克里斯托弗·雷恩Christopher Wren

克里斯托弗·雷恩的父亲也叫雷恩。老雷恩是一位受过良好教育的人，在进入教会之前毕业于牛津圣弗瑞兹·约翰学院。他于1620年成为威尔特郡Fonthill的教区长，然后于1623年成为威尔特郡East Knoyle的教区长。他与Mary Cox结婚，Mary Cox是来自Fonthill的威尔特郡乡绅Robert Cox的独生女，他们住在East Knoyle时所有孩子都出生了。Mary、Catherine和Susan都在1628年前出生，但随后有几个孩子出生后几周内死亡。他们的儿子雷恩出生于1632年，然后两年后，另一个女儿名叫Elizabeth出生。Mary一定在Elizabeth出生后不久去世，尽管似乎没有幸存的日期记录。然而，通过Mary，家庭在经济上变得富裕，因为作为唯一继承人，她继承了她父亲的遗产。

1634年，老雷恩被提供温莎教长职位，这个职位由他的兄弟Mathew雷恩担任，后者即将成为赫里福德主教。老雷恩于1635年4月4日就任教长，年轻的雷恩在那里由他的父亲和一位年长的姐姐抚养长大，她填补了母亲的角色。他与另一个亲戚有着亲密的友谊，因为他的叔叔Mathew雷恩有一个儿子，也叫Mathew雷恩，他成为雷恩亲密家庭的一部分。另一个童年朋友是Charles I的儿子，威尔士亲王，他们经常一起玩耍。

在身体上，雷恩是一个相当虚弱的孩子，身材相当矮小。他从小就喜欢绘画，随着年龄增长，这一点显著发展。科学让他着迷，他对周围的一切表现出天生的好奇心，喜欢进行自己设计的小实验。雷恩早年有一位私人导师，然后在他九岁时被送到伦敦的威斯敏斯特学校。这所学校由Busby博士管理，他以维持异常严格的纪律和相当大的能力而闻名，这导致他的许多学生取得巨大成功。在这所学校，雷恩迅速精通拉丁语，这从他写给父亲的拉丁语信件中可以看出，这些信件仍然保存着。

雷恩家族显然深受国王青睐，是坚定的保皇派。这导致了困难，当雷恩在威斯敏斯特开始上学后不久，国王与议会之间的英国内战爆发。Matthew Wren，此时已是伊利主教，被囚禁在伦敦塔十八年。温莎的教长住宅遭到袭击，雷恩的父亲被迫搬出。起初他去了布里斯托尔，但当雷恩十一岁时，他的姐姐嫁给了William Holder，此后不久老雷恩去住在牛津郡Bletchingham的牧师住宅，这是他女儿和女婿的家。William Holder是一位数学家，对雷恩产生了非常强烈的影响，后者在Bletchingham度过了很多时间。Holder基本上承担了雷恩的数学导师角色，还鼓励他进行天文学实验。

1646年，雷恩离开威斯敏斯特学校，但并未立即进入大学。在接下来的三年里，他积累了广泛的科学知识。我们知道他大约在1646年制作了日晷实验，还制作了一个太阳系的纸板模型，展示了他的艺术才能和天文学技能。他受雇为查尔斯·斯卡伯勒博士的助手，协助他进行各种解剖实验。雷恩制作了展示肌肉如何工作的纸板模型，斯卡伯勒在解剖学讲座课程中用于演示。有人推测雷恩当时的健康状况可能不佳，这可能使他被送到斯卡伯勒博士那里接受治疗。无论原因如何，雷恩为斯卡伯勒所做的工作是他第一个重要的科学贡献。此后，仍在进入大学之前，雷恩被推荐给威廉·欧垂，作为将其关于日晷数学的著作翻译成拉丁语的合适人选。

雷恩于1649年6月25日进入牛津大学瓦德汉学院，1651年3月18日获得学士学位，1653年获得牛津大学硕士学位。他于1653年当选为牛津大学万灵学院会士，并在该学院居住至1657年。在牛津，雷恩进行了许多科学实验。他研究解剖学，为Willis的Cerebri anatome绘制人脑图。他设计了一种输血方法，并通过将一只狗的血液输给另一只狗来演示。也许雷恩在牛津度过的岁月中最引人注目的是他兴趣的广度。他的思想从一个主题跳到另一个主题，提出了诸如：测量角度的仪器、测量仪器、提水机械、在海上寻找经度和距离的方法、防御城市的军事装置以及加固港口的手段等想法。Summerson在[14]中写道：-

