wren he  cannot
 detect the more glaring feats of the   
restorer4    ,illustration3 ,s,t ,,alban
    ,in the case of ,st4 ,michael       
,paternoster ,royal1 ,st4 ,michael      
,cornhill1 ,st4  ,mary ,aldermanbury1   
,st4 ,anne and ,st4 ,agnes1 ,st4 ,alban 
,wood ,street1 and  ,all ,hallows       
,lombard ,street1 there is enough of    
characteristic ,wren in  tower or       
church1 or both1 to justify retention2  
but it is difficult to  be enthusiastic 
about ,st4 ,clement ,eastcheap1 now1 and
 it cannot have  been easy before the   

church was modernized4 ,if a hand were  
laid on a  stone of ,st4 ,magnus ,london
 ,bridge1 it would be an abomination4   
,the tower of ,st4 ,dunstan-in-the-,east
 is unique for its date1 and  of quite  
extraordinary interest3 any idea of     
removing it should be  resisted with    
vehemence4 ,but why anyone should be the
 least concerned  at the disappearance  
of the body of the church is known only 
to those  who detect beauty in the      
,gothic adventures of ,messrs4 ,laing   
and ,tite  in the year #ahaj4 ,of ,st4  
,mary-at-,hill the ugly #aghj tower     
replaced  a medival tower which escaped 
the fire1 and the interior has been     
somewhat havocked in latter days4       
,st4 ,clement ,eastcheap has some good  
fittings1 but1 always small and         
unimportant1 its quality has been       
greatly modified by the restorer4       
,these notes are set down in the hope   
that the case for the maintenance       
forever of the nobler works of ,wren    
will not be vitiated1 confused1  and1 in

 the minds of plain men1 made ridiculous
 by hysterical praise  of his meanest   
buildings from which such small quality 
as they once  possessed has been removed
 by modern vandalisms4    ,illustration3
 ,s,t ,,dunstan',s    ,the achievement  
of ,sir ,christopher ,wren was vast1 and
 for that very  reason there must be    
discrimination between those buildings  
on which  he lavished his utmost        
personal care and those which1 in the   
press of  a huge practice1 were designed
 mainly by assistants and carried out   
probably with the slenderest supervision
 by the master4    ,a glance at the     
,chronology ,i print in an appendix will
 show the sort of  pressure at which    
,wren worked during the ten years       
following the ,fire4  ,examination of   
the ,accounts of the ,city ,churches    
reveals that payments  began to be made 
in #afgj to the builders of seventeen   
churches1 and  six years later the      
number had grown to twenty-eight4       
,actual work on practically the whole of

 the fifty-three had been  completed by 
#afij4 ,none was begun after #afhf and  
payments were made on  eight only       
between #afij and #afie4    ,wren did   
comparatively little after #agjj except 
the completion of ,st4  ,paul's and     
,greenwich4 ,this means that the great  
majority of his vast  bulk of           
achievement was done within about thirty
 years4    ,is it any wonder that some  
of his churches show signs of haste and 
want  of thought8 ,can we suppose       
anything but that some of them were left
  largely to assistants8    ,the year of
 his first marriage was his annus       
mirabilis1 for during  #affi he must    
have been working on the plans for the  
seventeen churches  which began to be   
built in #afgj1 and he was developing   
the design of  ,st4 ,paul's at the same 
time4    ,evelyn's word prodigious seems
 to meet the case4    ,i have already   
referred to the towers and spires as    
showing ,wren's  sure touch as a        
tower-planner1 but the amazing variety  

of their  treatment is notable evidence 
of ,wren being1 par excellence1 the     
architect of adventure4 ,as ,i wrote    
many years ago in a detailed            
examination,a of the leaded spires1 8he 
created within the square  mile of the  
city more forms of steeples than all the
 architects of the  ,middle ,ages1 and  
if1 as was inevitable1 some pay the     
penalty of rash  experiment1 others made
 an assured success40 ,twenty-eight of  
the towers  are crowned with either     
spire or lantern1 nine of stone1 and    
nineteen  of leaded timber4 ,some are   
true spires1 others spire-form steeples1
  and the rest lanterns3 this           
classification is loose and arbitrary1  
but 8,wren's masterful way of playing   
with architectural elements  and        
combining them in astonishing ways makes
 havoc of any orderly  description40    
,the preponderance of leaded spires may 
be attributed partly to his  affection  
for the most characteristic ,english    
metal--he chose it for  ,st4 ,paul's    

dome after considering copper--and      
partly to their cheapness  as compared  
with stone4    ,illustration3 ,s,t      
,,magnus    ,st4 ,swithin's ,cannon     
,street has a spire of ,gothic type1 and
 ,wren  stepped from the square of the  
tower to the octagon of the spire by    
trimming the tower angles to a splay1 a 
short cut no medival builder  would have
 employed4 ,at ,st4 ,margaret's ,pattens
 ,rood ,lane1 the tower  finishes       
normally with pinnacles at the corners1 
and the spire1 instead  of being leaded 
with vertical rolls as at ,st4          
,swithin's1 is treated  with a series of
 sunk panels1 a beautiful and ingenious 
method3 ,st4  ,margaret's spire is      
indeed a faultless work4 ,wren did      
nothing in stone  to match the form of  
these two4 ,exquisite in its delicacy is
 the leaded  needle spire of ,st4       
,martin ,ludgate1 set on an arcaded     
lantern which  grows in turn out of an  
ogee roof1 and the latter break is      
marked by  a railed balcony4 ,obelisks  

take the place of a spire at ,st4       
,margaret  ,lothbury1 a steeple of      
miraculous simplicity1 and at ,st4      
,mildred's  ,bread ,street4 ,the tower  
of ,st4 ,lawrence ,jewry is crowned by a
 more  massive composition1 and the     
outline of ,st4 ,augustine's ,watling   
,street  is a little uncertain4 ,at ,st4
 ,benet ,paul's ,wharf the combination  
of  dome and lantern is perfect in its  
little way4    ,illustration3 ,s,t      
,,margaret',s ,,pattens    ,amongst the 
stone steeples ,st4 ,mary-le-,bow and   
,st4 ,bride's ,fleet ,street  will      
always have champions to argue which is 
the greater4 ,bow ,tower has  a         
romantic1 almost ,jacobean1 quality     
which contrasts strongly with the       
austere outline of ,st4 ,bride's4 ,it   
may be significant of a special         
importance attached to it by ,wren that 
it is the only tower which has a  bill  
of account1 separate from that of the   
church1 in the full priced  accounts    
which ,i have dealt with in detail      

elsewhere4 ,it cost #g1chh  and the     
church #h1jga1 whereas ,st4 ,bride's    
altogether accounted only  for #aa1dcj4 
,illustration3 ,s,t ,,bride',s    ,the  
question of the money spent on the ,city
 churches is of considerable  interest4 
,the total paid out was #bfc1ghf #ajs4  
#d;d41 and the amounts  entered up      
against each church were corrected to   
farthings4 ,these  figures exclude most 
of the internal fittings1 which must    
have been  the gift of pious            
parishioners4 ,the ,,ms4 accounts in the
 ,bodleian are  abstracted in my        
,archologia paper1,b and give the names 
of every  mason1 bricklayer1 plumber1   
painter1 etc41 employed1 with the       
amounts  he 7or sometimes she7 received4
 ,i transcribed the complete bills for  
,st4 ,mary-le-,bow with ,bow ,tower and 
for ,st4 ,stephen's ,walbrook4 ,the     
latter cost #g1feb #acs4 #h;d41 and only
 six churches exceeded that sum4  ,in   
some ways it is the most notable of them
 all1 for ,wren contrived  to give the  

effect of nave1 aisles and crossing to a
 plain room by  his ingenuity in        
carrying a circular dome on eight arches
 which rest  on an entablature supported
 by twelve columns4 ,east of the dome is
  one groined bay1 and west of it two   
groined bays divided by four more       
columns3 the side aisles have flat      
ceilings4 ,the plan is thus an  oblong  
room with sixteen free columns1 but so  
cleverly disposed as to  produce the    
variety of effect described above4 ,sir 
,reginald ,blomfield  justly says of the
 details that they are 8coarse and      
irrelevant10 but  the interior is a     
masterpiece of scenic planning1 and the 
dome a not  unworthy trial piece for    
what followed at ,st4 ,paul's4 ,a       
melancholy  remodelling in #ahdg-h1 the 
plans of which are preserved at the     
,r4,i4,b4,a41 destroyed some of the     
character of the church1 but the        
accompanying illustration shows it in   
the 8unimproved0 state as ,wren  left   
it4    ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,viii    

,,st4 ,,stephen',s1 ,,walbrook4    ,st4 
,lawrence ,jewry is another of the      
churches in which the architect  was not
 pinched for funds4 ,it cost #aa1hgj1   
but is on a somewhat  uninteresting     
plan--oblong1 with an aisle on one side 
only4 ,here1 as in  almost every church 
he built1 ,wren was a determined        
economist of space1  and with good      
reason4 ,about eighty churches had been 
destroyed in the  ,fire1 only fifty were
 rebuilt1 and every sitting was of      
importance4 ,so  he did not square up   
his building if the site was irregular1 
but made  the best1 usually a very      
ingenious best1 of whatever odd shape he
 had  to cover in4 ,and there was       
another consideration4 ,it is obvious   
from  the sums paid for many of the     
churches1 as well as from the evidence  
of the fabrics1 that ,wren did not pull 
down an old wall if he could  mend it   
and save it4 ,there is1 therefore1 all  
the more reason to  respect these ,city 
churches1 which retain so much history  

in their  walls1 going back even to the 
earliest times4 ,always practical and   
always an opportunist of the right sort1
 he made the best job he  could with the
 materials and money he had at disposal4
 ,a more general  realisation of this   
would prevent criticism of details1     
which ought  to be addressed rather to  
parsimonious clients than to the        
architect4  ,sometimes1 however1 he made
 a brilliant excursion to meet the needs
  of an odd-shaped site as at ,st4      
,benet ,fink1 which he planned as a     
decagon4 ,this enchanting church stood  
behind the ,royal ,exchange and  had a  
beautiful little dome and lantern on its
 tower3 the late ,mr4  ,peabody now sits
 in bronze on the site4 ,at ,st4        
,antholin's1 a church in  ,watling      
,street1 with a superb stone tower and  
spire1 all swept away in  circumstances 
of infamy1 he got over a swerve in the  
street alinement  by splaying the plan  
at the west end4 ,at ,st4 ,mary         
,abchurch and ,st4  ,swithin's1 he had  

short1 broad1 and slightly irregular    
sites to deal  with1 and covered in a   
square with a dome and let the rest work
 out  as it would4 ,st4 ,mildred ,bread 
,street is a longer oblong which ,wren  
treated very delightfully by covering   
the middle with a dome and the  ends    
with round arches4 ,the need to house   
large congregations led  him to provide 
galleries at ,christ ,church ,newgate   
,street1 ,st4 ,james  ,piccadilly1 ,st4 
,bride's1 ,st4 ,andrew-in-the-,wardrobe1
 and elsewhere4    ,wren's outlook on   
the whole problem of parish-church      
design was  indicated with his usual    
clarity in a letter which he wrote to   
guide  his fellow ,commissioners in the 
task of building fifty new churches in  
,queen ,anne's reign4 ,written when he  
was nearing eighty1 the letter sums  up 
the experience of an amazing lifetime of
 church building4    ,illustration3 ,s,t
 ,,mildred,,bread ,s,t    ,he is        
strongly against burials in churches and
 commends the idea  of cemeteries on the

 outskirts of the towns which will      
8bound the  excessive growth of the     
,city with a graceful border1 which is  
now  encircled with scavengers' dung    
stalls40    ,illustration3 ,s,t         
,,bride',s    ,in the siting of         
churches1 ,wren is against too nice an  
observation of  8east and west in the   
position1 unless it falls out properly10
 and  wants to see them brought as      
forward as possible into the larger and 
more open streets4 8,such fronts as     
shall happen to lie most open to  view  
should be adorned with porticoes1 both  
for beauty and convenience2  which      
together with handsome spires or        
lanterns rising in good  proportion     
above the neighbouring houses 7of which 
,i have given several  examples in the  
,city of different forms7 may be of     
sufficient ornament  to the town1       
without a great expense for enriching   
the outward walls of  the churches1 in  
which plainness and duration ought      
principally1 if not  wholly1 to be      

studied44440    ,a long paragraph is    
devoted to the question of materials4   
,he complains  bitterly of the badness  
of the available bricks1 despite the    
fact that  ,london earth will yield a   
brick more durable than 8any stone our  
island  affords40    ,wren is all for   
,portland-stone for windows and doors1  
and likes oak for  roofs 8because it    
will bear some negligence4 ,the         
churchwardens' care  may be defective in
 speedy mending drips3 they usually     
whitewash the  church1 and set up their 
names1 but neglect to preserve the roof 
over  their heads40    ,there is an     
oddly topical flavour in the note that  
8the wars in the  ,north ,sea make      
timber at present of excessive price10  
and a prophecy  of ,imperial trading in3
 8,i suppose1 ere long1 we must have    
recourse to  the ,west ,indies1 where   
most excellent timber may be had for    
cutting and  fetching40    ,as to roof  
coverings1 8our tiles are ill-made and  
our slates not good3  lead is certainly 

the best and lightest covering1 and     
being of our  own growth and            
manufacture1 and lasting1 if properly   
made1 for many  hundred years1 is1      
without question1 the most preferable2  
though ,i  will not deny but an         
excellent tile may be made to be very   
durable3  our artisans are not yet      
instructed in it1 and it is not soon    
done  to inform them44440 ,if the       
,gothic ,revivalists had worked on      
,wren's  lines1 the ,church would not   
now be saddled with a legacy of badly   
built  ,kentish rag and rubble churches 
and spires1 thinly roofed with ,welsh   
slates1 an endless anxiety to parishes  
unable to find money to remedy  original
 defects of construction4    ,wren's    
next point is of the essence of the     
problem which he was facing1  how to    
provide the accommodation required for  
the people4    ,even if the new fifty   
churches were to hold #b1jjj apiece1    
there would  not be room enough4 8,the  
churches1 therefore1 must be large1 but 

still1 in our reformed religion1 it     
should seem vain to make a parish       
church larger than that all who are     
present can both hear and see4  ,the    
,romanists1 indeed1 may build larger    
churches2 it is enough if  they hear the
 murmur of the ,mass1 and see the       
elevation of the ,host2  but ours are to
 be fitted for auditories40 ,wren then  
quotes his ,st4  ,james's ,piccadilly as
 the most practicable model of 8a single
 room so  capacious1 with pews and      
galleries1 as to hold above #b1jjj      
persons1  and all to hear the service   
and both to hear distinctly and see the 
preacher40 ,he claims for ,st4 ,james's 
that it is a beautiful and  convenient  
form1 with 8no walls of a second order1 
nor lanterns nor  buttresses1 but the   
whole roof rests upon the pillars1 as do
 also the  galleries 444 the cheapest of
 any form ,i could invent40 ,st4        
,james's  ,piccadilly cost #h1ejj1 so   
its accommodation for #b1jjj persons    
worked  out at #d #es4 a seat4 ,this    

church is really in the line of         
development  of the old ,english timber 
,hall so far as its constructive idea is
  concerned4 ,it lent itself to the     
passing need of galleries1 but they  are
 not essential to the idea1 as is       
sometimes supposed4    ,in discussing   
the place for the pulpit ,wren has some 
shrewd things to  say about the         
enunciation of ,english parsons1 which  
hold good to-day3  8,a ,frenchman is    
heard further than an ,english preacher 
because he  raises his voice and sinks  
not his last words 444 an insufferable  
fault  in the pronunciation of some of  
our otherwise excellent preachers40     
,wren would have appreciated the similar
 advice of a modern bishop to  a class  
of candidates for ordination1 that they 
should not drop their  voices at the end
 of a sentence 8lest the congregation   
might suppose1  however erroneously1    
that they had lost something40 ,on the  
vexed  question of seating the people1  
our architect has some shrewd words3 8,a

  church should not be so filled with   
pews1 but that the poor may have  room  
enough to stand and sit in the alleys3  
for to them equally is the  ,gospel     
preached40    ,we may guess that ,wren  
would have been all for the             
rush-bottomed chair  if it had been     
invented in his day3 8,it were to be    
wished there were to  be no pews1 but   
benches3 but there is no stemming the   
tide of profit1  and the advantage of   
pew-keepers40    ,i have quoted at      
length from this letter in order to mark
 the massive  common sense which ,wren  
brought to the solution of his problems4
  ,mr4 ,arthur ,bolton gives me the     
interesting parallel of #ahah1 when     
,sir ,john ,soane reported to the       
,government on the national church      
building scheme4 ,his recommendations   
show that he worked on his great        
predecessor's report and he even sent to
 ,st4 ,james's and measured it  as a    
typical instance4 ,as1 however1 the year
 #ahah preferred numbers to  quality1   

the results fell far below those of the 
earlier century4    ,it was ,wren's     
quality of common sense as much as the  
genius of the  artist that made his     
,city churches what they are1 practical 
solutions  of practical difficulties and
 instinct with the ,english spirit of   
compromise1 but none the less the       
greatest group of churches created in   
any country by the genius and practical 
wisdom of one man4          ,,chapter   
,,ix    ,,chelsea1 ,,hampton ,,court1   
,,and ,,greenwich      ,mr4 ,basil      
,champneys has recorded a notable       
observation by ,thomas  ,carlyle on     
,chelsea ,hospital3 8,i had passed it1  
almost daily1 for many  years without   
thinking much about it1 and one day ,i  
began to reflect  that it had always    
been a pleasure to me to see it1 and ,i 
looked at  it more attentively1 and saw 
that it was quiet and dignified and the 
work of a gentleman40 ,this was         
evidently a favourite theme with        
,carlyle1 for ,william ,allingham's     

,diary for ,june #be1 #ahgd1 records a  
similar phrase with the addition that   
the ,hospital was 8admirably  adapted   
for its uses40 ,carlyle's devotion to   
,wren's memory had an odd  repercussion4
 ,when ,william ,de ,morgan called on   
the ,sage to beg him on  behalf of      
,william ,morris to join the            
,anti-,scrape ,society1 ,carlyle was    
cold at first1 but a reference to the   
dealings of the ,ecclesiastical         
,commissioners with ,wren's churches set
 him alight4 ,he ended a panegyric  on  
,wren with 8he was a very great man1 of 
extraordinary patience  with fools10 and
 glared round at the company            
reproachfully4 ,morris  rather winced   
when ,carlyle1 in a letter accepting    
membership of the  ,anti-,scrape1       
referred to the ,city churches as       
8marvellous works1  the like of which we
 shall never see again10 and his hatred 
of the  ,renaissance never ceased to    
blind him to ,wren's genius4    ,it     
would have been well if the ,society had

 been more active1 in  the past1 in     
defence of ,wren's churches4 ,the narrow
 medivalism of  the latter half of the  
nineteenth century wrought havoc even   
where  it failed to destroy4 ,stained   
glass and other alien trappings have    
prejudiced far too many of his fine     
interiors4 ,one church architect  of the
 type responsible for these things was  
finely reproved with the  reminder that 
,wren was just as good a ,high          
,churchman as he was4    ,illustration3 
,,plate ,,ix    ,,chelsea ,,hospital3   
,,the ,,main ,,portico4    ,the site of 
,chelsea ,hospital had been given by the
 ,king to the  ,royal ,society soon     
after its foundation1 but it was an     
inconvenient  possession1 and the       
,society sold it back to the ,king for  
the foundation  of a ,royal ,hospital   
for disabled soldiers4 ,sir ,stephen    
,fox1 a retired  army contractor1       
supplemented the ,king's benefactions1  
and on ,may  #be1 #afhb1 the inevitable 
,evelyn went with ,fox and ,wren to     