他的才能的分散令我们感到惊讶和沮丧，这很可能最终也令他自己如此。

1657年，他成为伦敦格雷沙姆学院的天文学教授。大约从1652年起，他一直在观测土星，目的是解释其外观。他的假说写成De corpore saturni，但在这部著作出版之前，克里斯蒂安·惠更斯提出了他的土星环理论。雷恩立刻认识到这比自己的假说更好，于是De corpore saturni从未出版。

考察雷恩在就任格雷沙姆学院讲席时的就职演讲中所涉及的主题是很有意思的。除了谈到用天文学论据来解释基督教圣经记载中的疑难的方法之外，他还谈到了到最近恒星的距——

……然而很可能有些恒星比其他的要遥远无穷倍。

他讨论了约翰内斯·开普勒的行星椭圆轨道理论，并期待有朝一日这能得到恰当的解释。我们应当注意，尽管大约30年后艾萨克·牛顿证明了平方反比定律与椭圆轨道之间的联系，雷恩本人（以及罗伯特·胡克）都各自独立地提出了吸引力的平方反比定律。

雷恩在演讲中还谈到了最近利用望远镜对太阳、月球和行星所作的发现。他特别谈到了太阳黑子，以及把月球用于确定海上经度问题的一些应用：——

……因此，通过此地教授们的努力，由于磁偏角变化的首次发现和观测而得到了扩充；我承认，这件事至今尚不成熟，但可能在哲学上产生重要影响，并且可能对航海者极为有用，由此我们或许能获得经度的知识，除此之外，前人的勤奋几乎未曾留下任何更值得在技艺中追求的光荣目标。

雷恩是伦敦格雷欣学院一个科学讨论小组的成员，该小组于1660年发起了正式的每周会议。他无疑在后来成为皇家学会的早期发展中发挥了重要作用，他广泛的兴趣和在众多不同学科上的专长有助于不同科学家之间的思想交流。他在格雷欣学院的讲座也为科学家们在皇家学会正式成立之前的聚会提供了一个焦点。事实上，Royal Society成立的那次会议的报告是这样写的：

备忘录 1660年11月28日。以下这些人按照他们中大多数人的通常习惯，在格雷欣学院聚会，听取雷恩先生的讲座，即：威廉·布朗克勋爵、罗伯特·波义耳先生、布鲁斯先生、罗伯特·莫里爵士、保罗·尼尔爵士、约翰·维尔金斯博士、戈达德博士、佩蒂博士、鲍尔先生、鲁克先生、雷恩先生、希尔先生。讲座结束后，他们按照通常的方式退席进行相互交谈。

1662年，这个团体从查理二世那里获得了皇家特许状，“伦敦皇家学会促进自然知识”由此成立。除了是学会的创始成员外，雷恩还在1680年至1682年间担任皇家学会的主席。

雷恩于1661年成为牛津大学的萨维尔天文学教授，并担任此职直到1673年。正是在这次任命之后，他对数学做出了重要贡献。艾萨克·牛顿从不轻易过分赞扬他人，他在Principia中表示，他将雷恩与约翰·沃利斯和克里斯蒂安·惠更斯并列为当时的主要数学家。D. T. 怀特塞德在[16]中写道：

雷恩的数学工作如今如果还存在的话，也只是从遗忘中抢救出来的零散片段，一些已印刷出版，还有少量仅在同代人的已出版著作中留有粗略轮廓，尤其是约翰·沃利斯的著作中。

雷恩在数学上的名声源于他在1658年获得的结果。他利用基于剖分的exhaustion proof求出了摆线弧的长度，从而将问题简化为对圆的弦段求和，这些弦段成等比数列。

他是第一个解决约翰内斯·开普勒问题的人，即用通过其直径上给定点的线按给定比例切割半圆。这个问题在天文学中有基础，因为它出现在约翰内斯·开普勒关于椭圆轨道的工作中。约翰内斯·开普勒将求行星的平均运动简化为用通过焦点的线按给定比例切割椭圆。除了解决开普勒问题外，雷恩还独立证明了约翰内斯·开普勒第三定律，并且如我们上面所述，制定了引力吸引的平方反比定律。