,lambeth to  secure the ,archbishop of  
,canterbury's approval to the plot and  
design  or1 as we should say1 plan and  
elevations4 ,ten weeks later ,evelyn was
  at ,chelsea with ,fox to see the      
foundations started4 ,wren was a good   
deal more than architect to the         
,hospital4 ,it was during his           
,presidency  of the ,royal ,society that
 the land was re-conveyed to the ,king3 
he  carried the business through with   
characteristic despatch1 and the        
statutes governing the charity were of  
his drafting4 ,the buildings  were      
completed in #afib1 and no better praise
 of them than ,carlyle's  can be        
invented4 ,wren shows himself in one of 
his characteristic moods  as a sane     
economist where the purpose of the      
building makes economy  an sthetic as   
well as a practical virtue4 ,the        
,hospital is a liberal  education in the
 handling of ,london brickwork4 ,when   
,sir ,john ,soane1  in the days of ,nash
 stucco1 had to add an ,infirmary       

building1 he was  careful to design in  
brick and content to despise the abuse  
it evoked  at that time4 ,at ,hampton   
,court ,wren had a very different       
problem3 he  was housing not pensioners 
but a ,king and ,queen4 ,his original   
scheme  had a quality of immensity4 ,our
 ,dutch monarch who had so successfully 
countered the statesmanship of ,louis   
,,xiv4 doubtless wanted to follow1  at  
some distance1 his building exploits at 
,versailles and elsewhere4  ,queen ,mary
 had a great liking for the situation of
 ,hampton ,court4 ,wren  was bidden to  
prepare a scheme for a complete         
rebuilding and did so4  ,part of the old
 fabric was taken down and ,wren's two  
great suites of  apartments for ,king   
and ,queen rose in its place4 ,the work 
went forward  vigorously from #afhi to  
#afid1 and then the ,queen's death      
caused the  completion of the plan to be
 abandoned4 ,the execution of the       
partial  scheme drifted on until #agjj4 
,there was a chance then of the ,king   

proceeding to the finishing of the      
complete plan1 but ,william's death     
finally killed it4 ,to these accidents  
of mortality we owe it that part  of    
,wolsey's palace has remained4 ,if ,wren
 had had his way1 not a brick  of the   
,tudors would have survived4 ,the       
architect was happy in only one  of his 
royal clients4 ,mary was amiable and    
reasonable1 but ,william's  temper and  
his habit of interference tried ,wren   
very high4 ,the ,king1  however1 was    
fair enough to say that the insufficient
 headroom of the  cloisters must be     
ascribed to his express orders which    
overbore ,wren's  wishes4    ,despite   
this1 the ,fountain ,court is one of the
 successful features of  the ,palace1   
which reveals ,wren's sanity and dignity
 and ,englishness  in a most convincing 
way4 ,it is enough to look at           
,chatsworth1 in the  light of ,hampton  
,court1 to realize the difference       
between pedantry  and genius4 ,norman   
,shaw so greatly admired ,hampton       

,court1 that he  would have followed it 
in ,whitehall1 if he had been entrusted 
with the  ,government offices4 ,the     
weakest part of the ,palace is the      
pedimented  garden front1 where a sense 
of display1 due perhaps to ,royal       
,command1  contrasts with the greater   
simplicity of the return faade towards  
the  ,tudor garden4    ,illustration3   
,,plate ,x    ,,hampton ,,court3        
,,wren',s ,,two ,,fronts4    ,hampton   
,court1 for all its size1 is a          
gentleman's house rather than a  palace1
 and ,wren's treatment of the smaller   
rooms fills a marked place  in the      
development of the ,english interior4   
,left more to himself1  ,wren would have
 been more ,english in the height of his
 rooms4 ,he had  a sense of fitness     
which is of the essence of good         
architecture4 ,wren  was unlucky at     
,hampton ,court in more than in one of  
his clients4 ,his  ,comptroller 7or1 as 
we should say1 ,clerk7 of the ,works was
 ,william  ,talman1 who accused him of  

having passed bad work4 ,some masonry   
showed  cracks1 and enough stir was     
created to lead the ,house of ,lords to 
order  an enquiry4 ,wren was exonerated1
 and with characteristic generosity  he 
did not call1 as he might well have     
done1 for the dismissal of a  disloyal  
assistant4 ,time has revenged him4      
,chatsworth shows ,talman  to have been 
a heavy-handed fellow1 but he is also   
remembered as a  bad colleague in other 
things than the ,hampton ,court         
accusation4  ,if visitors to the ,palace
 should feel that ,wren failed in giving
 a  suitable approach to the ,state     
apartments1 they should remember that   
they are in the presence of an          
incomplete scheme1 and that he left a   
design of notable splendour for wings   
with colonnades at the north  side4 ,the
 incidental furnishings of avenues took 
shape in the chestnuts  of ,bushey      
,park1 but the rest remained on paper4  
,in one detail of the  gardens ,wren    
must have taken special pleasure4 ,the  

marvellous iron  screens by ,tijou have 
been moved from their original position1
 but they  remain to show ,wren's skill 
in the choice of his craftsmen4    ,the 
third of his great secular buildings1   
,greenwich ,hospital1 had  the same     
charitable purpose as ,chelsea1 but     
exceeded ,hampton ,court  in            
magnificence4 ,charles ,i4 had employed 
,inigo ,jones to build1 at  some        
distance from the ,thames1 a house for  
his ,queen1 ,henrietta  ,maria4 ,soon   
after the accession of ,charles ,,ii41  
,john ,webb1 as ghost  for ,sir ,john   
,denham1 had begun the great building by
 the shore for  which ,inigo ,jones may 
have left designs2 but money ran short  
and  work was suspended after only a    
small part had been done4 ,this wing  is
 on well-known ,palladian lines1 but is 
hampered by a heavy attic1  so          
ill-adjusted as to discredit whoever was
 responsible for it4 ,when  ,william and
 ,mary succeeded ,james ,,ii41 the      
,queen wished to emulate  her uncle     

,charles in making provision for        
disabled seamen as he had  done for     
soldiers4 ,once more ,wren and ,evelyn  
were to be colleagues4  ,on ,may #e1    
#afie1 the ,royal ,commission1          
consisting of these two1 the            
,archbishop of ,canterbury1 and other   
bigwigs1 had its first meeting  at the  
,london ,guildhall1 and sixteen days    
later the two friends and  three others 
went1 as a ,committee1 to survey the    
site4 ,evelyn's task  was to raise      
subscriptions1 and he made an           
interesting choice of a  secretary in   
,mr4 ,vanbrugh1 afterwards ,sir ,john4  
,about a year was spent  in preparing   
plans1 and on ,june #d1 #afif1 the      
,committee met at ,wren's  house in     
,whitehall to make agreements for       
materials and workmen and to  give      
orders for the foundations to be begun4 
,on the last day of ,june a  select     
committee of thirteen dined together at 
,greenwich1 and precisely  at five      
o'clock 7,mr4 ,flamsteed1 the ,king's   

,astronomer1 8observing  the punctual   
time by instruments07 ,wren and ,evelyn 
jointly laid the  foundation stone4     
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xi             
,,greenwich ,,hospital ,,and ,,its ,,two
 ,,domes4    ,queen ,mary wanted the old
 ,queen's ,house and the ,charles ,,ii4 
wing to  be integral parts of the new   
scheme--a rather hampering condition4   
,wren took the former as the closing    
feature of a vista from the river1      
between his two new blocks named after  
,william and ,mary and his  ,queen ,anne
 block1 which balances and exactly      
follows the ,jones-,webb  block of      
,charles ,,ii4    ,wren's contribution  
to ,greenwich was1 therefore1 the two   
superb  quadrangular blocks with open   
sides adorned with colonnades and the   
big  idea of planning which pulled      
together the work of four reigns into a 
coherent and superb whole4 ,the duality 
of the domes is a most notable  feature1
 and their individual design is         
beautifully differentiated  from the    

grander scale of ,st4 ,paul's4 ,they are
 domestic1 rather  than church-like1 in 
conception4 ,that ,hawksmoor in his     
capacity as  ,deputy-,surveyor had a    
somewhat free hand in designing part of 
the  work after #agje1 that ,vanbrugh   
succeeded ,wren as ,surveyor in #agaf1  
that ,colin ,campbell took up the task  
ten years later1 and that ,ripley       
superseded him in #agbi1 does not       
deprive ,wren of the title of architect 
of the ,hospital4 ,in so far as they    
departed from his original designs  the 
buildings suffered1 especially from the 
baldness of the ,campbell  elements and 
the heavy-handedness of the ex-carpenter
 ,ripley4 ,wren's  planning1 his domes  
and his colonnades1 make ,greenwich the 
noblest of  ,english public buildings in
 the ,grand ,manner4    ,the view of the
 ,palace from the ,thames is magnificent
 and has been an  inspiration to artists
 ever since4 ,abroad1 it would be an    
objective to  all travellers4           
,,chapter ,x    ,,other ,,buildings3    

,,public ,,and ,,domestic      ,this    
volume has no claim to be a biography of
 ,wren3 still less is it a  catalogue   
raisonn of his buildings4 ,familiar     
students of his work  will be merciful  
if they find a bare reference1 or none1 
to something  they may regard as        
peculiarly satisfying and notably       
,wrennish4 ,i can  but plead the        
limitations of a little book4 ,but some 
of his buildings  not included in       
earlier chapters must be at least       
mentioned1 if shortly  and in a         
disjointed list4    ,amongst public     
works the ,monument takes a prominent if
 rather  unsatisfactory place4 ,the     
design was subjected to a good deal  of 
interference1 for ,hawksmoor records    
that the flaming urn was  substituted as
 a crowning feature for the intended    
statue of ,charles  contra architecti   
intentionem4    ,amongst the pedestals  
of equestrian statues in ,london1 there 
is none to  compare with that of        
,charles ,i4 at ,charing ,cross1 which  

was probably of  ,wren's designing1 but 
it has been attributed also to ,grinling
 ,gibbons4    ,temple ,bar was an       
interesting archway which now adorns    
,theobald's ,park  and is commemorated  
on its old site in ,fleet ,street by a  
melancholy  monument4 ,there seems a    
good case for the return of ,temple ,bar
 to  some site in ,london4 ,the         
neighbouring entrance to the ,middle    
,temple is  one of ,wren's most charming
 achievements4 ,his use of brickwork    
here  in conjunction with a stone base  
and pilasters is of an ideal modesty    
and simplicity1 matched within the      
,temple by the cloister of ,hare  ,court
 and rubbed brick doorways in ,king's   
,bench ,walk4 ,of these works  as of    
,kensington ,palace ,coventry ,patmore's
 words were abundantly true3  8,sir     
,christopher ,wren could not build a    
common brick house without  impressing  
his own character upon it40 ,he might   
have added that it  needs a considerable
 artist to give character to a common   

brick house1  for the palette is        
limited4 ,wren's work at ,kensington has
 been a good  deal modified by later    
hands1 but the ,queen's staircase and   
the ,gallery  remain very typical4 ,the 
exterior suffers greatly from the clumsy
  additions of ,william ,kent1 which are
 too often accepted as part of the      
original house4 ,the lay-out should be  
restored1 and the great alcove be       
brought back from its present stupid    
position near the fountain4 ,the        
,orangery is a masterpiece of simplicity
 and reserve1 and shows ,wren           
exercising the consummate taste which   
cannot in honesty be regarded as  a     
continuous characteristic4 ,the         
attribution of various houses to ,wren  
rests either upon vague tradition or    
upon imaginary internal evidence4  ,the 
belief that he designed ,belton is      
persistent but unsupported  by          
documents4 ,the notable contributions   
made to its decoration by  ,grinling    
,gibbons may have strengthened the      

tradition4 ,certainly ,belton  is worthy
 of ,wren4 ,the same may be said of two 
houses in ,chichester1  ,pallant ,house 
and another which has long been called  
,wren's ,house4 ,miss  ,milman in her   
,life printed a chronological list of   
works1 and starred  those for which     
there was no documentary authority4 ,but
 her stars must  be increased4 ,the     
,chichester houses are cases in point4  
,it is unfortunate that ,marlborough    
,house has been so mishandled since     
,wren's day3 the attic storey is a      
clumsy addition4 ,as he planned  it1 the
 disposition of the rooms showed no     
advance on the planning  of ,inigo      
,jones and ,webb4 ,the main rooms were  
en suite without any  corridor behind   
them1 a march of convenience which      
,vanbrugh developed  at ,blenheim1 not  
otherwise a mirror of perfection4       
,sarah1 ,duchess1 must  have been a     
client calling for all ,wren's skill in 
handling people4  ,when she quarrelled  
with ,vanbrugh about his fees for       

,blenheim1 she  quoted ,wren as a       
pattern of moderation 8content to be    
dragged up in a  basket1 three or four  
times a week1 to the top of ,st4        
,paul's1 and at  great hazard1 for #bjj 
a year40    ,groombridge ,place1 ,kent1 
is another house of infinite charm which
 has  been attributed to ,wren4 ,the    
,all ,souls ,collection of his drawings 
includes some sketch elevations of      
houses4 ,one sheet in particular  gives 
two alternative treatments for the same 
plan1 but neither is  up to ,wren's best
 form1 and it seems reasonable to assume
 that the  smaller domestic work for    
private clients had to be ignored in the
  main because of his heavy public      
employments4 ,amongst his works which   
have disappeared altogether are the     
,custom ,house1 the ,armoury and ,mint  
in the ,tower of ,london 7where his     
,storehouse has survived71 ,christ's    
,hospital1 and the ,college of          
,physicians in ,warwick ,lane4    ,not  
the least interesting of an architect's 

designs are those which are  never      
carried to full fruition4 ,the most     
notable of these was a great  ,palace at
 ,winchester1 begun for ,charles ,,ii4  
,not much of it was built1  for the     
,king died before it was finished1 and  
his successors did not  like            
,winchester4 ,the uncompleted core was  
later adapted so drastically  for use as
 barracks that it ceased to have any    
,wren significance4    ,the ,tomb of    
,charles ,i41 for which ,parliament     
voted #gj1jjj1 was  designed by ,wren in
 #afgh4 ,the drawings preserved at ,all 
,souls show  a domed structure1 which   
was to have stood at the east end of    
,st4  ,george's ,chapel1 ,windsor4      
,within was to be a statue of the       
,martyr ,king  standing on a shield     
upheld by four allegorical figures4     
,alternative  treatments are shown for  
this group in marble and bronze4        
,grinling  ,gibbons would no doubt have 
been the sculptor1 but1 as ,wren's title
  of the drawings notes1 it was eheu    

conditionem temporum1 nondum  extructum4
 ,the nondum gives a hint that ,wren    
hoped that it might  later be done1 but 
the #gj1jjj found less worthy           
employment4 ,wren's  careful detailed   
estimates for the work are printed in   
,sir ,william  ,st4 ,john ,hope's       
monumental ,windsor ,castle1 with       
reproductions of the  drawings4         
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xii            
,,trinity ,,college ,,library1          
,,cambridge3 ,,river ,,front4    ,noble 
as this design was1 ,i confess ,i take  
more pleasure from ,wren's  design for a
 monument 7also in ,all ,souls ,library7
 which ,sir ,reginald  ,blomfield       
reproduces,c with the note that it was  
probably drawn by  ,grinling ,gibbons4  
,it shows a lady reclining on a couch1  
not unlike  ,raggi's ,lady ,cheyne in   
,chelsea ,old ,church1 but she points   
with a lively  gesture to cherubs flying
 above her in a burst of rays and       
clouds4 ,it  shows ,wren in his most    
baroque mood1 and is perhaps his        

reminiscence of  old ,bernini's         
monumental manner4    ,in ,scotland he  
did nothing2 but the ,royal ,hospital at
 ,kilmainham1 near  ,dublin1 is         
attributed to him with some reason4 ,in 
#afgi he was ordered  to view the site1 
but no record remains of his visit1 and 
this ,irish  variant of ,chelsea        
,hospital is not claimed by his son in  
the list  of works4 ,the building is    
simple and dignified with open cloisters
  round a big quadrangle4 ,probably     
,wren did designs for it and left  some 
assistant or local architect to         
supervise its building4 ,the best       
evidence for his authorship is that     
there was no architect in ,ireland  who 
could have produced such a design1 with 
the possible exception of  the designer 
of ,beaulieu1 near ,drogheda4           
,another charitable foundation1 ,morden 
,college1 ,blackheath1 is  certainly    
,wren's4 ,it is an enchanting piece of  
brickwork with a  pedimented            
centre-piece and lantern4    ,as        

,cambridge was the locus of his first   
completed work of importance1  ,pembroke
 ,chapel 7the ,sheldonian is called in  
the ,parentalia 8the  first publick     
,performance of the ,surveyor10 but it  
was finished later  than the chapel72 it
 also gave him the opportunity for one  
of his  greatest achievements1 the      
,library of ,trinity4 ,his first design 
was  for a circular building with a     
domed roof1 but this soon gave place to 
the scheme that was carried out4 ,a long
 memorandum by ,wren explains  his      
reasons for the design1 which was       
limited by the need of joining  the new 
,library to the extension of ,neville's 
,court1 a junction which  was not very  
happily achieved4 ,the governing        
consideration of the  elevation to the  
,court was the maintenance of the       
,library floor on the  same level as the
 adjoining chambers4 ,unfortunately     
,wren would use two  ,orders despite the
 fact that the structure of the work was
 in conflict4  ,evidently he was forcing

 a design1 naturally of a ,palladian    
type1 of a  piano nobile on a lower     
storey which would be the podium of an  
,order4  ,it is a case where his        
ingenuity overbore his artistic sense1  
and he  resorted to the doubtful        
expedient of a range of arches1 the     
tympana  of which are filled in solid4  
,the river front has been criticised on 
the grounds of an undue austerity1 but  
,i find it difficult to follow  this3 it
 is surely a miracle of dignity4 ,for   
the interior of the  ,library there can 
be nothing but praise4 ,ideal in dignity
 and ideal in  convenience1 ,wren's book
 presses have the additional merit of   
showing  ,gibbons carving of peculiar   
excellence1 and he must not be charged  
with the overcrowding of the floor by   
smaller cases needed by modern          
accessions of books4    ,wren was less  
happy in his chapel and cloister at     
,emmanuel ,college4 ,the  breaking of   
the pediment of the central feature by  
the lantern turret  is not in his usual 

vein1 but the lantern itself is a very  
charming  composition4 ,another related 
work is the ,honywood ,library and      
,cloister  at ,lincoln ,cathedral1 but  
the ,library itself is a rather low and 
not  specially distinguished apartment4 
,i bring this slight catalogue of       
,wren's miscellaneous works to a close  
with a return to ,oxford4 ,it is        
difficult to determine how far he was   
responsible for the ,library at ,queen's
 ,college 7#afic7 because ,hawksmoor    
was mixed up with him there1 but the    
whole ,college must be regarded as  a   
,wren building4 ,there is nothing of    
,hawksmoor's more faithful to his  old  
master's ideas1 and less influenced by  
,sir ,john ,vanbrugh's1 the two  poles  
between which the lesser man was always 
oscillating4 ,sir ,reginald  ,blomfield 
is strongly against attributing the     
,ashmolean to ,wren1 but  it is         
difficult to believe that such a        
building at such a time could  have been
 entrusted to anyone else4 ,similarly   

,trinity ,college ,chapel  7#afid7 is   
somewhat of a mystery4 ,it has been said
 that ,dean ,aldrich  was the architect 
and that ,wren was only called in to    
advise4 ,the  quality of the design     
suggests that ,wren was the senior      
partner in the  combination4 ,there is  
no confusion with regard to ,tom ,tower4
 ,dr4 ,fell1  ,dean of ,christ ,church1 
commissioned him to build a tower over  
,wolsey's  gateway4 ,the result is      
something certainly not ,tudor1 but     
quite  certainly a picturesque          
composition of a high order4 ,wren's    
detail is  little like that of the      
sixteenth century below it1 but he did  
the one  thing needful3 he provided a   
dignified and picturesque portal for the
  ,college1 and it is folly to rebuke a 
late seventeenth-century architect  for 
not entering into the spirit of his     
predecessors of the early  sixteenth4   
,the study of the spirit of ,gothic     
work1 alike systematic and  sympathetic1
 is a growth of less than a hundred     

years4 ,wren was of his  age4           
,,chapter ,,xi    ,,wren ,,and ,,his    
,,contemporaries3 ,,last ,,years        
,the appreciation a man may win in his  
own day and generation is no  sure guide
 to his quality as an artist1 as witness
 the cases of ,mr4  ,martin ,tupper and 
many ,past ,presidents of the ,royal    
,academy2 but when  the chorus of praise
 persists during something like eighty  
years and  comes from men in every walk 
of life1 it is at least evidence of     
notable character4 ,such praise was     
,wren's in a marked degree1 and it      
helps to explain the way he held his own
 under the fickle ,king ,charles1  the  
cantankerous ,king ,william1 and the    
casual ,queen ,anne4 ,under ,king       
,george ,i41 when ,wren was a very old  
man1 he lost his appointment1 but  only 
as the culmination of a discreditable   
campaign against him by  futile people  
who lacked the wit to appreciate the    
greatness of the man  against whom they 
plotted their dishonest little          

persecutions4    ,in so far as ,wren's  
advancement as an architect may be      
attributed to  any one man1 it is clear 
that ,john ,evelyn the diarist must have
 the  credit4 ,whether he met ,wren     
before #afed does not appear2 but he was
 in  ,oxford on ,july #aa of that year1 
,wren being then twenty-two years old1  
and after dinner he visited 8that       
miracle of a youth10 and had further    
dealings with him two days later1 as is 
noted in an earlier chapter4  ,by #affd1
 when ,wren showed ,evelyn the model of 
the ,sheldonian1 he had  become 8that   
incomparable genius10 and ,evelyn went  
to ,oxford in #affi  for the            
celebrations which marked the completion
 of the theatre4    ,wren's appointment 
as ,surveyor-,general of ,his ,majesty's
 ,works was due  to ,evelyn's great     
influence with ,charles ,,ii41 to whom  
he seems to have  acted in some sort as 
an architectural adviser4    ,how       
greatly ,evelyn valued ,wren's judgment 
in ordinary matters is shown  by a      

letter in #affe in which the diarist    
asks ,wren to recommend a  tutor for his
 boy4 ,in the same letter ,evelyn       
mentions his translation  of ,frart's   
,parallels1 a book on architecture which
 had been very  successful in ,france   
and sold very largely in ,england in    
,evelyn's  edition4 ,the first issue was
 dedicated to ,sir ,john ,denham1 but it
 is  interesting to find that in        
,february1 #afif-g1 ,evelyn wrote to    
,wren  saying that he would dedicate to 
him the new edition he was then         
producing1 and so he did with many      
flourishes4    ,there is a              
characteristic outburst in the ,diary   
for ,may #e1 #afha1  when ,sir ,w4      
,fermor dined with him and ,wren3 8,a   
wonderful genius had  this incomparable 
person10 an echo of what he had written 
seventeen  years before when ,wren      
showed him the model of the             
,sheldonian--8that  incomparable        
genius40    ,the last ,wren entry in the
 ,diary was forty-four years later than 

the  first4 ,wren went down to ,says    
,court with 8,mr4 ,london1 his          
gardener10 to  render ,evelyn the       
service of estimating the damage done to
 the house  and gardens during its      
occupation by ,peter the ,great1 who had
 comported  himself in a manner which   
justly disgusted ,evelyn4 ,wren outlived
 his  old and faithful friend by more   
than twenty years4    ,illustration3    
,,plate ,,xiii    ,,the ,,wadham        
,,portrait ,,of ,,wren4      ,an #ahbe  
copy by ,john ,smith of ,oxford based on
 the ,sheldonian    portrait1 to which  
,dallaway attached the unlikely         
attribution of    ,thornhill1 8painted  
in conjunction with ,verrio and         
,kneller40    ,although a quiet1 modest1
 and always overworked person1 ,wren    
seems to  have liked social relaxation4 
,he was at ,lord ,brouncker's in        
,february1  #afff-g1 with ,samuel       
,pepys1 who refers to the music that    
their host had  provided4 ,there were   
two eunuchs1 so tall as to move ,sir ,t4

 ,harvey to  some physiological         
imaginings1 and one woman 8very well    
dressed and  handsome enough1 but would 
not be kissed10 at least so ,mr4        
,killigrew  informed ,mr4 ,pepys4 ,not  
long afterwards ,pepys met ,wren at     
,streeter's1  8with several virtuosos10 
looking at the paintings which were     
being  made for the new theatre at      
,oxford4 ,it must have been a pleasant  
occasion on ,february #i1 #afga1 when   
,wren and ,pepys dined with ,evelyn at  
,says ,court1 and all of them went      
afterwards to see the 8,crucifixion0    
which ,grinling ,gibbons had carved4 ,a 
few weeks later the ,king and ,queen    
indicated their wish to see this work1  
at ,evelyn's suggestion1 and it  was    
taken to ,whitehall for their           
inspection4 ,evelyn records the anger   
he felt at the ,queen ignoring the      
merits of the wonderful carving  because
 a 8,french pedling woman0 had run it   
down1 but he had the  compensation that 
8,mr4 ,wren faithfully promised me to   

employ him40 ,how  faithfully that      
promise was fulfilled is proved by the  
choir stalls of  ,st4 ,paul's and work  
at many another ,wren building4    ,in  
,february1 #afgf1 ,evelyn and ,wren1    
with other notable ,fellows of the      
,royal ,society1 dined with ,sir ,john  
,williamson1 and in ,november in the    
following year the same inseparable     
friends dined in the company of  ,prince
 ,rupert and other learned men at the   
,lord ,treasurer's4 ,wren had  achieved 
that useful measure of friendship with  
,prince ,rupert which  caused his name  
to figure on a list of intimates to whom
 the ,prince  sent every year a gift of 
choicest wine from his estates on the   
,rhine4    ,in ,august1 #afhj1 ,evelyn  
was deputed by the ,royal ,society to   
make a  visit of ceremony to ,monsieur  
,chardine1 a famous ,french traveller   
who  had come to ,london1 and           
characteristically he took ,wren with   
him4    ,wren must have been good       
company at dinner4 ,in #affi ,sir ,john 

,clayton  wrote to a friend3 8,saturday 
last ,i went with the ,duke of          
,buckingham  to ,denham 444 on our      
return home we dined at ,uxbridge1 and  
never in  all my life did ,i pass my day
 away with such gusto1 our company being
  his ,grace1 ,mr4 ,weller1 ,mr4        
,surveyor ,wren and myself3 nothing but 
quintessence of wit and most excellent  
discourse40    ,as to whether ,wren     
enjoyed wide hospitalities in his       
alleged character  of ,freemason it is  
impossible to say1 but there is a       
tradition that he  was ,grand ,master of
 a lodge which was intimately associated
 with ,st4  ,paul's and became in due   
time what is known as the ,antiquity    
,lodge4  ,some candlesticks1 and a      
mallet bearing an inscription which     
suggests  that it was used at a ,st4    
,paul's ceremonial1 remain in possession
 of  the ,antiquity ,lodge4 ,it is      
necessary1 however1 to add that ,gould  
in  his ,history of ,freemasonry gives  
it as his opinion1 after careful        

investigation of the architect's        
connection with the craft1 that  the    
evidence points to ,wren not having     
belonged to a lodge1 nor to  a society  
which was not in existence until #agag1 
and he goes on to  allege that there are
 three misstatements on the mallet      
inscription4 ,i  have no knowledge of   
these matters1 but assume that ,gould's 
opinion is  competent4 ,there is no     
reference to ,freemasonry in any ,wren  
document  or in ,parentalia1 but so far 
as the latter is concerned the omission 
means nothing4    ,i have indicated very
 slightly1 and with the diffidence of   
one who  knows nothing of science but a 
few of its fairy tales1 the large range 
of ,wren's scientific labours4 ,it may  
be that they were curious rather  than  
important1 but it is necessary to set   
down the considered opinion  of ,dr4    
,sprat1 the first historian of the      
,royal ,society4 ,it is a notable       
tribute3      8,in the whole progress of
 this narration1 ,i have been cautious  

to    forbear commending the labours of 
any ,private ,fellows of the ,society4  
,for this1 ,i need not make any apology 
to them2 feeling it would    have been  
an inconsiderable honour1 to be praised 
by so mean a    writer3 ,but now ,i must
 break this law1 in the particular case 
of ,dr4    ,christopher ,wren3 ,for     
doing so1 ,i will not alledge the excuse
 of my    friendship to him2 though that
 perhaps were sufficient2 and it might  
well be allowed me to take this occasion
 of ,publishing it3 ,but ,i only    do  
it on the mere consideration of justice3
 ,for in turning over the    ,registers 
of the ,society1 ,i perceived that many 
excellent things1    whose first        
invention ought to be ascribed to him1  
were casually    omitted3 ,this moves me
 to do him right by himself1 and to give
 this    separate account of his        
endeavours1 in promoting the design of  
the    ,royal ,society1 in the small    
time wherein he has had the opportunity 
of attending it40    ,dr4 ,sprat then   

recites some of ,wren's achievements in 
the fields of  natural science1         
astronomy1 etc41 and continues thus3    
8,this is a short account of the        
principal discoveries which ,dr4 ,wren  
has presented or suggested to this      
assembly4 ,i know very well1 that       
some of them he did only start and      
design2 and that they have been    since
 carried on to perfection1 by the       
industry of other hands4 ,i    purpose  
not to rob them of their share in the   
honour3 ,yet it is but    reasonable1   
that the original invention should be   
ascribed to the    true author1 rather  
than the finishers4 ,nor do ,i fear that
 this will    be thought too much1 which
 ,i have said concerning him3 ,for there
 is    a peculiar reverence due to so   
much excellence covered with so much    
modesty4 ,and it is not flattery but    
honesty1 to give him his just    praise2
 who is so far from usurping the fame of
 other men that he    endeavours with   
all care to conceal his own40    ,a man 

could not ask a better epitaph than 8so 
much excellence covered  with so much   
modesty40    ,it may be that ,sprat was 
carried away by his affection for ,wren 
and  overstated the case1 but that      
amiable reason can hardly apply to all  
his contemporaries4 ,robert ,boyle1 who 
had witnessed some of ,wren's           
experiments1 testified that his         
knowledge of ,wren's extraordinary      
sagacity made him very desirous to try  
what he proposed4    ,the evidence of   
,sir ,isaac ,newton cannot be ignored4  
,his ,preface to the  second edition of 
the ,principia groups ,wren with ,wallis
 and ,huygens  as 8hujus tatis          
geometrarum facile principes10 and gives
 to them the  first credit for a true   
conception of the laws governing the    
impacts  and reactions of two bodies in 
collision4 ,praise from ,newton is      
praise  indeed4    ,thomas ,hearne      
carried it a little further4 8,i heard  
an eminent  mathematician say that he   
could mention another equal in          

mathematics  to ,sir ,isaac ,newton1    
though he had not published 444 ,sir    
,christopher  ,wren1 who was1 indeed1 a 
very extraordinary man40    ,when ,isaac
 ,barrow succeeded to the ,gresham      
,professorship of ,geometry1  he took   
occasion1 in his inaugural oration1 to  
refer to ,wren in this  fashion3 8,one  
there is1 whose name common gratitude   
forbids me to pass  over1 whom ,i know  
not whether to admire for his divine    
genius or for  the sweetness of his     
disposition 444 it will suffice if ,i   
name the  great and good ,christopher   
,wren1 of whom ,i will say no more since
 his  merit attracts the eyes of the    
whole world0 444 and so on1 with the    
inevitable references to ,wren's        
modesty4    ,in nothing did the         
sweetness of ,wren's nature so clearly  
appear as in  his relations with ,robert
 ,hooke1 a sour philosopher and1 it     
would seem1  a disloyal fellow4 ,hooke  
was at ,westminster just before ,wren   
and ran  second to him all his life4 ,if

 ,elmes' view of the case be true1      
,hooke  picked up ,wren's ideas1        
developed them and tried to take all the
 credit  of them1 and was a bad         
colleague generally4 ,he quarrelled with
 ,newton1  disputed with ,flamsteed1 and
 was snubbed by the ,royal ,society when
 he  did a design1 unasked1 for their   
home which was promptly rejected and    
,wren asked to do it instead4 ,he was   
always in hot water and incurably       
unpopular1 but ,wren stuck to him4 ,when
 an assistant was needed in the  great  
labours which followed the ,fire1 ,wren 
appointed ,hooke to measure  and set out
 the ground of all the 8private street  
houses10 but was wise  enough to keep   
the ,public ,works in his own hands4    
,wren was delightfully loyal to the     
contractors whom he employed4 ,he  must 
have been on intimate terms with ,edward
 ,strong1 master mason  at ,st4 ,paul's 
and elsewhere1 for he sent young        
,christopher abroad  in charge of       
,strong's son4 ,he gave the buildings he

 liked best to  the few men he most     
trusted4 ,strong and ,christopher       
,kempster did ,st4  ,stephen's          
,walbrook2 ,strong did the delightful   
brickwork at ,st4 ,benet  ,paul's       
,wharf1 ,st4 ,augustine's1 ,st4         
,mildred's1 and several others4 ,on  the
 fifty churches only thirteen joiners   
and ten plasterers received  contracts4 
,all the coppersmith work1 except at two
 churches1 was done  by one ,robert     
,bird4 ,my publication of the accounts  
of the ,city churches  destroyed all    
manner of vain fancies as to the        
employment of ,dutch  joiners and       
,italian plasterers in their building4  
,when ,wren found a  good ,english      
workman he employed him steadily1 and   
only went to a  foreigner like ,tijou   
for the miraculous ironwork at ,st4     
,paul's1 ,hampton  ,court1 and elsewhere
 when he was a notable artist and far   
superior to  his ,english colleagues4   
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xiv    ,,the   
,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,deanery ,,portrait4   

,a copy of the ,kneller in the ,national
 ,portrait ,gallery4    ,as an example  
of the way ,wren was trusted1 it is     
worth noting that when  ,flamsteed was  
bickering by letter with ,cassini1 the  
,french astronomer1  and accusing       
,halley of disingenuous practices and   
praying ,god to make  ,halley sensible  
of his faults1 the peaceful ,wren was   
called in as  umpire4    ,i could wish  
that some ,parliamentary contemporary   
had put on record  his impressions of   
,wren as an ,m4,p41 an unlikely trade   
for a man of his  temperament4 ,elected 
for ,new ,windsor in ,william's first   
,parliament1  he was unseated on a      
technicality1 but immediately           
re-elected4 ,in  #agjj he was returned  
for the ,borough of ,weymouth and       
,melcombe ,regis1  but1 as ,elmes       
gravely observes1 8notwithstanding this 
additional  occupation1 he found time to
 write a dissertation on the ascension  
of the sap in trees1 and a paper on the 
superfice of the terraqueous  globe40   

,doubtless he found these employments   
prettier relaxations from  architecture 
than attendance at the ,house of        
,commons4    ,wren seems to have got on 
well with ,charles ,,ii41 who knighted  
him at  ,whitehall on ,november #bj1    
#afgb4    ,indeed1 the ,king might well 
have been grateful to the man who so    
notably gave lustre to his reign4 ,wren 
stood to ,charles in something  the same
 relation as ,phidias to ,pericles4     
,king ,william was an awkward client1   
and interfered with ,wren in the  design
 of ,hampton ,court2 but ,queen ,mary   
liked to talk to him about  architecture
 and gardening1 and to watch the        
progress of the works  8on which she    
often offered her own judgment1 which   
was allowed to be  exquisite40 ,for     
,wren's sake1 we hope it was4    ,queen 
,anne was invoked by ,wren to take a    
hand in his quarrels with the           
,commissioners of ,st4 ,paul's4 ,he had 
a shrewd dig at them in one formal      
petition to ,her ,majesty1 in which he  

was able to show that they were  making 
a mess of the railings round her own    
statue1 and throwing over  ,tijou's     
design1 as approved by ,wren1 in favour 
of some model of their  own4    ,what   
action ,anne took does not appear1 but  
then or at some time she  gave ,wren a  
delightful chest of drawers1 which      
remained an heirloom in  the ,wren      
family until ,mrs4 ,pigott's death1 and 
a calendar watch that  reposes in ,sir  
,john ,soane's ,museum with a           
walking-stick1 which conceals  drawing  
instruments4    ,i have dealt with      
,wren's dismissal from office in the    
chapter on  ,st4 ,paul's4 ,he was then  
in the eighty-sixth year of his age and 
the  forty-ninth of his ,surveyorship4  
,the remainder of his life was spent  in
 retirement1 8in which ,recess1 free    
from worldly affairs1 he passed  the    
greatest part of the five last following
 years of his life in  contemplation and
 studies and principally in the         
consolation of the  holy scriptures3    

cheerful in solitude and as well pleased
 to die in the  shade as in the light40 
,the manner of ,wren's passing is told  
by ,miss ,phillimore1 and is1 ,i        
imagine1 a family tradition derived from
 ,mrs4 ,pigott3      8,once a year it   
was his habit to be driven to ,london1  
and to sit for    a while under the dome
 of his own ,cathedral4 ,on one of these
 journeys    he caught a cold and soon  
afterwards1 on ,february #be1 #agbc1 his
    servant1 thinking ,sir ,christopher 
slept longer after dinner than was      
his wont1 came into the room and found  
his master dead in his chair1    with an
 expression of perfect peace on the calm
 features40    ,so died a great artist1 
a great ,christian1 and a great         
gentleman1 who  lived1 as his epitaph   
says1 more than ninety years1 not for   
himself1  but for the good of the       
,state4          ,,chapter ,,xii        
,,the ,,professional ,,man      ,it is  
of some interest to attempt to form a   
picture of ,wren1 not as  a great artist

 in building1 but as a professional     
architect dealing  with clients who were
 often awkward and sometimes dishonest1 
like the  ,st4 ,paul's authorities in   
his later years1 carrying out a vast    
amount  of detail work which is now     
regarded as the task of the surveyor    
rather than the architect1 making       
arrangements for the settlement of      
disputes1 boundary lines1 frontages1 and
 for compliance with ,royal             
,proclamations and ,acts of ,parliament1
 negotiating with clients as to  fees1  
and generally dealing with the financial
 and business side of his  profession4  
,all his biographers have emphasised the
 undoubted fact that ,wren was  not a   
self-seeking man1 but ,i think they have
 a little overdone the  suggestion of   
altruism4 ,it is said in ,parentalia and
 elsewhere  that ,wren's salary of #bjj 
a year for the work of designing and    
superintending ,st4 ,paul's was a very  
modest sum4 ,that is true1 but  it must 
be remembered that the salary ran from  