雷恩贡献的另一个主题是光学。他发表了一种创建透视绘图的机器的描述，并讨论了锥形透镜和镜子的研磨。从这项工作中产生了雷恩的另一个重要数学结果，即旋转双曲面是一个直纹面。这些结果于1669年发表。

关于对数螺线的工作，已在1650年代末由约翰·沃利斯求长，导致雷恩注意到有可能考虑一种保面积变换，将锥体变换为实体对数螺线。他评论说，这类似于蜗牛形状和海贝壳形状，这些想法达西・汤普森将在250年后研究。

雷恩对建筑的兴趣最初是如何产生的还不太清楚，尽管我们已经注意到他在牛津时期对防御城市的军事设备和加固港口的手段的贡献。当然，他在牛津学生时期阅读了维特鲁威在公元前一世纪写的On Architecture。1661年，他被邀请参与丹吉尔港口的防御工事，尽管他拒绝了这个请求，但有趣的是，即使在1661年，雷恩也被认为是可能承担重大建筑项目的人。1663年，雷恩对马塞卢斯剧院进行了彻底研究，检查了剧院的图片和显示其原始形式的图纸。这对雷恩作为建筑师的发展很重要，马塞卢斯剧院的影响在他的早期设计中清晰可见。1665年访问巴黎也有影响，特别是索邦教堂和荣军院教堂给他留下的印象。

1663年，他受其叔父伊利主教的委托，设计了剑桥大学彭布罗克学院的礼拜堂。

你可以在THIS LINK看到Pembroke chapel的图片

同年，他向皇家学会提交了他设计的牛津谢尔登剧院模型。这个项目于1664年开始建造，是他首个包含穹顶设计的项目。萨默森认为，正是从这一刻起，数学家雷恩转变为建筑师雷恩[14]：-

谢尔登剧院完美地展示了这种分野。其建筑与装饰尚不成熟……另一方面，那带有嘶嘶声的屋顶结构（现已不存），是对涉及大跨度桁架设计问题的一项极为有趣的研究，是一项真正的‘皇家学会’研究。因此，在这一座建筑中，我们看到雷恩同时以两种身份工作——既是精巧的装饰绘图师，又是试图以新科学方法解决实际问题的实验哲学家。

你可以在THIS LINK看到Sheldonian theatre的图片

1668年，按照雷恩的设计，剑桥大学伊曼纽尔学院礼拜堂和牛津大学三一学院花园方庭开始施工。

你可以在THIS LINK看到伊曼纽尔学院礼拜堂的图片

雷恩在建筑方面最大的机遇来自1666年伦敦大火后的重建工作。那一年，他被任命为伦敦城重建专员，在三位测量员的协助下，对火灾毁坏的区域进行了勘测，其中一位测量员是罗伯特·胡克。雷恩重新规划了整个城市，并监督了51座教堂的重建。例如，1670年，他是以下伦敦建筑的建筑师：海关大楼、针线街的圣雷恩-le-Stocks教堂、东圣邓斯坦教堂、针线街的圣贝内特芬克教堂、福斯特桑德斯·麦克兰恩的圣维达斯特教堂、芬丘奇街的圣狄奥尼斯背教堂、伍德街的圣迈克尔教堂、家禽街的圣米尔德里德教堂、老犹太街的圣奥拉夫教堂、泰晤士街的圣玛丽山教堂、奥尔德曼伯里的圣玛丽教堂，以及伦巴底街的圣埃德蒙国王与殉道者教堂。

你可以在THIS LINK看到St Benet Fink的图片，在THIS LINK看到St Dunstan in the East的图片。

1670年，他被任命为城市教堂重建测量员。在罗伯特·胡克作为助手的协助下，他接到了以下任务：-

……指导并规定上述教堂的尺寸、形式和模型。

值得注意的是，尽管雷恩此时正在进行的非凡数量的设计工作，他仍担任着牛津的萨维尔天文学讲席。显然，他对学术世界的热爱使他不愿切断与它的联系，尽管此时他已位居英国首席建筑师之位。

1669年，雷恩被任命为圣保罗大教堂的测量员。他曾在1663年参与旧大教堂的修缮工作，因此当1669年被任命为国王工程总监时，他自然是接任这一角色的不二人选。这一任命可能也让雷恩确信自己现在足够安定可以结婚了，因为他娶了布莱钦厄姆的Sir John科格希尔的女儿费丝·科格希尔。雷恩曾与他的姐夫威廉·霍尔德在布莱钦厄姆度过许多时光，并早已认识费丝。这段婚姻只持续了六年，因为费丝在1675年9月生下他们的第二个孩子后不久便去世了。雷恩留下两个年幼的孩子，很快再次结婚，这次是在1677年与简·菲茨威廉结婚。遗憾的是，雷恩的第二次婚姻比第一次更短，因为简于1679年死于肺结核。这段第二次婚姻育有两个孩子。

雷恩今天最为人知的身份是圣保罗大教堂的建筑师。我们在上文提到，他于1669年被任命为圣保罗大教堂的测量员。他为新大教堂设计的第一个方案被伦敦市议会以不够宏伟为由拒绝，雷恩于1674年提出了第二个方案及一个模型。这第二个方案基于希腊式设计，被神职人员以不符合基督教教堂的适当形式为由拒绝。尽管雷恩此时个人生活遭遇悲剧，且对其圣保罗大教堂方案的反应深感失望，他仍再次投入工作，提出了基于拉丁十字架并带有大型穹顶的第三个方案。这第三个方案将成为我们今天所见的圣保罗大教堂方案的基础，但雷恩在35年的施工过程中对其进行了修改。由于项目开始时雷恩已经43岁，人们可能不会期望他能活到项目完工。然而，他活到了90岁，圣保罗大教堂在他去世前12年完工。

你可以在THIS LINK看到St Paul's的图片

1675年，即雷恩的圣保罗大教堂方案被接受的那一年，他接到查理二世的委托，为约翰·佛兰斯蒂德建造一座皇家天文台，后者于同年被任命为皇家天文学家。正如常有的情况，国王缺钱，因此雷恩不得不设计一座“廉价”建造的建筑。当然，查理二世建造天文台并非为了推动科学研究，而是希望解决经度问题，这将使英格兰作为一个航海国家比其竞争对手拥有巨大优势。

在一篇这样长度的文章中，甚至不可能指出雷恩所承担的建筑委托的范围。然而，我们应该提到另外两项作品。1696年，他被任命为格林威治海军医院的测量员，三年后成为威斯敏斯特教堂的测量员。他于1716年辞去前一个职位，但一直担任后一个职位直到去世。

你可以在THIS LINK看到Greenwich Naval Hospital的图片

1723年2月，他在前往伦敦家中的途中着凉，随后去世，并于3月5日被安葬在圣保罗大教堂东端唱诗班南侧过道下。

当我们意识到雷恩与他那个时代一些最难相处的人，特别是罗伯特·胡克和约翰·佛兰斯蒂德，始终保持朋友关系时，我们就能对他的性格有所了解。菲利莫尔在19世纪撰写的关于雷恩本性的记述描绘了一幅光辉的图景：-

他小时候就充满爱心、温和、谦逊；这位著名建筑师仍然拥有这些品质。在一个腐败的时代，所有证词都表明他无可指摘；在肩负重大信任和更大困难的职位上，针对他的攻击反而更清楚地显示了他的正直……

Christopher Wren's father was also called Christopher Wren. Christopher Wren senior was a well educated man, having graduated from St John's College Oxford before entering the Church. He became rector of Fonthill, Wiltshire in 1620 and then East Knoyle, Wiltshire in 1623. He married Mary Cox, the only child of the Wiltshire squire Robert Cox from Fonthill, and it was while they were living at East Knoyle that all their children were born. Mary, Catherine, and Susan were all born by 1628 but then several children were born who died within a few weeks of their birth. Their son Christopher was born in 1632 then, two years later, another daughter named Elizabeth was born. Mary must have died shortly after the birth of Elizabeth, although there does not appear to be any surviving record of the date. Through Mary, however, the family became well off financially for, as the only heir, she had inherited her father's estate.