#afge1 when he was  appointed           
,surveyor-,general and ,architect of    
,st4 ,paul's1 until #agaa1  when the    
,house of ,commons determined that the  
,cathedral was completed4  ,he1         
therefore received #g1bjj in respect of 
,st4 ,paul's4 ,it is also  stated in    
,parentalia that he received #ajj a year
 for work on the  ,city churches4 ,but  
this seems to be wholly untrue1 for     
,wren was paid  on exactly the same     
basis as an architect of to-day--i4e41  
by a  commission on the value of the    
work executed4 ,until #aiai1 when it was
  raised to #f per cent41 the customary 
remuneration of an architect in         
,england was #e per cent42 and a        
manuscript account1 covering the period 
from ,july1 #afgj1 to ,march1 #afgc1    
quoted by ,wyatt ,papworth1 shows  that 
twelve-pence in the pound for all monies
 received and paid was  disbursed 8for  
allowances for rebuilding the ,churches 
to the ,officers  of ,works for the     
management of the whole40 ,this is #e   

per cent41 out of  which ,wren no doubt 
paid for his office staff4 ,as the total
 expenditure  on the ,city churches was 
#bfc1ghf1 ,wren must have received over 
#ac1jjj4 ,in addition1 the ,city        
authorities would now and again give to 
him 7or in one case to ,lady ,wren7 a   
lump sum by way of expressing their     
gratitude for his services4    ,in the  
capacity of ,surveyor-,general of ,his  
,majesty's ,works1 he was  receiving1 in
 #afge1 #acs4 #b;d4 a day and 8availes0 
of #hj per quarter1  which meant another
 #cbj a year1 by way of retaining fee2  
and ,papworth  presumes1 ,i think with  
reason1 that he also received specific  
payment  in respect of each service     
performed4 ,by the year #agae1 his      
salary and  8riding charges0 had dropped
 to #acf a year1 but it is also to be   
remembered that all this time he had an 
official residence in ,whitehall        
consisting of sixteen rooms and a       
cellar1 which he occupied for about     
fifty years without cost to himself4    

,in respect of ,chelsea ,hospital he    
received a fee of #a1jjj1 but there  are
 many examples of his refusing payment  
altogether4 ,he insisted on  doing all  
the work at ,greenwich ,hospital without
 payment1 saying1 8,let  me have some   
share in an act of charity and mercy40  
,when he came to  design the ,library of
 ,trinity at ,cambridge1 for which the  
,master had  some difficulty in getting 
enough subscriptions1 ,wren's           
contribution  was the value of his own  
work1 for which he made no charge2 and1 
similarly1 he received nothing in       
respect of his work at ,st4 ,clement    
,danes4 ,these are acts of generosity of
 which we happen to have definite       
record1 and ,i do not doubt that there  
were many other examples of the  same   
sort not recorded1 for ,wren's          
generosity was equalled only by his     
modesty4    ,he was not above a trifling
 piece of nepotism2 for his son         
,christopher  became ,deputy ,clerk     
,engrosser in the ,office of ,works in  

#afid and ,clerk  of ,works in #agjb1   
succeeding ,dickenson4 ,this appointment
 was confirmed  by ,george ,i4 in #agae4
 ,but when ,sir ,christopher fell from  
favour his  son was also dismissed1 and 
from the younger ,christopher's casual  
proceedings in the compilation of the   
material of ,parentalia1 ,i  cannot     
believe that the ,state suffered greatly
 from his disappearance4    ,during     
thirty-two years of ,wren's professional
 career1 ,nicholas  ,hawksmoor was his  
domestic clerk1 which we may take to    
mean that he was  in charge of ,wren's  
office and his right-hand man1 both in  
designing  and in the financial         
supervision of the works4 ,it would     
appear that  he performed a good many of
 the duties which now fall to the       
separate  profession of quantity        
surveyor4 ,i suspect that1 for example1 
the  payments to the various contractors
 for the ,city churches1 and possibly   
also for ,st4 ,paul's1 were certified by
 ,wren after the value of the work  done

 had been examined by ,hawksmoor4 ,it   
seems certain that the very  elaborate  
accounts of the ,city churches1 with    
which ,i have dealt fully  in           
,archologia1 were actually written out  
by ,hawksmoor himself4    ,illustration3
 ,,plate ,,xv    ,,the ,,central        
,,portion ,,of ,,the ,,chiaroscuro      
,,engraving ,,by ,,elisha ,,kirkall1    
,,after ,,klosterman4    ,by ,wren's    
time1 the practice of architecture had  
been organised  generally on lines which
 were developed notably by the brothers 
,adam1  very competent business men1 and
 have been elaborated in very modern    
times4 ,but substantially the methods   
remain the same except that  contracting
 has equally been developed so that     
separate tradesmen are  now merged in a 
general contractor in ,england4 ,in     
,scotland ,wren's  way still prevails to
 a large extent4 ,there was nothing     
slapdash  about ,wren's methods3        
everything was recorded in the most     
orderly and  detailed manner4 ,if       

materials delivered to ,st4 ,paul's were
 for any  reason transferred to one of  
the ,city churches1 most careful entry  
was  made in the accounts of the        
quantities and values1 and the necessary
  debits and credits were taken into    
account when the contractors' bills     
were settled4 ,wren was as efficient in 
business details as he was in  design4  
,if my memory does not deceive me 7and  
some thieving friend has made it        
impossible for me to verify my          
reference71 it was ,mr4 ,g4 ,k4         
,chesterton1  in ,biography for         
,beginners1 who made moving comment on  
an imaginative  picture of ,wren in the 
act of being helped into a fur coat by  
an  obsequious flunkey1 as follows3     
,sir ,christopher ,wren    ,went to dine
 with some men4    8,if any body calls  
,say ,i'm designing ,st4 ,paul's40      
,perhaps the major part of his long life
 of work was taken up by far  less      
attractive tasks1 for he was ,his       
,majesty's ,office of ,works and  ,his  

,majesty's ,office of ,woods and        
,forests of his day rolled into  one4   
,the ,privy ,council called on him for  
reports on questions of all  kinds4     
,elmes ploughed through a manuscript    
book of the ,council's  transactions on 
almost every page of which ,wren's name 
appears4 ,one  ,mr4 ,berkehead wanted to
 build a house and brew-house at        
,knightsbridge4  ,was this in           
contravention of ,his ,majesty's        
proclamation8 ,no1 it was  too far out  
of town1 and ,mr4 ,berkehead may        
proceed4 ,may ,mr4 ,sleymaker  build on 
an old foundation in ,brick ,lane8 ,he  
gets his permission4 ,sir  ,richard     
,stydolfe had improperly started        
building at the rear of ,st4  ,giles's  
,church leading from thence to          
,piccadilly4 ,may he go on8 ,the        
,surveyor-,general goes off to ,st4     
,giles's1 examines the whole matter  and
 reports that he should be so licensed  
8provided the said ,sir  ,richard       
,stydolfe build regularly1 according to 

direction and according  to a design to 
which his said licence may refer2 that  
he be obliged to  build with brick1 with
 party walls1 with sufficient           
scantlings1 good  paving in the streets1
 and sufficient sewers and conveyances  
for the  water 4440 and so forth and so 
on4 ,the ,colonel ,panton who gave his  
name to ,panton ,street was in similar  
trouble1 but ,wren found that the       
,colonel's building scheme would 8cure  
the noysomeness of the place0  and 8the 
design of the building shewn to me may  
be very usefull to the  publique40 ,wren
 was constructive in everything he did1 
and did not  merely deal with the       
current business that was referred to   
him4 ,some  builders in ,soe ,hoe       
87surely a pleasanter spelling than     
,soho70 were  building small and mean   
habitations1 8receptacles for the poorer
 sort  and the offensive trades0 and    
rendering the government of these parts 
more unmanageable4 ,his ,majesty's      
,sergeant ,plumber was much upset about 

the manifest decay of the waters in the 
expenseful drains and conduits  of      
,whitehall ,palace which resulted from  
these nefarious proceedings  in ,soe    
,hoe1 and ,wren supported him with a    
petition4 ,soe ,hoe had gone  too far4  
,his ,majesty in person1 ,his ,majesty's
 royal brother and ,prince  ,rupert1 and
 the ,archbishop of ,canterbury and     
others in full council1  looked into the
 matter1 met more than once about it4   
,wren was ordered  to see that obedience
 be given to ,his ,majesty's            
proclamation3 failing  which1 he was to 
imprison the workmen for contempt4      
,lord ,rochester asks him to examine the
 bills for repairing the ,royal         
stables1 and ,wren goes through them and
 finds 8the particular prices  very     
reasonable1 one thing with another40    
,but sometimes ,wren must have been     
bored4 ,finding lodgings for ,mr4       
,ronchi at ,st4 ,james's was hardly a   
task for the creator of ,st4 ,paul's1   
but he found them4 ,in #afgi he was in  

professional touch with the  troubles   
that followed the finding of ,sir       
,edmondsbury ,godfrey dead in  a ditch4 
,papists' plots were in the air4 ,the   
,spanish ,ambassador became  highly     
unpopular1 and the ,lords' ,committee   
appointed to look into 8the  late horrid
 conspiracy0 ordered ,sir ,christopher  
,wren and ,edward ,warcup1  ,esq41 to   
put padlocks on all such doors as open  
out of ,mr4 ,weld's house  into the     
,ambassador's house4    ,so 8we repaired
 to ,wild-house and having viewed the   
dores 444 we  affixed padlocks 4440 and 
much more to the same effect1 8all which
  we humbly submit40 ,i am glad to add  
that ,his ,excellency showed  great     
civility to ,wren in the character of   
locksmith4 ,in all these  proceedings1  
as ,elmes justly remarks1 8the honour1  
integrity and public  spirit of ,wren   
appear transcendent40    ,i must add a  
word about ,wren as a draughtsman4 ,the 
drawings which  can with certainty be   
attributed to his own hand show him to  

have  been a competent but not a good   
performer4 ,a man so immersed in        
multifarious work had no time for the   
niceties of the drawing-board1  and it  
is probable that his details were drawn 
roughly in the shops  of his contractors
 or 8on the job10 as the work           
progressed4 ,the idea  was complete in  
his own mind1 and with workmen used to  
his words and  wishes verbal            
instructions on his frequent visits     
would forward the  work without the     
elaborated drawings and details of a    
modern contract4  ,differences were     
adjusted by the simple methods of trade 
measurement  in use4 ,but that he       
attached great importance to drawing as 
an element  in a liberal education is   
shown by a reference in ,christ's       
,hospital  ,committee ,book1 and it is  
delightful to find here once more the   
association of ,wren and ,pepys4    8,at
 a committee of the ,schooles in        
,christ's ,hospitall1 the #cjth         
,november1 #afib1 444 ,mr4 ,treasurer   

acquainted the committee that he had    
two letters one from ,sir ,christo4     
,wren and the other from ,esq4 ,pepys   
declaring their opinions concerning the 
introducing the art of drawing  among   
the ,boyes40    ,wren's letter1 which   
,mr4 ,nathaniel ,hawes read aloud to the
 ,committee1  is as follows3            
8,nov4 #bdth1 #afib4      8,,sir1       
8444 ,it was observed by somebody there 
present at his house that    our        
,english ,artists are dull enough at    
invention but when once a    foreigne   
patterne is sett they imitate soe well  
that commonly they    exceed the        
,originall1 ,i confess the observation  
is generally true1    but this showes   
that our natives want not a ,genius but 
education in    that wch is the         
foundation of all ,mechanick ,arts1 a   
practice in    designing or drawing1 to 
wch everybody in ,italy1 ,france and the
    ,low ,countries pretends more or    
less4 ,i cannot imagine that next to    
good writing anything could be more     

usefully taught your children           
especially such as will naturally take  
to it1 and many such you    will find   
amongst your ,numbers who will have a   
naturall genius to    it1 which it is a 
pity should be stifled4444 ,it is not   
,painters1    ,sculptors1 ,gravers1 only
 that will find an advantage in such    
,boyes1    but many other ,artificers   
too long to enumerate4 ,noe ,art but    
will be    mended and improved2 by which
 not only your ,charity of the ,house   
will    be enlarged but the ,nation     
advantaged4444                    8,your
 affectionate friend and humble servant1
                                        
8,,chr4 ,,wren40    ,this is a strong   
plea for the teaching of drawing in     
schools1 but there  is1 as always1 the  
same practical comment4 ,draughtsmanship
 is of value  as the foundation of the  
8mechanick arts10 but it comes next to  
8good  writing40          ,,chapter     
,,xiii    ,,student ,,and ,,scholar     
,before attempting some sketch of       

,wren's position in the world of        
,english ,architecture1 in which will be
 set down his own outlook on  his art1  
mainly in his own words1 it seems       
reasonable to describe his  attitude    
towards the past and the views of       
others4 ,the liveliness and  modernity  
of his mind did not blind him to the    
lessons of antiquity1  and his essays in
 the 8restoration0 of classical         
buildings show him to  have been an     
earnest antiquary4 ,criticism of his    
conclusions must carry  with it the     
remembrance that the apparatus criticus 
was exceedingly  limited in his day1    
when the book was everything4 ,the spade
 had not  yet revealed a superior       
authority and opened out a vast prospect
 of  boundless antiquity and tradition4 
,one of the most interesting features of
 the interleaved documents  in the      
heirloom ,parentalia is the sketch of   
,wren's conjectural  restoration of the 
,mausoleum of ,halicarnassus4,d ,the    
last note of the  printed ,parentalia is

 headed1 8,of the ,sepulchre of         
,mausolus1 ,king of  ,caria40 ,it ends  
with the words1 8,the plate of the above
 is omitted1 on  account of the drawing 
being imperfect40    ,this imperfect    
drawing is pasted on the last page of   
the ,discourse in  the heirloom copy1   
and shows ,wren to be less careful as an
 archologist  than might have been      
anticipated4 8,the ,sepulchre10 he      
writes1 8is so  well described by ,pliny
 that ,i have attempted to design it    
accordingly1  and also very open1       
conformable to the ,description in      
,martial1 ,aere  vacuo ,pendentia       
,mausolea1 and yet it wanted not the    
solidity of the  ,dorick order20 and he 
goes on to say1 on very insufficient    
grounds1 8,i  conclude this work must be
 the exactest ,form of the ,dorick40    
,the odd thing is that ,wren had not    
noticed the statement of ,vitruvius     
that ,pythios1 the architect of the     
,mausoleum and the sculptor of the      
chariot group1 gave up the ,doric order 

because of the incongruous  arrangements
 which arose in its use4 ,wren's great  
blunder1 however1  was in the misreading
 of one word in ,pliny's description1   
8,pteron40 ,he  says it is an unusual   
term4 ,russell ,sturgis gives its       
meaning as 8that  which forms a side or 
flank1 as the row of columns along the  
side of a  temple1 or the side wall     
itself40 ,it is the more odd that ,wren 
boggled  over the word ,pteron1 seeing  
that he used the word ,dipteron in his  
description of the ,temple of ,diana at 
,ephesus4 ,at ,ephesus there was no     
question in his mind of an 8,attick     
order rising above the cornice10 but  he
 takes the ,pteron at ,halicarnassus to 
have that meaning1 and to be 8a  word of
 ,greek ,authors of ,architecture now   
lost40 ,anyhow1 it pleasantly           
exemplifies on how insubstantial a      
foundation can rest a piece of          
architectural criticism which is based  
on literary evidence alone4    ,his     
mistake naturally vitiates the whole    

restoration1 apart from the  fact that  
the ,mausoleum was of the ,ionic order4 
,the consideration of ,wren's           
restoration will send the student to    
,professor ,lethaby's illuminating      
monographs on 8,greek ,buildings        
represented by fragments in the ,british
 ,museum40 ,they must make him  realise 
again1 and more sensitively1 the        
importance of going to the  stones1 and 
setting aside even ,pliny 7or1 perhaps1 
especially ,pliny7 if  he does not      
confirm their evidence4    ,on the wall 
of the ,mausoleum ,room at the ,british 
,museum is a drawing  lettered 8,design 
by ,sir ,c4 ,wren from ,pliny's         
description of the ,tomb of  ,mausolus1 
copied from ,wren's book1 the           
,parentalia10 and signed 8,j4 ,e4       
,goodchild1 #ahic40 ,goodchild was a    
pupil of ,cockerell1 who also made a    
restoration represented at the ,british 
,museum both by a drawing and a  model4 
,in the ,,ms4 of the ,parentalia at the 
,royal ,society is a sheet  with a rough

 sketch-plan1 doubtless from ,wren's    
hand4 ,from it and from  ,wren's        
description1 ,goodchild presumably made 
his drawing4 ,the sketch  elevation in  
the heirloom copy gives an infinitely   
better-proportioned  and more reasonable
 building than ,goodchild's4 ,there is  
the possibility  that the imperfect     
drawing referred to in the ,parentalia  
is the  sketch-plan bound up with the   
,,ms41 but ,i feel sure the elevation   
in the heirloom copy is indicated4      
,goodchild's description on the  drawing
 suggests that he had merely copied from
 the ,parentalia4 ,it  would have been  
more correct had he said 8based on      
indications in the  ,parentalia40    ,a 
word may be added about ,wren's         
description 7printed in the             
,parentalia7 of the ,artemision at      
,ephesus4 ,there are bound1 in the      
ordinary copies of the book1 engravings 
of a plan and elevation of the  ,temple1
 and also a plan and elevation of       
,wren's conjectural restoration  of the 

shrine of the goddess4    ,the odd      
feature of this restoration is again    
,wren's reliance on ,pliny's  figures1  
which would have made what ,professor   
,lethaby calls a temple  of 8enormous   
and impossible size40 ,in order to fit  
in ,pliny's #abg  columns1 ,wren has to 
make the fronts decastyle4 ,to absorb   
the odd  number of columns he invents a 
quite enchanting shrine which has small 
claim to credibility1 and rather recalls
 the garden temples of the  eighteenth  
century4 ,he again neglects the safer   
guidance of ,vitruvius1  who states that
 the temple was octastyle4 ,his         
observations on the  ,temple of ,peace  
built by ,vespasian include some        
charming phrases3  8,each ,deity had a  
peculiar ,gesture1 ,face1 and ,dress    
hieroglyphically  proper to it2 as then 
,stories were but ,morals involved3 and 
not only  their ,altars and ,sacrifices 
were mystical1 but the very ,forms of   
their  ,temples4 ,no ,language1 no      
,poetry can so describe ,peace1 and the 

,effects  of it in ,men's ,minds1 as the
 ,design of the ,temple naturally paints
  it1 without any affectation of the    
,allegory4 ,it is easy of ,access1  and 
open1 carries an humble ,front1 but     
embraces wide1 is luminous and          
pleasant1 and content with an internal  
,greatness1 despises an invidious       
,appearance of all that ,heighth it     
might otherwise justly boast of1 but    
rather fortifying itself on every ,side1
 rests secure on a ,square and  ample   
,basis40    ,but devotion to the        
antiquities of ,greece did not hinder   
,wren from  digging deeply into the     
history of ,roman ,britain1 and his     
conclusions  as to the ,london of the   
,romans are quoted with respect by the  
archologists of to-day4    ,amongst the 
criticisms directed against ,wren as an 
antiquary are  those which are concerned
 with his ,gothic exercises4 ,one       
otherwise  devout admirer says of ,st4  
,dunstan-in-the-,east1 ,st4 ,mary's1    
,aldermary1  and ,st4 ,michael's1       

,cornhill3 8,whether ,wren made these   
designs under  pressure1 or merely as   
academical exercises for the            
entertainment  of his friends is        
unknown1 but it is very evident that he 
had not  the least sympathy with ,gothic
 architecture1 or taken any trouble to  
master its most rudimentary features40  
,without going into the reasons  for    
these ,gothic adventures beyond         
dismissing the idea that ,wren made     
such solid entertainment for his        
friends1 it is at least safe to reply   
that ,wren understood the nature of     
,gothic very well4 ,that is not to  say 
that he could reproduce it1 but the     
informed student of any phase  of art is
 not necessarily the person to create   
it4 ,in #affi he made  a survey of      
,salisbury ,cathedral for his old friend
 ,bishop ,seth ,ward1  and wrote a      
report which shows a true critical      
appreciation of the  problems of the    
medival architect1 of where he failed   
but also of  where he succeeded4 ,there 

is none of the contemptuous violence    
used by  the virtuous ,evelyn when he   
refers to ,gothic1 which led the way for
  ,ruskin's later vehemence about the   
8foul torrent of the ,renaissance40     
,wren merely remarks1 8,this ,form of   
,churches has been rejected by modern   
,architects abroad1 who use the better  
and ,roman ,art of ,architecture10  and 
commends the proportions of the nave and
 aisles3 8,the ,mouldings are  decently 
mixed with large ,planes1 without an    
,affectation of filling  every ,corner  
with ,ornaments1 444 the ,architect     
trusted to a stately and  rich          
plainness40 ,wren's criticisms are      
directed to the foundations1 the  low   
level of the floor1 the insufficient    
size of the pillars1 and the  bracing of
 the walls with iron4 ,he also objected1
 with some justice1 to  the poise of the
 aisle vaulting1 supported from without 
by buttresses  but not within save by   
the pillars themselves4    ,it happened 
that ,wren had to concern himself       

intimately with other  8congestions of  
heavy dark melancholy and monkish piles1
 without any  just proportion1 use or   
beauty0 7the phrase is ,evelyn's71 such 
as  ,westminster ,abbey4 ,for           
twenty-five years he was ,surveyor to   
the ,abbey1  and wrote a ,report on it  
in #agac4 ,we may pass over his         
historical  paragraphs1 which show      
shrewdness of observation1 for his      
obiter  dicta on ,gothic methods4 ,he   
disliked the 8flutter of                
archbuttresses10  as they 8occasion the 
,ruin of ,cathedrals1 being so much     
exposed to  the ,air and ,weather10 but 
is tolerant of ,henry ,,vii4's ,chapel1 
8a nice  embroidered ,work40    ,we have
 learnt by dire experience the heavy    
burden of repairs incident  to the      
medival system of external supports by  
flying arches1  pinnacles1 and          
buttresses in our climate4 ,he goes on  
to specify  necessary repairs1 some     
done1 and others needed1 and to plead   
for the  finishing of the ,west ,front  

and the completion of the ,central      
,tower  with the addition of a spire1   
which 8will give a proper ,grace to the 
whole ,fabrick1 and the ,west ,end of   
the ,city1 which seems to want it40     
,sir ,charles ,barry was later to be    
equally concerned with the idea of      
completing the outline of the ,abbey1 as
 his last designs show4    ,wren's      
common sense and real respect for       
,gothic are alike shown by his  proposal
 for the spire3 8,i have made a ,design1
 which will not be very  expensive but  
light1 and still in the ,gothic form1   
and of a ,style with  the rest of the   
,structure1 which ,i would strictly     
adhere to1 throughout  the whole        
,intention3 to deviate from the old     
,form would be to run into  a           
disagreeable ,mixture3 which no ,person 
of a good ,taste could relish40    ,he  
went on to talk of the north window1    
then stopped with plaster to  prevent   
its total ruin1 and said his models for 
the new work were  8such as ,i conceive 

may agree with the original scheme of   
the old  ,architect1 without any modern 
mixtures to shew my own ,inventions40   
,his ,north ,transept ,front was swept  
away by ,pearson1 not to everyone's     
satisfaction1 and though the ,gothic    
grammar of it was inevitably at  fault1 
because he was trying to do something   
against the current of  the times1 the  
failure was not due to any lack of      
appreciation of  ,gothic4 ,the existing 
western towers were not built in ,wren's
 lifetime  and he need not be charged   
with the defects of their execution by  
the  introduction of definitely         
classical cornices and other details of 
a  type which ,wren would not have used4
 ,so much for ,wren as a student of     
,gothic4 ,i come now to an example of   
the use he made of other men's          
writings4    ,in the library of         
,shirburn ,castle there is a copy of    
,wotton's ,elements  of ,architecture1  
first edition1 #afbd1 annotated by the  
hand of ,sir  ,christopher himself4 ,it 

is worth while quoting from these notes 
in some  detail1 because they show that 
,wren was a careful reader and that he  
was quick to mark every kind of         
practical application of what he read4  
,the page references are to the first   
edition of the ,elements4    ,where     
,wotton says of staircases 7on p4 #eh7  
that 8the breadth of every  single step 
should never be less than one foot1 nor 
more than eighteen  inches10 ,wren adds 
8nor so much as eighteen inches at any  
time1 for  if a step exceed twelve1     
those who have but short legs must tread
  twice upon the same step1 especially  
in descent1 which1 to women  especially1
 is troublesome1 and dangerous to the   
hasty40 ,james ,wyatt1  in the circular 
staircase of ,devonshire ,house1 erred  
in this way1 with  exactly the effect   
that ,wren describes4 ,one bears in mind
 in this  connection that ,wren himself 
was of short stature4 ,on p4 #ee ,wotton
  discourses of the advantage of        
luminous rooms3 8,indeed1 ,i must       

confess  that a frank light can         
misbecome no edifice whatsoever1 temples
 only  excepted1 which were anciently   
dark1 as they are likewise at this day  
in some proportion1 devotion more       
requiring collected than defused        
spirits10 on which ,wren makes the      
comment that ,christ ,church in ,london 
was practically nothing but window1 and 
was fitter for a stage than for  a      
church1 8although for the kind of       
building it is a thorough piece of      
work40 ,on gardens and their treatment  
with aqueducts1 walks1 etc41 ,wren      
makes the note1 8,and for disposing the 
current of a river to a mighty  length  
in a little space ,i invented the       
,serpentine1 a form admirably  convoying
 the current in circular and yet        
contrary motions upon one and  the same 
level1 with walks and retirements       
between to the advantage  of all        
purposes1 either of gardenings1         
plantings1 or banquetings 444  far      
beyond the bungarly 6 invention at      

,hatfield so much liked for  pleasure40 
,up and down the book there are         
scattered all manner of other           
interesting notes4 ,there is a practical
 thought in ,wren's reference to  the   
very small chimneys in use in ,spain1   
where charcoal was sold by  weight4 ,he 
has evidently had difficulty with smoky 
chimneys1 for to  ,wotton's observation1
 8,then there is a repulsion of the fume
 by some  higher hill or fabrique that  
shall overtop the chimney10 he makes the
  significant comment1 8,as in our      
buildings here40    ,in connection with 
terracing any story 7by which ,wotton   
seems to  have meant the making of      
loggias71 ,wren remarks3 8,terracing is 
most  commended in hotter climates1 and 
in our country must serve mostly for    
summer rooms40 ,to ,wotton's general    
reflection that 8various colours  on the
 out-walls of buildings have always in  
them more delight than  dignity10 ,wren 
adds the criticism in ,latin that in    
this particular the  noble building of  

,lord ,exeter at ,wimbledon also        
offends4 ,he seems1  however1 to have   
been friendly to the use of mosaic1 for 
he says3  8,herein excels that excellent
 cave at ,bodington wherein stands the  
brazen hydra with seven springs out of  
seven heads40 ,with regard to the  art  
of the plasterer1 ,wotton had said3     
8,plastique is not only under           
sculpture1 but indeed very sculpture    
itself1 with this difference that  the  
plasterer doth make his figures by      
addition1 and the carver by             
subtraction40 ,wren makes short work of 
this with1 8,this proposition can  never
 hold true to the name of sculpture40   
,at the end of the ,elements ,wotton    
promises another work1 8,a              
,philosophical ,survey of ,education1   
which is indeed a ,second ,building  or 
,repairing of ,nature1 and1 as ,i may   
term it1 a kind of moral  architecture40
 ,wren must have taken considerable     
pleasure from the  ,elements1 for in the
 margin he has written3 8,oh that we    

might see  that1 so long expected40     
,there are bits of detailed criticism in
 his first ,tract which might  have been
 used in recent comments on a great     
,london building3 8,fronts  ought to be 
elevated in the ,middle1 not the        
,corners2 because the ,middle  is the   
place of greatest ,dignity and first    
arrests the ,eye2 and rather  projecting
 forward in the ,middle1 than hollow4   
,for these ,reasons1  ,pavilions at the 
,corners are naught2 because they make  
both ,faults1  a hollow and depressed   
,front4444 ,no ,roof can have ,dignity  
enough to  appear above a ,cornice1 but 
the ,circular3 in private ,buildings it 
is  excusable40    ,we know little about
 the amount of ,wren's general reading1 
but he was  certainly a student of      
,elyot's ,governour4 ,some years ago ,i 
was the  means of placing in the        
,r4,i4,b4,a4 ,library the #aedf edition 
of this  once famous but now almost     
forgotten book4 ,its chief interest lies
  in the fact that it bears the         

autographs on the title-page of ,sir    
,christopher's father1 ,dean            
,christopher ,wren1 and of ,sir         
,christopher  himself4 ,the other       
writings scribbled on the margins are   
the work of  much earlier owners of the 
volume1 which was nearly a century old  
when  the ,dean acquired it4 ,there is  
some little evidence that the architect 
studied the book with care4 ,sir ,thomas
 ,elyot was concerned to set out  the   
whole behaviour of a knightly gentleman1
 and among other things  gives some     
warnings against the use of oaths4 ,when
 ,sir ,christopher was  building ,st4   
,paul's ,cathedral he was distressed by 
the profanity of the  workmen1 and      
posted up a notice directed against bad 
language4 ,it is  possible that he      
consulted the ,governour before drafting
 this notice1  for the page references  
in the index under the heading 8othes0  
has been  corrected from #agj to #afj1  
and this was possibly done by ,wren when
 he  sought for what ,elyot had to say  

about oaths4          ,,chapter ,,xiv   
8,,the ,,architect ,,of ,,adventure0    
,in trying to estimate with any         
precision what is ,wren's position  in  
the history of ,british ,architecture1  
the immediate and obvious  comparison is
 with ,inigo ,jones4 ,i refer to ,wren  
in my ,preface as our  architect of     
greatest achievement1 because ,i        
hesitate to use the  simpler words--our 
greatest architect4 ,in my own mind the 
latter is a  true description1 but the  
enthusiasts for ,inigo ,jones would     
dispute  it4 ,none1 however1 can cavil  
at the statement that ,wren achieved    
more  than any other ,english architect1
 whatever nice distinctions may be      
drawn as to the relative greatness of   
his art and that of ,inigo ,jones4  ,the
 two men are not strictly comparable1   
and represent in their work  and outlook
 two different currents in the history  
of architecture4  ,inigo ,jones was     
essentially academic and1 in his        
relationship to the  traditional methods

 of building which he found1 the        
forerunner of the  modern professional  
architect4 ,he had trained himself by   
much foreign  travel and by close study 
of the facts of building before he      
embarked  on his career4 ,wren1 on the  
other hand1 was essentially an amateur1 
if  the word be understood in its most  
favourable sense and not in the  least  
contemptuously4 ,inigo ,jones was not an
 inventor4 ,he took the  ,palladio      
tradition as his model and adhered to it
 with faithfulness4  ,wren does not seem
 to have had any particular hero amongst
 the great  ,italian architects4 ,he    
kept throughout his career a free mind1 
open  to the suggestions of his own     
inventiveness1 ready to accept existing 
conditions1 rather than academic rules1 
as the guides to his treatment  of a    
problem1 and eager to try new structural
 ideas4    ,it must plainly be said that
 ,wren suffered frequent lapses of      
taste1  and it does no service to his   
great memory to gloss over these faults4

  ,as a result of them it happened that 
practically no work of ,wren1  however  
noble in its conception1 however        
magnificent its solution of  difficult  
problems1 can be freed from criticism in
 detail4 ,he did not  produce the       
complete unity against which no         
criticism can lie4 ,of ,inigo  ,jones at
 ,st4 ,paul's1 ,covent ,garden 7as it   
was before it was rebuilt71  and again  
at the ,banqueting ,hall1 of ,robert    
,adam in the hall at ,syon1  and of ,sir
 ,charles ,barry at the ,reform ,club1  
it can be said that they  made no       
mistakes4 ,each achievement is complete 
and perfect in its kind4  ,but it is    
impossible to say that even of ,st4     
,paul's ,cathedral3 there  are elements 
in its design which are weak and        
confused4 ,even in the  steeple of ,st4 
,mary-le-,bow1 which is very nearly     
perfect1 the diameter  of the cylinder  
enclosed by the ring of columns is      
hardly right4  ,this sort of criticism  
is even more true of the majority of the

 ,city  churches4 ,the cause for this   
lack of perfection is not difficult to  
find4 ,wren was an amateur1 not only by 
the cast of his mind1 but by  the       
circumstances of his entry into         
architecture3 he was imperfectly        
trained for his work4    ,illustration3 
,s,t ,,mary-,,le-,,bow    ,if he had    
followed the example of ,inigo ,jones   
and studied the ,italian  ,renaissance  
on the spot1 not only in respect of     
design1 but also of the  facts of       
building1 he would have avoided many    
pitfalls4 ,great as is the  part which  
the knowledge of mathematics and        
geometry plays in his art1  nothing did 
and nothing could take the place of the 
practical knowledge  of the art of      
building which ,jones possessed and     
,wren lacked1 at least  until his later 
years4    ,it is possible1 for example1 
that the present trouble at ,st4 ,paul's
  ,cathedral would have been avoided if 
,wren1 whose whole admiration  was for  
the ,roman manner of building1 had gone 

to ,rome to see what1  in fact1 ,roman  
building was4 ,he would then have learnt
 that ,roman  builders did not carry    
immense weights on piers which          
consisted1 as at  ,st4 ,paul's1 of a    
core of rubble cased in by finely       
jointed ashlar4 ,he  would have found   
that it was advisable to build them     
either of ashlar  throughout1 or1 if he 
had decided on a rubble core with an    
ashlar  casing1 to interrupt the rubble 
core at reasonable intervals by courses 
of hard tiles or bricks4 ,these would   
have prevented the perpendicular        
settlement of the rubble that has now   
disturbed the relation between  the     
rubble and the ashlar casing4 ,the      
professional ,inigo ,jones would  not   
have made that mistake4 ,the amateur    
,wren did4 ,and there is little  excuse 
for this fault4 ,in his ,report on ,st4 
,paul's1 written before the  ,fire1     
,wren is very contemptuous of his       
,gothic predecessor3 8,the work  was    
both ill design'd and ill built from the

 ,beginning3 ill design'd1  because the 
,architect gave not ,butment enough to  
counterpoise and  resist the weight of  
the ,roof from spreading the ,walls2 for
 the ,eye  alone will discover to any   
man that those ,pillars1 as vast as they
 are1  even eleven ,foot diameter1 are  
bent outwards at least six inches from  
their first position4 ,this bending of  
the ,pillars was facilitated by  their  
ill ,building1 for they are only cased  
without1 and that with  small stones1   
not one greater than a ,man's ,burden2  
but within it is  nothing but a ,core of
 small ,rubbish-stone1 and much mortar1 
which  easily crushes and yields to the 
weight40 ,when the time came for ,wren  
to build the piers that carry his dome1 
he fell into exactly the same  blunder4 
,he was similarly defeated sometimes by 
problems of design for lack  of         
knowledge of the history of his art1 and
 by too great a reliance  on his own    
invention4 ,in trying at ,st4 ,paul's to
 marry the idea of a  great central dome

 to the ,gothic cruciform plan with a   
determination  to preserve the long     
vista down the aisles1 he involved      
himself in  difficulties in the support 
of the dome which he could not safely   
overcome without clumsy elements of     
design1 to be discussed later4          
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xvi    ,,wren  
,,medal ,,at ,,wadham ,,college4        
,cast and chased about #aghc by ,g4 ,d4 
,gaale4    ,yet1 in spite of all his    
technical ignorance1 he succeeded       
because  of the essential greatness of  
his mind4 ,in succeeding1 he carried    
architecture forward1 not by a normal   
development1 but by leaps and  bounds1  
so far indeed1 that there was found no  
one to follow him in  that line of      
development4 ,hawksmoor was an          
exceedingly capable  architect who had  
benefited1 so far as his capacity would 
allow1 by  thirty-two years of close    
association with the master2 but1 as    
,sir  ,reginald ,blomfield has said1 he 
was always trying to interpret ,vanbrugh

  in terms of ,wren4 ,while he was under
 the influence of ,wren he designed     
like ,wren1 when he came under the      
influence of ,vanbrugh he designed  like
 ,vanbrugh4    ,of ,wren's own outlook  
on his art we fortunately possess       
illuminating  notes1 not only in his    
printed ,tracts1 but in a ,,ms4 bound up
 with the  heirloom ,parentalia4 ,it was
 printed by ,miss ,phillimore1 and forms
  the text of ,professor ,lethaby's     
enchanting essay on 8,the ,architecture 
of ,adventure10,e from which ,i have    
borrowed the heading of this            
chapter--an acknowledgment1 trivial     
though it be1 of the debt ,i owe to  its
 author4    ,wren's paper is no more    
than a fragment1 but it is a noble      
fragment and  begins thus3              
8,whatever a man's sentiments are upon  
mature deliberation1 it will    still be
 necessary for him in a conspicuous     
,work to preserve his    ,undertaking   
from general censure1 and so for him to 
accommodate his    ,designs to the gust 

of the ,age he lives in1 tho' it appears
 to him    less rational4 ,i have found 
no little difficulty to bring ,persons1 
of    otherwise a good genius1 to think 
anything in ,architecture would be      
better than what they had heard         
commended by others1 and what they      
had view'd themselves4 ,many good       
,gothick forms of ,cathedrals were to   
be seen in our ,country1 and many had   
been seen abroad1 which they    liked   
the better for being not much different 
from ours in ,england3    this humour   
with many is not yet eradicated1 and1   
therefore1 ,i judge    it not improper  
to endeavour to reform the ,generality  
to a truer    taste in ,architecture by 
giving a larger ,idea of the whole ,art1
    beginning with the reasons and      
progress of it1 from the most remote    
,antiquity2 and that in short touching  
chiefly on some things which    have not
 been remarked by others4 ,the ,project 
of ,building is as    natural to        
,mankind as to ,birds2 and was practised

 before the ,flood40    ,and then ,wren 
goes off into musings on the            
construction of the ,ark1  the ,tower of
 ,babel1 the ,pyramids1 and the         
,sepulchre of ,porsenna as  described by
 ,pliny1 finishing with this luminous   
phrase3      8,i have been the longer in
 this ,description1 because the ,fabrick
 was    in the ,age of ,pythagoras and  
his ,school1 when the ,world began to be
    fond of ,geometry and ,arithmetick40
    ,this was the core of ,wren's claim 
as an architect1 the reliance upon      
scientific rather than traditional      
elements in design4 ,he develops the    
idea in his first ,tract printed in     
,parentalia3      8,beauty is a ,harmony
 of ,objects1 begetting ,pleasure by the
 ,eye4    ,there are two ,causes of     
,beauty--natural and customary4 ,natural
 is    from ,geometry1 consisting in    
,uniformity 7that is equality7 and      
,proportion4 ,customary ,beauty is      
begotten by the ,use of our ,senses     
to those ,objects which are usually     

pleasing to us for other ,causes1    as 
,familiarity or particular ,inclination 
breeds a ,love to ,things    not in     
themselves lovely4 ,here lies the great 
,occasion of ,errors1    here is tried  
the ,architects ,judgment1 but always   
the true ,test is    natural or         
geometrical ,beauty4 ,geometrical       
,figures are naturally more    beautiful
 than other irregular2 in this all      
consent as to a ,law of    ,nature4 ,of 
geometrical ,figures1 the ,square and   
the ,circle are most    beautiful2 next 
the ,parallelogram and the ,oval4       
,straight ,lines are    more beautiful  
than ,curve4444 ,there are only two     
beautiful ,positions    of strait       
,lines1 perpendicular and horizontal2   
this is from ,nature    and consequently
 ,necessity1 no other than upright being
 firm40    ,wren's acute judgment noted 
the great part played by such factors   
as historical association1 one of the   
8other causes10 in the public           
appreciation of architecture4           

,earlier in the ,tract he makes         
obeisance to the three principles which 
had been laid down by earlier writers1  
but with a characteristic rider3        
8,beauty1 ,firmness and ,convenience are
 the ,principles3 the two first         
depend upon geometrical ,reasons of     
,opticks and ,staticks2 the third       
only makes the ,variety40    ,scholarly 
though ,wren was in his art1 he took    
nothing for granted1 but  examined the  
common-places with a desire to establish
 reasons for them  or reject them3      
8,modern authors who have treated of    
,architecture seem generally    to have 
little more in view1 but to set down the
 ,proportions of    ,columns1           
,architraves and ,cornices in the       
several ,orders1 as they    are         
distinguished into ,dorick1 ,ionick1    
,corinthian1 and ,composite1    and in  
these ,proportions finding them in the  
ancient ,fabricks of    the ,greeks and 
,romans 7though more arbitrarily used   
than they care    to acknowledge7 they  

have reduced them into ,rules1 too      
strict and    pedantick1 and so as not  
to be transgressed1 without the ,crime  
of    ,barbarity1 though in their own   
,nature they are but the ,modes and     
,fashions of those ages wherein they    
were used40    ,there is a very modern  
ring about the following moralising3    
8,although ,architecture contains many  
excellent ,parts1 besides the    ranging
 of ,pillars1 yet ,curiosity may lead us
 to consider whence    this ,affectation
 arose originally1 so as to judge       
nothing beautiful    but what was       
adorned with ,columns1 even where there 
was no real use    of them4444 ,it will 
be to the purpose1 therefore1 to examine
 whence    proceeded this ,affectation  
of a ,mode which hath continued now at  
least #c1jjj years1 and the rather1     
because it may lead us to the           
,grounds of ,architecture and by what   
,steps this ,humour of ,colonades       
came into ,practice in all ,ages40      
,but for all his contempt of the        

pedantry of rules of proportion1 which  
the greatest architects of antiquity did
 not observe unless it suited  them1 he 
saw in the ,orders themselves something 
eternal3      8,architecture aims at    
,eternity2 and therefore the only thing 
uncapable of ,modes and ,fashions in its
 ,principals1 the ,orders4 ,the         
,orders are not only ,roman and ,greek1 
but ,phnician1 ,hebrew1 and             
,assyrian1 being founded upon the       
,experience of all ,ages1 promoted    by
 the vast ,treasures of all the great   
,monarchs1 and skill of the    greatest 
,artists and ,geometricians1 every one  
emulating each other40    ,wren rises to
 his greatest height in the opening of  
his first ,tract1  and shows that if his
 life had fallen out otherwise1 he might
 have left  a reputation as a writer3   
8,architecture has its political ,use2  
,public ,buildings being the            
,ornament of a ,country2 it establishes 
a ,nation1 draws ,people and            
,commerce2 makes the ,people love their 

native ,country1 which ,passion    is   
the ,original of all great ,actions in a
 ,commonwealth4 ,the ,emulation    of   
the ,cities of ,greece was the true     
,cause of their ,greatness4 ,the        
obstinate ,valour of the ,jews1         
occasioned by the ,love of their        
,temple1    was a ,cement that held     
together that ,people1 for many ,ages1  
through    infinite ,changes40    ,i    
have quoted at what may seem to be      
inordinate length1 but ,wren is         
justified alike by the content of his   
thought and the aptness of his  phrase1 
and ,i am concerned rather to reveal the
 man than my idea of him4    ,in all    
,wren's writings he shows an acute      
perception of the fact that             
architecture has had an immensely long  
evolution4 ,he had1 of course1  no      
suspicion as to how far back its origins
 were to be sought1 but  clearly he was 
approaching the idea that forms1 once   
constructive1  pass into decoration and 
become part of the language of          

architecture4  ,this is the final and1  
as ,i believe1 the effective reply to   
the  puritan theorist1 who cries aloud  
for the discarding of traditional       
features in art4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds 
warned his students that the  business  
of a painter is to paint a fine picture1
 and that he is  not to be cheated of   
his materials by specious arguments4    
,wren was  clear-sighted enough to see  
that the ,orders have a definite beauty 
value3 his only trouble was that he was 
not fully equipped to bend  them wholly 
to his will4 ,the western front of ,st4 
,paul's may be taken  as an instance4   
,as a ,whole it is a magnificent        
composition1 and a  source of           
inspiration to everyone with any feeling
 for architecture1  but can it be       
pretended that the segmental vault of   
the upper portico  does not belie the   
entablature and pediment in front of it8
 ,wren could  cut away architrave and   
frieze inside for the benefit of his    
great  arches1 and refer his critics to 

the ,temple of ,peace 7now the ,basilica
  of ,maxentius7 at ,rome for his       
authority1 but he lacked the insight or 
the courage to deal with the external   
problem in the same fashion4 ,the  fact 
is that the great architect of any age  
is both leader and led1 and  cannot     
wholly escape the limitations of his    
time4 ,but there are valid              
compensations4 ,his work could not be   
justly representative of the age1  one  
of the significant values of            
architecture1 if he could entirely      
dissociate himself from his age4 ,when  
it is remembered that ,sir  ,william    
,chambers can actually say in his ,civil
 ,architecture 7#agei7  that every time 
he passes ,st4 ,paul's he regrets that  
the pilasters  have no entasis--probably
 few know it--we can form an idea of the
  limitations of thought that ,wren     
would have to encounter4 ,vitruvius1,f  
with all his imperfections1 was still   
enthroned1 and few1 if any1 had  yet    
divined the real relation of that       

retired military engineer to  the arts  
of ,greece and ,rome4 ,wren had the true
 spirit of ,bacon1 and1  with further   
travel1 might have seen further through 
the idols of his  market-place4    ,he  
seems to have realised the trouble in   
which he had involved himself  in the   
arches of the octagon that supports his 
mighty dome4 ,every  architectural      
student since his day has sat and       
speculated as to what  the solution     
might have or should have been4 ,wren   
left a sufficiently  feeble suggestion  
of curtains and seated apostles1        
occupying the  tribunes 7three in each  
presumably71 as a means of veiling the  
defect4  ,but the difficulty goes deeper
 than that3 the octagon is peculiarly   
troublesome to handle in terms of the   
,orders1 as a number of failures  exist 
to show4    ,wren's work was always     
improving4 ,the last1 and westernmost1  
bay of  ,st4 ,paul's inside shows more  
breadth and grandeur1 but the carving   
of the spandrels is so strange that one 

wonders if it can really be  original4  
,this brings us to a characteristic of  
,wren which probably  accounts for some 
of his lapses of taste4 ,it seems likely
 that he was  not hard-hearted enough   
with the people who worked under him1   
that he  was too generous1 too ready to 
accept things on his assistants' and    
craftsmen's assurance that they were the
 best that could be produced4  ,he may  
thus have been led into an occasional   
acquiescence1 both in  design and       
construction1 in things which he must   
have well known were  not really right4 
,confronted with every sort of          
difficulty1 and none  too well backed1  
he must have been desperately anxious to
 avoid delays4  ,his very ingenuity1    
moreover1 would lead him to make the    
most of what  was available4            
,unfortunately in works of              
eternity--architecture aims  at         
eternity--such compromises meet with a  
stern ,nemesis4    ,in the two centuries
 that have elapsed since his death ,wren

 has been  admired and followed from    
very different points of view4 ,it has  
been  justly said that he has been in   
fashion and out of fashion and is now   
above fashion4 ,any doubt as to the     
reality and massive quality of his      
genius can easily be dissipated by a    
consideration of what imitators  have   
done4 ,no domed church on the lines of  
,st4 ,paul's has achieved  equal beauty 
and grandeur1 nor have any of the       
innumerable steeples1  based on his     
inventions1 been of the same rank4 ,in  
domestic buildings1  his special        
character remains pre-eminent and       
informs the best work of  to-day--a     
certain graciousness that in others     
degenerated often into  heaviness4      
,there is a vast gap between ,wren at   
,hampton ,court and ,talman  at         
,chatsworth4    ,thus it is that in this
 ,bicentenary ,year there is the same   
feeling  that caused ,sir ,john         
,vanbrugh to refuse the succession to   
his office  8out of tenderness for ,sir 

,christopher ,wren10 and that led the   
,spectator to publish a noble tribute   
repudiating the ingratitude of  his     
dismissal4 ,the lovers of architecture  
everywhere will feel that  in honouring 
,wren they have honoured the ,art to    
which a man of such  amazing gifts and  
nobility of character was content to    
devote the  flower of his life4    ,sir 
,christopher ,wren was the very         
fulfilment of ,wotton's                 
prophecy--8,architecture can want no    
commendation1 where there are ,noble    
,men or ,noble mindes40                 
,,appendix ,i    ,a ,,note ,,in         
,,amplification ,,of ,,the ,,reference  
,,in ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,to ,,pascal',s   
,,problem      ,mathematicians who      
wished to answer ,pascal's challenge    
were given  until ,october #a1 #afeh1   
for a solution1 and an umpire1 ,m4 de   
,cavarci1  was nominated1 and the prizes
 were #dj doubloons or pistoles and for 
the second1 #bj4 ,in a letter of        
,october #aj ,pascal says he has        

received  both attempts at solutions of 
the problems set and also a number of   
discussions of matters connected with   
the cycloid which did not pretend  to be
 solutions of his problem3    8,mais    
entre tous les crits qu'on a recues de  
cette sorte1 il n'y  a rien de plus beau
 que ce qui a t envoy par ,m4 ,wren2 car
 outre  la belle manire qu'il donne de  
mesurer le plan de la roulette          
7cycloid71 il a donn la comparaison de  
la ligne courbe mme et ses  parties1    
avec la ligne droit3 sa proposition est 
que la ligne de la  roulette est        
quadruple de son axe1 dont il a envoy   
l'nonciation sans  dmonstration4 ,et    
comme il est le premier qui l'a         
produite1 c'est sans  doute a lui que   
l'honneur de la premire invention en    
appartient40    ,summing up his history 
of the cycloid1 he concluded that the   
first to  remark that curve in nature   
was ,p4 ,mersenne1 that ,m4 de ,roberval
 first  worked out some of its          
properties1 8que le premier qui en a    

mesur la  ligne courbe a t ,m4 ,wren40  
,the story is then taken up by a letter 
of ,cavarci 7dated ,december  #aj1      
#afeh71 the umpire1 to ,pascal 7now     
masquerading under a new  pseudonym--,a4
 ,dettonville  an anagram of ,louis de  
,montalte71 in  which he recites the    
nature of the problems set--i4e41 to    
find the  dimensions and centres of     
gravity of the solids generated by the  
revolution of the cycloid4 ,he goes on  
to say that there were sent  solutions  
of the more easy problems--8savoir3 le  
centre de gravit de  la ligne courbe et 
la dimension des solides1 lequelle ,m4  
,wren nous  envoya dans ses lettres du  
#ab ,octobre0--but concludes that of the
  challenge problem no solutions had    
been sent4    ,pascal replied to this   
letter with a series of letters setting 
out a  general method for dealing with  
such problems and the actual solutions  
of the problems he had proposed4    ,the
 real quarrel as to whether the problems
 had been solved or not was  with       

,wallis and not with ,wren4 ,wallis     
appears to have sent a solution  and    
followed it up by various letters       
offering corrections4 ,however1  he was 
adjudged wrong in principle 7see ,rcit  
de l',examen pour les  prix sur la      
,roulette74 ,the prizes were not        
awarded4 ,wallis afterwards  7#afei7    
published a 8,tractatus de ,cycloide10  
in which are included four  propositions
 on the cycloid which ,wren had given to
 ,wallis4    ,turning now to ,wren's    
counter problem4 ,it is not directly    
connected  with the cycloid1 but with   
one of the properties of the ellipse1   
and  it had previously been suggested by
 ,kepler4 ,it appears to have been      
confused with ,pascal's cycloid problems
 because ,pascal showed in his  general 
method that various cycloid problems    
could be referred to the  ellipse4      
,pascal has a chapter1 8,l'galit entre  
les lignes courbes de  toutes sortes de 
,roulettes et les lignes elliptiques10  
in the course of  which he remarks1     

8,cette admirable galit de la courbe de 
la roulette  simple  une droite straight
 line que ,m4 ,wren a trouve1 n'tait1   
pour aussi dire1 q'une galit par        
accident1 qui vient de ce qu'en ce  cas 
l'ellipse se trouv rduite  une droite40 
,wren's challenge seems  to have        
remained unnoticed4          ,,appendix 
,,ii    ,,an ,,attempt ,,at ,a ,,wren   
,,chronology      ,the dates of ,wren's 
work have been set down so wildly that  
,i prefer  the omission of some         
buildings to the repetition of blunders4
 ,even so ,i  have no doubt repeated    
many old mistakes and made some fresh   
ones4 ,an  accurate chronology of ,wren 
would be of great comfort to the        
student4  ,i have checked only          
forty-seven of ,miss ,milman's dates1   
but found  forty-five of them wrong1 by 
from one to twenty-five years4    ,the  
,city churches are given under the year 
during which the first  payment to the  
builders was made3 the dates in brackets
 mark the  last of such payments1 which 

may well have been some years after the 
buildings were completed4 ,wren seems to
 have settled final accounts in         
batches4                                
,l4 ,w4      #afcb4 ,birth of ,sir      
,christopher ,wren1 ,october #bj4       
#afdb4 ,entered ,westminster ,school4   
#afdg4 ,invention of weather-clock4     
#afdi4 ,entered ,wadham ,college4       
#afea4 ,b4,a4    #afec4 ,m4,a4 and      
,fellow of ,all ,souls4    #afed4 ,meets
 ,john ,evelyn at ,oxford4    #afeg4    
,appointed ,gresham ,professor of       
,astronomy4    #afeh4 ,attempt to solve 
,pascal's problem4    #affj4 ,royal     
,society founded in ,wren's room at     
,gresham ,college4    #affa4 ,appointed 
,savilian ,professor of ,astronomy4     
,d4,c4,l41 ,oxford and ,cambridge4      
,appointed ,assistant to ,sir ,john     
,denham1 ,surveyor-,general4    #affb4  
,offer of ,tangier surveyorship refused4
          ,appointed to survey old ,st4 
,paul's4    #affc4 ,doorway1 ,ely       
,cathedral4          ,pembroke ,chapel1 

,cambridge1 begun4          ,sheldonian 
,theatre1 ,oxford4    #affe4 ,trinity   
,college1 ,oxford3 new court4           
,visit to ,paris 7,july74    #afff4     
,return from ,paris 7,march74           
,report on old ,st4 ,paul's 7,may71 and 
,first ,design for dome over            
crossing4          ,the ,great ,fire    
7,september74          ,prepared new    
,plan of ,london4          ,appointed   
,surveyor-,general and ,principal       
,architect for repairing            ,st4
 ,paul's1 the ,city churches1 and other 
public buildings4    #affh4 ,emmanuel   
,chapel1 ,cambridge 7#afgg74            
,repairs to ,salisbury ,cathedral       
,spire4    #affi4 ,first ,marriage3 to  
,faith ,coghill1 ,december #g4          
,appointed ,surveyor-,general of the    
,king's ,works4    #afgj4 ,st4 ,olave's1
 ,jewry 7#afgi74          ,st4          
,dunstan's-in-the-,east 7#afga74        
,st4 ,michael's ,wood ,street 7#afhg74  
,st4 ,mary ,aldermanbury 7#afhf74       
,st4 ,mary-at-,hill 7#afgf74            

,st4 ,christopher's 7#afge74            
,st4 ,vedast ,fosters 7#afgc74          
,st4 ,sepulchre's 7#afgg74          ,st4
 ,mary ,woolnoth 7#afgg73 the           
pre-,hawksmoor church4          ,st4    
,mildred ,poultry 7#afgi74          ,st4
 ,benet ,fink 7#afha74          ,st4    
,mary-le-,bow 7#afhj74          ,st4    
,lawrence ,jewry 7#afhf74          ,st4 
,bride's 7#afhd74          ,st4 ,dionis 
,backchurch 7#afhf74          ,st4      
,michael's ,cornhill 7#afgg74           
,st4 ,edmund the ,king 7#afgi74         
,st4 ,sepulchre's 7#afgg74              
8,rejected ,design0 for ,st4 ,paul's4   
,temple ,bar4    #afga4 ,st4 ,nicholas  
,cole ,abbey 7#afha74          ,st4     
,george ,botolph 7#afgi74          ,st4 
,mary-le-,bow ,steeple 7#afhc74         
,st4 ,magnus 7#afhg74          ,the     
,monument4          ,wren meets         
,grinling ,gibbons4    #afgb4 ,st4      
,stephen's ,walbrook 7#afhg74           
,wren knighted 7or possibly #afgd74     
#afgc4 ,st4 ,paul's3 8,model ,design0   

approved by ,king 7afterwards           
rejected74          ,trinity ,college   
,library1 ,cambridge4    #afgd4 ,st4    
,bartholomew ,exchange 7#afhf74         
,st4 ,stephen's ,coleman ,street        
7#afha72          ,st4 ,james           
,garlickhithe 7#afhg74                  
,honywood ,library1 ,lincoln ,cathedral4
    #afge4 ,st4 ,paul's3 8,warrant      
,design0 approved by ,king and first    
stone            laid4          ,birth  
of son ,christopher4 ,death of first    
wife4          ,greenwich ,observatory4 
#afgf4 ,st4 ,anne and ,st4 ,agnes       
7#afhg74          ,st4 ,michael's       
,queenhithe 7#afhg74          ,st4      
,michael ,bassishaw 7#afhb74    #afgg4  
,christ ,church 7#afia74          ,st4  
,peter's ,cornhill 7#afhg74             
,st4 ,benet ,paul's ,wharf 7#afhe74     
,st4 ,martin's ,ludgate 7#afhg74        
,all ,hallows the ,great 7#afhg74       
,st4 ,swithin's 7#afhg74          ,all  
,hallows ,bread ,street 7#afhg74        
,second marriage3 to ,jane ,fitzwilliam1

 ,february #bd4          ,birth of      
daughter ,jane1 ,november4    #afgh4    
,st4 ,antholin's 7#afia74               
,design of ,charles ,i4's tomb4         
#afgi4 ,kilmainham ,hospital1 ,dublin4  
,birth of son ,william4    #afhj4 ,st4  
,austin's 7#afhg74          ,death of   
second wife1 ,october4          ,st4    
,clement ,danes4    #afha4 ,st4 ,mildred
 ,bread ,street 7#afhg74          ,st4  
,benet's ,gracechurch 7#afhg74          
,st4 ,mary ,abchurch 7#afhg74           
,st4 ,matthew's ,friday ,street 7#afhg74
          ,tom ,tower1 ,christ ,church1 
,oxford4          ,sworn in as          
,president of the ,royal ,society1      
,january #ab4    #afhb4 ,st4 ,alban's   
,wood ,street 7#afhg74          ,chelsea
 ,hospital begun4          ,latin       
,school1 ,christ's ,hospital4    #afhc4 
,st4 ,james ,piccadilly4          ,st4  
,mary ,magdalen ,old ,fish ,street      
7#afhg74          ,st4 ,clement's       
,eastcheap 7#afhg74          ,palace at 
,winchester begun but not completed4    

#afhd4 ,st4 ,margaret ,pattens 7#afhi74 
,st4 ,michael's ,crooked ,lane 7#afid74 
,appointed ,controller of ,works1       
,windsor ,castle4          ,middle      
,temple ,gateway4          ,repairs to  
,chichester ,cathedral ,spire4    #afhe4
 ,st4 ,andrew's ,wardrobe 7#afie74      
#afhf4 ,st4 ,margaret's ,lothbury       
7#afic74          ,st4 ,mary ,somerset  
7#afid74          ,all ,hallows ,lombard
 ,street 7#afid74          ,st4         
,michael's ,royal 7#afid74    #afhh4    
,town ,hall1 ,windsor4    #afhi4 ,m4,p4 
for ,windsor4    #afij4 ,hampton ,court 
begun4    #afij4 ,kensington ,palace4   
#afia4 ,chapel1 ,trinity ,college1      
,oxford4    #afic4 ,library1 ,queen's   
,college1 ,oxford4    #afid4 ,chapel1   
,trinity ,college1 ,oxford4    #afie4   
,greenwich ,hospital begun4             
,morden ,college1 ,blackheath4    #afig4
 ,st4 ,paul's3 ,choir opened for        
service1 ,december #b4    #afih4        
,marlborough ,house1 ,london4           
,north ,transept front1 ,westminster    

,abbey4    #agjj4 ,m4,p4 for ,weymouth4 
#agjc4 ,death of daughter ,jane4        
#agjd4 ,orangery1 ,kensington ,palace4  
#agaj4 ,st4 ,paul's3 top-stone of       
,lantern laid4    #agaa4 ,st4 ,paul's3  
nominal completion4    #agag4 ,st4      
,paul's3 ,wren's complaint to           
,commissioners against the              
,balustrade4    #agah4 ,dismissed from  
,surveyorship4    #agbc4 ,death of      
,wren1 ,february #be4                   
,,appendix ,,iii    ,a ,,note ,,on      
,,some ,,portraits ,,of ,,wren      ,the
 following brief particulars of several 
portraits of ,wren1 some of  which are  
reproduced in the preceding pages1 may  
lead to more precise  information being 
disinterred3      7a7 ,wren as a ,man of
 ,forty 7,plate ,,ii474--,when ,i saw   
this1 it    was in the possession of the
 late ,mrs4 ,catherine ,pigott4 ,it is  
now1    ,i believe1 in the possession of
 the ,bishop of ,southwell1 to whom     
it passed on ,mrs4 ,pigott's death4 ,it 
is unsigned1 and there is no    record  

as to its authorship4 ,it shows ,wren as
 a young man1 and ,i    had thought it  
represented him while in the twenties4  
,mr4 ,richard    ,w4 ,goulding1         
,f4,s4,a41 dates the cravat about #afge1
 which would make    ,wren forty-three4 
,the modelling of the face is not unlike
 that of the    ,pearce bust1 which     
tends to confirm the age as about forty4
      7b7 ,the ,wadham ,college         
,portrait 7,plate ,,xiii474--,this is in
    itself a poor piece of painting1 and
 has a vague history4 ,it is an    #ahbe
 copy by ,john ,smith1 of ,oxford1      
deriving ultimately1 it is said1    from
 a ,kneller portrait at ,lambeth        
,palace1 which1 ,i am informed1    has  
disappeared4 ,it seems rather to be     
based on the ,sheldonian    portrait1   
which was attributed by ,dallaway to    
,thornhill1 8painted in    conjunction  
with ,verrio and ,kneller40 ,i give the 
unlikely story of    its authorship as  
it is told1 adding only that as the plan
 in ,wren's    hand shows the ,st4      

,paul's of the ,warrant ,design or      
later1 it must be    after #afge1 and   
therefore ,wren is depicted as a man of 
forty-three or    more1 probably a good 
deal more1 for he is markedly older than
 in the    last mentioned4      7c7     
,bust by ,edward ,pearce at the         
,ashmolean 7,plate ,v474--,this         
beautiful work has been dated #afgc1 by 
a letter written by    ,christopher1 the
 architect's son1 and quoted by ,mr4    
,lionel ,cust4 ,it    may well be ,wren 
as a man of forty-one1 and the younger  
,christopher's    date can be accepted1 
but he was very casual in his           
chronologies4      7d7 ,the ,royal      
,society ,portrait4--,the legend on the 
frame says    this picture is by        
,michael ,wright1 but ,mr4 ,collins     
,baker attributes    it1 on the ground  
of style1 to ,riley and ,closterman in  
collaboration4    ,he claims that it is 
the basis of the ,kirkall engraving 7see
 next    note74 ,if so1 ,kirkall turned 
the face the other way4 ,the view of    

,st4    ,paul's shows a transitional    
design between the ,warrant ,design with
    its nightmare steeple and the dome  
as built4 ,the clock towers are         
almost exactly like the intermediate    
design preserved at ,all ,souls4 ,i     
suggest it shows a man of seventy4      
7e7 ,the ,kirkall ,engraving after      
,closterman 7,plate ,,xv474--,this      
rare portrait was given to me by ,mrs4  
,pigott shortly before her    death1 and
 apart from its having been1 as she told
 me1 an heirloom    in the ,wren family1
 it has an interest as showing ,elisha  
,kirkall's    8chiaroscuro0 style of    
engraving interpreting ,closterman's    
portrait4      7f7 ,the ,st4 ,paul's    
,deanery ,portrait 7,plate              
,,xiv474--,this is a    copy of the best
 known portrait of all1 the ,kneller at 
the ,national    ,portrait ,gallery1 and
 an inferior copy1 for it reveals a man 
of far    less distinction1 both in     
character and feature1 than the         
,national    portrait4 ,the latter is   

attributed to the year #agaa1 and is    
therefore    of ,wren when he was nearly
 eighty4      7g7 ,the ,welbeck         
,portrait 7,plate ,,iv474--,the picture 
is a small    whole length on panel4    
,the architect wears a red dressing-gown
    with white lining1 white stockings1 
and red shoes2 his right hand    is     
placed on his hip1 and in his left hand 
he holds a drawing of    the elevation  
of the faade of ,st4 ,paul's4 ,on the   
left side of the    picture there is a  
lurid sky indicative of the burning of  
the ,city2    in the right-hand top     
corner is a bust of ,charles ,,ii41     
flanked    by an amorino weighing the   
insignia of royalty 7crown1 sceptre1    
etc471 against four shields of arms     
7,england1 ,france1 ,scotland1 and      
,ireland71 and round the waist of the   
amorino is a scroll lettered    8,justum
 est40      ,this picture was acquired  
by the fifth ,duke of ,portland in      
#ahfa4    ,it was then attributed to ,h4
 ,gascar1 who is stated to have been in 

,england circa #afgd-hj1 and who might  
consequently have painted ,sir          
,christopher soon after he made his     
design for the new ,cathedral4 ,the     
,west ,front is shown in the picture    
with the single ,order1 an early        
stage of the design4 ,the architect     
looks very young for a man of    about  
forty-two years of age1 but in the case 
of painted portraits it    is often     
difficult to reconcile the actual age of
 a sitter with his    apparent age4     
7h7 ,the ,queen's ,college ,bust4--,this
 posthumous portrait has been           
attributed to ,rysbrack2 it is certainly
 worthy of him4 ,wren is shown    as a  
very old man4      7k7 ,the ,medal at   
,wadham ,college 7,plate ,,xvi474--,as  
it is commonly    said that this medal  
was struck to celebrate the completion  
of ,st4    ,paul's1 it is a little      
unkind to have to set down the fact that
 it    was cast and chased 7not struck7 
by ,g4 ,d4 ,gaale1 a ,german1 about the 
year #aghc1 when he exhibited it in     

,london1 sixty years after ,wren's      
death in #agbc4      7l7 ,art ,union of 
,london ,medal4--,a medal was issued in 
#ahdf3    obverse1 with bust of ,wren1  
signed ,h4 ,wilson1 ,sc42 reverse1 ,st4 
,paul's1 signed ,b4 ,wyon4    ,i hope   
the above notes may lead people better  
informed than myself to  bring out facts
 which will enable a full and correct   
catalogue of ,wren  portraits to be     
prepared4 ,their publication in the     
,bicentenary issue of  ,architecture    
brought ,mr4 ,richard ,w4 ,goulding to  
my aid in correcting  some mistakes ,i  
then made1 and he has added the facts   
about the ,welbeck  portrait4    ,a list
 of engravings after the ,kneller       
portrait is given in ,mr4 ,f4           
,o',donoghue's 8,catalogue of ,engraved 
,english ,portraits in the ,british     
,museum40          ,,index              
,abbey1 ,westminster1 ,wren and1 #acg1  
#ach1 #aci      ,aims of architecture1  
,wren on the1 #aec      ,all ,hallows1  
,lombard ,street1 ,church of1 #ha       

,armoury and ,mint at the ,tower of     
,london1 #ajg      ,ashmolean ,museum1  
,oxford1 #aaj      ,association between 
architecture and military engineering1  
#ac      ,astronomy1 ,wren as a         
,professor of1 #ai1 #cf        ,bacon1  
influence on ,wren of1 #cj1 #ca         
,barometer3      ,torricelli's work on  
the1 #cf      ,wren's work on the1 #cf  
,belton ,house1 #aje      ,benson1      
,william1 ,surveyor-,general1 #gd       
,bernini3      ,lay-out in front of ,st4
 ,peter's1 ,rome1 #ec1 #ajh2            
meeting with ,wren1 #dh1 #di2           
referred to1 #ajh      ,bird1 ,robert1  
coppersmith1 #abj      ,birth of ,sir   
,christopher ,wren1 #a      ,building   
materials1 ,wren's views on1 #ic1 #id   
,busby1 ,dr41 of ,westminster ,school1  
#d1 #aj1 #aa        ,cambridge3         
,pembroke ,college ,chapel1 #aji        
,trinity ,college ,library1 #df1 #dg1   
#aji1 #aaj1 #abe      ,campbell1 ,colin1
 work at ,greenwich ,hospital by1 #ajc  
,carlyle1 ,thomas1 on the ,city         

churches1 #ig1 #ih2      on ,chelsea    
,hospital1 #ig      ,cathedrals3        
,lincoln1 ,honywood ,chapel at1 #aaj    
,st4 ,paul's1 ,london4 ,see ,st4 ,paul's
 ,cathedral      ,salisbury1 #acg       
,chapels3      ,pembroke ,college1      
,cambridge1 #df1 #aji      ,trinity     
,college1 ,oxford1 #aaj      ,wadham    
,college1 ,oxford1 #af1 #ag             
,charles ,i41 design for the tomb of1   
#ajg1 #ajh2      pedestal for statue of1
 ,charing ,cross1 #ajd      ,chelsea    
,hospital1 #ig1 #ih1 #ii1 #ajh1 #abe    
,childhood of ,wren1 #a1 #b1 #c1 #d1 #e1
 #f1 #g1 #h      ,christ ,church3       
,newgate ,street1 #ij      ,oxford1     
,college1 #aaa      ,christ's ,hospital1
 ,london1 #ajg1 #acj      ,chronology1  
an attempt at a ,wren1 #afj             
,church3      ,st4 ,andrew1 ,holborn1   
#hg      ,st4 ,clement ,danes1 ,strand1 
#gh1 #abe      ,st4 ,james1 ,piccadilly1
 #gh1 #ij1 #id1 #ie      ,st4           
,martin's-in-the-,fields1 #ba1 #bb      
,temple ,church1 #ba      ,churches1    

,city3      ,christ ,church1 ,newgate   
,street1 #ij      ,st4 ,alban1 ,wood    
,street1 #hj1 #ha      ,st4             
,andrew-in-the-,wardrobe1 #ij      ,st4 
,anne and ,st4 ,agnes1 #ha      ,st4    
,antholin1 ,watling ,street1 #ij        
,st4 ,augustine1 ,watling ,street1 #ee1 
#hf1 #aai1 #abf      ,st4 ,benet1       
,paul's ,wharf1 #hf1 #aai      ,st4     
,benet ,fink1 #ij      ,st4 ,bride1     
,fleet ,street1 #hg1 #hh1 #ij1 #ib      
,st4 ,clement1 ,eastcheap1 #ha      ,st4
 ,dunstan-in-the-,east1 #gh1 #ha1 #hb1  
#acf      ,st4 ,lawrence ,jewry1 #hf1   
#hi      ,st4 ,magnus1 ,london ,bridge1 
#ha1 #he      ,st4 ,margaret1 ,lothbury1
 #hf      ,st4 ,margaret's ,pattens1    
,rood ,lane1 #hd1 #he1 #hf      ,st4    
,martin1 ,ludgate1 #ef1 #he      ,st4   
,mary ,abchurch1 #ij      ,st4 ,mary1   
,aldermanbury1 #ha      ,st4 ,mary      
,aldermary1 #gf1 #acf      ,st4         
,mary-at-,hill1 #ha      ,st4           
,mary-le-,bow ,cheapside1 #hg1 #hh1     
#ade1 #adf      ,st4 ,mary ,somerset1   

#gh      ,st4 ,mary ,woolnoth 7by       
,hawksmoor71 #gi      ,st4 ,michael1    
,cornhill1 #acf      ,st4 ,michael      
,paternoster ,royal1 #ha      ,st4      
,mildred1 ,bread ,street1 #hf1 #ij1 #ia1
 #abj      ,st4 ,nicholas ,cole ,abbey1 
#hj      ,st4 ,sepulchre1 #gh      ,st4 
,stephen1 ,coleman ,street1 #ha         
,st4 ,stephen1 ,walbrook1 #ha1 #hh1 #hi1
 #aai      ,st4 ,swithin1 ,cannon       
,street1 #hd1 #ij      ,st4 ,vedast1    
,foster ,lane1 #gi1 #hj      ,city      
,churches1 referred to1 #ig1 #ih1 #aai1 
#abj1 #abd1 #abf1 #acf1 #ade1 #adf1     
#afj      ,coghill1 ,faith1 ,wren's     
first wife1 #bj1 #ba      ,college3     
,all ,souls1 ,oxford1 #aa1 #ab          
,christ ,church1 ,oxford1 #aaa          
,emmanuel1 ,cambridge1 #aaj             
,morden1 ,blackheath1 #ajh1 #aji        
,pembroke1 ,cambridge1 #df1 #aji      of
 ,physicians1 ,warwick ,lane1 #ajg      
,queen's1 ,oxford1 #aaj      ,trinity1  
,cambridge1 #df1 #dg1 #aji1 #aaj1 #abe  
,wadham1 ,oxford1 #d1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1

 #af      ,cox1 ,mary1 mother of ,wren1 
#b      ,custom ,house1 ,london1 #ajg   
,de l',orme1 ,philibert1 referred to1   
#ej      ,denham1 ,sir ,john1           
,surveyor-,general1 #dc1 #aja           
8,dome of ,london1 ,the10 #ei           
,draughtsman1 ,wren as a1 #abi1 #acj    
,east ,knoyle ,rectory1 ,wilts1 ,wren's 
birthplace1 #a      ,emmanuel ,college1 
,cambridge1 chapel and cloister at1 #aaj
      ,etching on glass1 ,wren's        
experiments in1 #dj      ,evelyn1 ,john1
 #ae1 #bd1 #be1 #dc1 #ec1 #fj1 #fb1 #ih1
 #ajb1 #aab1 #aac1 #aad1 #aae1      #acg
        ,family life of ,sir            
,christopher ,wren1 #ah1 #ai1 #bj1 #ba1 
#bb1 #bc1 #bd1 #be1      #bf1 #bg       
,fitzwilliam1 ,jane1 ,wren's second     
wife1 #ba1 #bb      ,fitzwilliam of     
,lifford1 ,lord1 father of ,wren's      
second wife1 #ba      ,france1 ,wren's  
travels in1 #da1 #dg1 #dh1 #di1 #ej1 #ea
        ,gibbons1 ,grinling1 #ga1 #ajd1 
#ajf1 #ajg1 #ajh1 #aad1 #aae            
,gothic ,architecture1 ,wren and1 #ach1 

#aci      ,greenwich ,hospital1 #hc1    
#aja1 #ajb1 #ajc1 #abe      ,groombridge
 ,place1 ,kent1 #ajf        ,hampton    
,court ,palace1 #ii1 #ajj1 #aja1 #aba1  
#aef      ,hawksmoor1 ,nicholas1 #gi1   
#ajc1 #ajd1 #aaj1 #abf1 #adi            
,holder1 ,dr4 ,william1 a tutor and     
brother-in-law of ,wren1 #c1 #bj        
,honywood ,library and ,cloister1       
,lincoln ,cathedral1 #aaj      ,hooke1  
,robert1 #d1 #h      ,hospital3         
,chelsea1 #ig1 #ih1 #ii1 #ajh1 #abe     
,christ's1 ,london1 #ajg1 #acj          
,greenwich1 #aja1 #ajb1 #ajc1 #abe      
,kilmainham1 ,dublin1 #ajh      ,houses 
by1 or attributed to1 ,wren3            
,belton1 #aje2      ,groombridge ,place1
 ,kent1 #ajf2      ,hampton ,court      
,palace1 #ii1 #ajj1 #aja1 #aba1 #aef2   
,kensington ,palace1 #aje2              
,marlborough    ,house1 ,london1 #ajf2  
,pallant ,house1 ,chichester1 #ajf2     
,winchester ,palace1 #ajg2      ,wren's 
,house1 ,chichester1 #ajf               
,inventions of ,wren1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1

 #ac1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #ag                
,jennings1 ,richard1 master-carpenter1  
#ga      ,jones1 ,inigo1 referred to1   
#ac1 #dc1 #ea1 #eb1 #ec1 #gj1 #aja1     
#ajf1 #add1 #ade1      #adf1 #adg       
,kempster1 ,christopher1 #aai           
,kensington ,palace1 #aje      ,kent1   
,william1 and ,kensington ,palace1 #aje 
,kilmainham1 ,dublin1 ,royal ,hospital  
at1 #ajh      ,knighting of ,wren1 #aba 
,lansdowne ,chronology1 ,,ms4 by        
,christopher ,wren junior1 #i           
,letter of ,wren to his son1 #bb1 #bc1  
#bd      ,library3      ,honywood1      
,lincoln ,cathedral1 #aaj      ,trinity 
,college1 ,cambridge1 #aji1 #aaj1 #abe  
,love-letter from ,wren to ,faith       
,coghill1 #bj1 #ba        ,marlborough  
,house1 ,london1 #ajf      ,mathematics1
 ,wren's study of1 #d1 #ca              
,mausoleum of ,halicarnassus1 ,wren's   
conjectural restoration of the1         
#acb1 #acc1 #acd      ,middleton1       
,constance1 wife of ,christopher ,wren  
junior1 #be      ,mint1 the1 in the     

,tower of ,london1 #ajg      ,monument1 
the1 ,london1 #cd1 #ajd      ,morden    
,college1 ,blackheath1 #ajh1 #aji       
,morris1 ,william1 and the ,city        
churches1 #ig1 #ih      ,museum1        
,ashmolean1 ,oxford1 #aaj        8,news 
from the ,dead10 pamphlet by ,wren1     
referred to1 #af        ,oughtred1 ,mr41
 ,wren's letter to1 #g      ,oxford3    
,ashmolean ,museum1 #aaj      ,christ   
,church ,college1 #aaa      ,incident   
at1 #af      ,queen's ,college1 #aaj    
,sheldonian ,theatre1 #de1 #df          
,trinity ,college ,chapel at1 #aaj      
,wren's education at1 #h1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 
#ab1 #ac1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #ag            
,palace3      ,hampton ,court1 #ii1     
#ajj1 #aja1 #aba1 #aef      ,kensington1
 #aje      ,winchester1 #ajg            
,palladio's influence on ,wren1 #eb     
,pallant ,house1 ,chichester1 #ajf      
,parentage and pedigree of ,wren1 #a1   
#b1 #c1 #d1 #e1 #f1 #g1 #h              
,parentalia1 the1 #a1 #c1 #e1 #h1 #i1   
#ac1 #ae1 #bb1 #bd1 #bf1 #cd1 #da1 #fe1 

#aji1      #abd1 #abe1 #acb1 #adi       
,paris1 ,wren's journey to1 referred to1
 #da1 #dg1 #dh1 #di1 #ej1 #ea           
,parliament1 ,wren as a member of1 #abj1
 #aba      ,pascal's problem and ,wren's
 solution of it1 #cd1 #ce1 #cf1 #aeh1   
#aei      ,pedestal of the ,charles ,i4 
statue1 ,charing ,cross1 #ajd           
,pembroke ,college ,chapel1 ,cambridge1 
#df1 #aji      ,pepys1 ,samuel1 #ad1    
#aad1 #acj      ,physicians1 ,college   
of1 ,warwick ,lane1 #ajg      ,pigott1  
,mrs4 ,corbett1 #bf      ,plan for      
rebuilding ,london after the ,great     
,fire1 ,wren's1 #ec1 #ed1 #ee1      #ef1
 #eg1 #eh      ,portraits of ,sir       
,christopher ,wren1 some1 #afd1 #afe1   
#aff      ,pulpits and pews1 ,wren's    
views on1 #ie        ,queen's ,college1 
,oxford1 #aaj        ,ripley1 ,thomas1  
and ,greenwich ,hospital1 #ajc          
,royal ,society1 ,wren and the1 #ab1    
#cg1 #ch1 #ci1 #dj1 #da1 #db            
,ruskin1 ,john1 and ,renaissance        
,architecture1 #acg      ,ryland's      

pedigree of the ,wren family1 #ah       
,st4 ,alban1 ,wood ,street1 #ha         
,st4 ,andrew1 ,holborn1 #gh      ,st4   
,andrew-in-the-,wardrobe1 #ij      ,st4 
,anne and ,st4 ,agnes1 #ha      ,st4    
,antholin1 ,watling ,street1 #ij        
,st4 ,augustine1 ,watling ,street1 #ee1 
#hf1 #aai1 #abf      ,st4 ,benet1       
,paul's ,wharf1 #hf1 #aai      ,st4     
,benet ,fink1 #ij      ,st4 ,bride1     
,fleet ,street1 #hg1 #hg1 #hh1 #ij1 #ib 
,st4 ,clement ,danes1 ,strand1 #gh1 #abe
      ,st4 ,clement1 ,eastcheap1 #ha    
,st4 ,dunstan-in-the-,east1 #gh1 #ha1   
#hb1 #acf      ,st4 ,james1 ,piccadilly1
 #gh1 #ij1 #id1 #ie      ,st4 ,lawrence 
,jewry1 #hf1 #hi      ,st4 ,magnus1     
,london ,bridge1 #ha1 #he      ,st4     
,margaret1 ,lothbury1 #hf      ,st4     
,margaret ,pattens1 ,rood ,lane1 #hd1   
#he1 #hf      ,st4 ,martin1 ,ludgate1   
#ef1 #he      ,st4                      
,martin's-in-the-,fields1 #ba1 #bb      
,st4 ,mary ,abchurch1 #ij      ,st4     
,mary1 ,aldermanbury1 #ha      ,st4     

,mary ,aldermary1 #gh1 #acf      ,st4   
,mary-at-,hill1 #ha      ,st4           
,mary-le-,bow ,cheapside1 #hg1 #hh1 #ade
      ,st4 ,mary ,somerset1 #gh         
,st4 ,mary ,woolnoth1 #gi      ,st4     
,michael1 ,cornhill1 #acf      ,st4     
,michael ,paternoster ,royal1 #ha       
,st4 ,mildred1 ,bread ,street1 #hf1 #ij1
 #ia1 #abj      ,st4 ,nicholas ,cole    
,abbey1 #hj      ,st4 ,paul's3 ,old1    
,wren's plans for the restoration of1   
#ef1 #ei1 #fj1        #fa2              
,cathedral1 ,london1 balustrade on the  
upper cornice of1 #gd2      cost of1    
#gc2      dome of1 #ee1 #ef1 #ei1 #ga1  
#ajc2      first design for1 #fc2       
mean treatment of ,wren over1 #gc1 #gd2 
opening of1 #gc2      8rejected0 or     
8model0 second design for1 #fc1 #fd1    
#fd1 #fe1 #ff1 #ff2      ,south         
,staircase of1 referred to1 #cd2        
third or 8warrant0 design for1 #fg1 #fh2
      ,wren's achievement in1 #gf1 #gg2 
reference to1 #hc1 #aaf1 #aba1 #abb1    
#abf1 #adc1 #ade1 #adg1 #adh1 #aed1     

#aee1        #aef      ,st4 ,peter's1   
,rome1 #ec      ,st4 ,sepulchre1 #gh    
,st4 ,stephen1 ,coleman ,street1 #ha    
,st4 ,stephen1 ,walbrook1 #ha1 #hh1 #hi1
 #aai      ,st4 ,swithin1 ,cannon       
,street1 #hd1 #ij      ,st4 ,vedast1    
,foster ,lane1 #gi1 #hj      ,salisbury 
,cathedral1 #acg      ,scarborough1 ,sir
 ,charles1 a tutor of ,wren1 #d1 #e1 #f1
 #g1 #aj      ,shaw1 ,norman1 and       
,hampton ,court ,palace1 #ajj           
,shepheard1 ,rev4 ,william1 a tutor of  
,wren1 #c      ,sheldonian ,theatre at  
,oxford1 #de1 #df      ,soane ,museum1  
,wren relics at1 #aba      ,sir ,john1  
#ii      ,sons of ,sir ,christopher     
,wren1 #be      ,spires1 ,city church1  
by ,wren1 #hd      ,strong1 ,edward1    
master-mason1 #bb1 #bc1 #bd1 #fi1 #ga1  
#gc1 #aai1 #abj        ,talman1         
,william1 architect1 #aja1 #aef         
,temple ,bar1 #ajd1 #aje      ,temple   
,church1 #ba      ,thermometer designed 
by ,wren1 #h      ,thornhill1 ,sir      
,james1 paintings in ,st4 ,paul's by1   

#gd      ,tijou1 ,jean1 metal-worker1   
#ga1 #aja1 #abj1 #aba      ,tomb1       
,wren's design for a1 #ajh      ,tom    
,tower1 the1 ,oxford1 #aaa              
,torricelli1 his work on the barometer1 
#cf      ,tower of ,london1 #ajg        
,town-planning1 ,wren and1 #ec          
,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 ,library 
of1 #df1 #dg1 #aji1 #aaj1 #abe          
,trinity ,college1 ,oxford1 ,chapel at1 
#aaj        ,university degrees1        
,wren's1 #aa1 #ab        ,vanbrugh1 ,sir
 ,john1 #ajc1 #ajf1 #aaj1 #adi1 #aeg    
,ward1 ,dr4 ,seth1 #i      ,webb1 ,john1
 #dc1 #aja1 #ajf      ,wilkins1 ,john1  
,warden of ,wadham1 #i1 #ab1 #ac        
,winchester ,palace1 #ajg      ,wotton1 
,sir ,henry1 #aci1 #adj1 #ada1 #adb1    
#aeg      ,wren1 ,sir ,christopher3     
,family and relations3        ,father1  
#a2        mother1 #b2        sisters1  
#ah2        grandfather1 #a2            
great-grandfather1 #a2        sons1 #ba1
 #bb1 #bc2        daughter1 #ac2        
brother-in-law1 #b2        uncle1 #b1   

#ah2        cousin1 #ah      ,education 
and ,studies3        ,studies at home1  
#c2        at ,westminster ,school1 #d2 
under ,sir ,charles ,scarborough1 #e2   
,assistant at the ,surgeon's ,hall1 #g2 
at ,oxford1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 #ad1
 #ae1 #af1 #ag2        matriculation of1
 #aa2        ,university degrees of1    
#aa1 #ab2        ,fellowship of ,all    
,souls1 #af      ,personal3             
,critical mind1 #ach1 #aci1 #adj1 #ada1 
#adb2        death1 #abb2        epitaph
 of1 #ge2        health of1 #d1 #aj1    
#ah2        heirlooms at ,soane ,museum1
 #aba2        ,kirkall engraved         
portrait1 #bf2        legible           
penmanship1 #d2        letter to his    
son1 ,christopher1 #bb1 #bc1 #bd2       
letter in ,latin to his father1 #e2     
love-letter to ,faith ,coghill1 #bj2    
marriage1 first1 to ,faith ,coghill1    
#ba2        marriage1 second1 to ,jane  
,fitzwilliam1 #ba2        patience of1  
#h2        poetic gift of1 #af2         
portraits of1 #afd1 #afe1 #aff2         

retirement1 #ge2        social          
relaxations1 #aad1 #aae1 #aaf2          
theories of beauty1 #aej1 #aea2         
will1 #be1 #bf1 #bg      ,scientific    
,studies and ,achievements3        ,as  
an astronomer1 #cb1 #cc1 #cd1 #cg2      
as a classical archologist1 #acb1 #acc1 
#acd2        as a student and scholar1  
#acb1 #acc1 #acd1 #ace1 #acf1 #acg1     
#ach1 #aci1          #adj1 #ada1 #adb1  
#adc2        essays1 #ae2               
experiments in etching on glass1 #dj2   
experiments in natural science1 #ch1    
#ci1 #dj1 #da2        inventions of1 #f1
 #g1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 #ad1 #ae1  
#af1 #ag2        part in the development
 of natural science1 #bh1 #bi2          
place as a mathematician1 #cd1 #ce1 #cf2
        scientific labors of #aaf1 #aag1
 #aah2        solution of ,pascal's     
problem1 #cd1 #ce1 #cf1 #aeh1 #aei2     
transactions with the ,royal ,society1  
#cg1 #ch1 #ci1 #dj1 #da1 #db            
,professional and ,public3              
8,architect of ,adventure1 ,the10 #add1 

#ade1 #adf1 #adg1 #adh1 #adi1 #aej1     
#aea1 #aeb1 #aec1 #aed1 #aeg2        as 
a ,member of ,parliament1 #abj1 #aba2   
as a professional man1 #abc1 #abd1 #abe1
 #abf1 #abg1 #abh1 #abi1 #acj1          
#aca2        influence of ,inigo ,jones1
 #ea1 #eb2        influence of          
,palladio1 #eb2        introduction to  
,bernini1 #dh2        knighting of1     
#aba2        plan for rebuilding        
,london1 #ec1 #ed1 #ee1 #ef1 #eg1 #eh2  
remuneration and fees1 #abd1 #abe2      
,surveyor-,general of ,his ,majesty's   
,works1 #dc1 #abd1 #abe1 #abg1 #abh1    
#abi2        travels in ,france1 #da1   
#dg1 #dh1 #di1 #ej1 #ea      ,wren1     
,dean ,christopher 7father71 #a1 #b1 #c1
 #bj1 #adb      ,wren1 ,christopher     
7second son7 #ba1 #bb1 #bc1 #bd1 #be1   
#bf1 #bg1 #aai1 #abe      ,constance    
7daughter-in-law71 #be      ,cuthbert   
7great-grandfather71 #a      ,faith     
7mother71 #b1 #ah      ,francis         
7grandfather71 #a      ,gilbert 7eldest 
son1 died in infancy71 #ba      ,jane   

7daughter71 #ac1 #ba1 #bb      ,margaret
 7great-granddaughter71 #bf             
,matthew1 ,bishop of ,ely 7uncle71 #b1  
#ah      ,matthew 7cousin71 #ah         
,stephen 7grandson71 #bf      ,william  
7great-great-grandfather71 #a           
,william 7third son71 #bb1 #bd1 #be1 #bg
      ,wren chronology1 an attempt at a1
 #afj      ,wren's ,house1 ,chichester1 
#ajf        ,,printed ,,in ,,great      
,,britain ,,by    ,,billing ,,and       
,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,guildford ,,and       
,,esher          ,,footnotes3      ,a   
,english ,leadwork3 ,its ,art and       
,history1 chapter vi4    ,b 8,the       
,complete ,building ,accounts of the    
,city ,churches 7,parochial7  designed  
by ,sir ,christopher ,wren10            
,archologia1 vol4 lxvi4    ,c ,a        
,history of ,renaissance ,architecture  
in ,england4    ,d ,i dealt with this   
subject in detail some years ago in the 
,architectural ,review4    ,e ,in ,form 
in ,civilization 7,oxford ,university   
,press71 #aibb1 a volume  to be read by 

everyone1 for it contains the ripe      
judgment on many  matters of a very     
stimulating critic of the part played by
 architecture  in thought and life4     
,f ,in ,wren's petty cash accounts is   
the entry3 8,for a booke on  ,vitruvius 
for the use of ye office--#c40          
,the 8,country ,life0 ,library          
,,english ,,homes    ,,by ,h4 ,,avray   
,,tipping1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,s4,a4    ,a      
,monumental ,work on the ,country ,homes
 of ,england1 divided into the          
following distinctive ,chronological and
 ,dynastic ,periods3        ,i4 ,,norman
 ,,and ,,plantagenet       #ajff-adhe   
7,now ,ready7     ,,ii4 ,,early ,,tudor 
#adhe-aeeh 7,ready ,autumn1 #aibc7      
,,iii4 ,,late ,,tudor ,,and ,,early     
,,stuart  #aeeh-afdi 7,now ,ready7      
,,iv4 ,,late ,,stuart                   
#afdi-agad 7,now ,ready7      ,v4       
,,early ,,georgian                      
#agad-agfj 7,now ,ready7     ,,vi4      
,,late ,,georgian                       
#agfj-ahbj 7,in ,preparation7      ,it  

is the aim of this great work to be for 
,english ,domestic    ,architecture and 
,life what the 8,dictionary of ,national
 ,biography0 and    the 8,new ,english  
,dictionary0 are for our other heritages
 of ,history    and ,language4 ,that it 
may worthily take the place which is its
    undoubted due beside these works in 
every ,reference ,library1 private    or
 public1 no effort has been spared in   
dealing with the splendid    subject4   
,in the six volumes here announced is   
systematically and    sympathetically   
set forth in all its fascinating        
fullness that    building up of homes   
and home life which has been so closely 
influenced by1 and has in its turn so   
strongly impressed1 the minds    and    
ideas of the generations who have made  
our ,england4    ,,each ,,volume        
,,contains ,,from #djj ,,to #ejj        
,,superb ,,illustrations ,,and ,,plans  
,price ,three ,guineas net each         
,,published ,,at ,,the ,,offices ,,of   
8,,country ,,life0      ,,the           

,,architecture ,,of ,,robert ,,and      
,,james ,,adam    7#ageh-agid7    ,by   
,,arthur ,t4 ,,bolton1 ,f4,s4,a41       
,f4,r4,i4,b4,a4    ,in two large folio  
volumes1 containing about #gjj splendid 
illustrations1 plans1 and drawings4     
,full gilt edges4 #h #hs4 net2 by  post 
#h #ajs4    ,this important work forms a
 complete survey of the ,architecture1  
,decoration1 and ,furniture of the      
famous ,adelphi ,brethren1 and          
constitutes a monumental record of the  
,adam style4 ,although during the       
,greek and ,gothic ,revivals ,adam      
architecture was freely destroyed1 there
  still remains1 as these volumes prove1
 a marvelous wealth of work1 much  of   
which is complete with the actual       
,furniture1 ,carpets1 and ,hangings     
made to his designs4 ,no country in the 
world can show equivalent  instances of 
such historical preservation as are     
illustrated in these  magnificent       
volumes4      ,,twenty-,,five ,,great   
,,houses ,,of ,,france    ,by ,,sir     

,,theodore ,,andrea ,,cook1 ,m4,a41     
,f4,s4,a4    ,,with ,,an ,,introductory 
,,chapter ,,outlining ,,the             
,,development ,,of ,,french  ,,domestic 
,,architecture ,,by ,w4 ,h4 ,,ward1     
,m4,a41 ,f4,r4,i4,b4,a4                 
,illustrations by ,,frederick ,h4       
,,evans4      ,large folio1 containing  
over #djj superb illustrations1 plans   
and    diagrams1 with a map of ,france  
showing the position of each ,chateau4  
,half-bound in buckram1 #b #abs4 #f;d4  
net2 in half morocco1 #c #bs4    #f;d4  
net2 postage #as4 extra4    ,in this    
volume ,sir ,theodore ,cook presents a  
pageant of the great  figures who       
surrounded the throne of such kings as  
,franois ,premier  and ,louis ,quatorze4
 ,louis of ,orleans at ,pierrefonds1 the
 ,duke of ,guise  at ,blois1 ,fouquet at
 ,vaux le ,vicomte and ,cond at         
,chantilly--these are  typical of the   
story that the author unfolds1 with a   
grasp so sure that  the men and women   
live again1 while their great houses are

 depicted  with a wealth of illustration
 never before achieved or attempted4    
,,garden ,,ornament    ,by ,,gertrude   
,,jekyll4    ,large folio1 with over    
#fjj matchless ,illustrations and       
charming  coloured frontispiece1 #c #cs4
 net2 by post1 #c #ds4 ,in  half-levant 
grain1 #c #aes4 net2 by post1 #c #afs4  
,examples are furnished1 from the finest
 gardens in the country1 of  beautiful  
,balustrading2 graceful ,gates1 ,urns1  
,vases and ,sculptured  ,ornaments2     
,stone paved ,courts1 ,paved ,ways and  
,garden ,seats1 ,loggias1  ,orangeries1 
,garden ,houses and ,dovecotes1         
,parterres1 ,sundials1 ,topiary  ,work1 
,pergolas and ,treillage1 ,canals1      
,ponds and ,water ,gardens1 ,bridges1   
,fountains and ,dipping ,wells1 ,flower 
,borders1 ,wall ,gardening and          
,japanese ,gardens4      ,,the          
,,gardens ,,of ,,italy    ,with         
,historical and ,descriptive ,notes by  
,e4 ,,march ,,phillipps4    ,edited and 
thoroughly revised1 with copious        

additions and reproductions  of valuable
 old plans4    ,by ,,arthur ,t4         
,,bolton1 ,f4,s4,a41 ,f4,r4,i4,b4,a4    
,large folio1 containing over #djj      
,illustrations1 in one volume1 #c       
#cs4 net2 by post1 #c #ds4 ,in          
half-levant grain1 #c #aes4 net2    by  
post1 #c #afs4    ,the ,gardens         
illustrated are grouped by districts1   
beginning in the  ,south with ,rome1    
followed by the neighbourhood of the    
,eternal ,city--as  ,tivoli and         
,frascati1 ,bagnaia and ,caprarola4     
,proceeding northwards the  reader comes
 to ,florence1 famous for the ,villas   
and ,gardens in the  neighbourhood of   
the ,city4 ,then follows ,venetia1 with 
the celebrated  ,malcontenta1 ,stra and 
,maser4 ,the ,lake ,district succeeds1  
with  ,balbianello and the ,borromenian 
,islands2 and finally the inexhaustible 
regions of ,italian art at ,genoa1      
renowned for superb examples of         
palatial architecture and gardening art4
      ,a complete ,catalogue of books in

 the 8,country ,life0 ,library will be  
sent post free on application to ,,the  
,,manager1 8,,country ,,life10 ,,ltd41  
#bj1 ,,tavistock ,,street1 ,,covent     
,,garden1 ,w4,c4 #b4                    
,,transcriber',s ,,notes3               
,italicized text is surrounded by       
underscores3 italics4      ,emboldened  
characters are surrounded by equals     
signs3 bold4      ,superscripted text is
 preceded by a caret character3 ,s,t or 
wch4      ,obvious typographical errors 
have been corrected4                    
,inconsistencies in hyphenation have    
been standardized4      ,archaic or     
variant spelling has been retained4     
,emboldened page numbers in the ,index  
indicate illustrations4