In 1634 Christopher Wren senior was offered the position of Dean of Windsor, a post held by his brother Mathew Wren who was becoming Bishop of Hereford. Christopher Wren senior was installed as Dean on 4 April 1635 and there the young Christopher was brought up by his father and by an older sister who slotted into the role of a mother to him. He grew up with the close friendship of another relation, for his uncle Mathew Wren had a son, also called Mathew Wren, who became part of Christopher's close family. Another childhood friend was the son of Charles I, the Prince of Wales, and they often played together.

Physically Christopher was a rather frail child who was quite small in stature. He loved drawing from a young age and he developed this markedly as he grew older. Science fascinated him, he showed a natural curiosity in everything around him and loved to conduct little experiments which he devised himself. Christopher had a private tutor during his early years, then when he was nine years old he was sent to Westminster School in London. This school was run by Dr Busby who was noted both for the exceptionally strict discipline he maintained and for his considerable ability which led to great success for many of his pupils. At this school Christopher quickly became proficient in Latin and this is shown by letters he wrote in Latin to his father which still survive.

The Wren family, obviously much favoured by the King, were staunch Royalists. This led to difficulties when, not long after Christopher began his schooling at Westminster, the English Civil War broke out between King and Parliament. Matthew Wren, who was by this time the Bishop of Ely, was imprisoned in the Tower of London for eighteen years. The deanery at Windsor was attacked and Christopher's father was forced to move out. At first he went to Bristol but, when Christopher was eleven years old his sister married William Holder and shortly after this Christopher Wren senior went to live in the rectory in Bletchingham, Oxfordshire, the home of his daughter and son-in-law. William Holder was a mathematician and was to have a very strong influence on Christopher who spent much time at Bletchingham. Holder essentially took on the role of mathematics tutor to Wren and also encouraged him to experiment with astronomy.

In 1646 Wren left Westminster school but he did not enter university immediately. During the next three years he built up a broad knowledge of science. We know of experiments he made with sundials, probably in 1646, and also a pasteboard model of the solar system which exhibited his artistic as well as astronomical skills. He was employed as an assistant to Dr Charles Scarburgh, helping him with various anatomical experiments. Wren created pasteboard models to illustrate how muscles worked which Scarburgh used for demonstrations during his course of anatomy lectures. Some have conjectured that Wren's health at this time may have been poor and that this may have led to him being sent to Dr Scarburgh for treatment. Whatever the reason, the work Wren carried out for Scarburgh was his first significant scientific contribution. After this, and still before entering university, Wren was recommended to Oughtred as an appropriate person to translate into Latin his work on the mathematics of sundials.

Wren entered Wadham College, Oxford on 25 June 1649, received a B.A degree on 18 March 1651and his M.A. from Oxford in 1653. He was elected a Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, in 1653 and lived in the College until 1657. At Oxford Wren carried out many scientific experiments. He worked on anatomy, making drawings of the human brain for Willis's Cerebri anatome. He devised a blood transfusion method which he demonstrated by transfusing blood from one dog to another. Perhaps what was most remarkable about the years Wren spent in Oxford was the breadth of his interests. His mind leapt from one topic to another as he came up with ideas such as: an instrument to measure angles, instruments for surveying, machines to lift water, ways to find longitude and distance at sea, military devices for defending cities, and means for fortifying ports. Summerson writes in [14]:-

The diffusion of his abilities is amazing and frustrating to us as it very possibly was eventually to himself.

In 1657 he became Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London. He had been making observations of the planet Saturn from around 1652 with the aim of explaining its appearance. His hypothesis was written up in De corpore saturni but before the work was published Huygens presented his theory of the rings of Saturn. Immediately Wren recognised this as a better hypothesis than his own and De corpore saturni was never published.

It is interesting to look at the topics that Wren covered in his inaugural lecture on taking up the chair at Gresham College. As well as speaking of ways that astronomical arguments could be used to explain difficulties in the biblical account of Christianity, he spoke of the distance to the nearest fixed star:-

... and yet probably some are infinitely more remote than others.

He discussed Kepler's theory of elliptical orbits for the planets and looked forward to the day when this could be properly explained. We should note that although Newton, about 30 years later, proved the connection between the inverse square law and elliptical orbits, Wren himself (as did Hooke) both independently suggested the inverse square law of attraction.

Also in his lecture Wren talked of the discoveries which had recently been made concerning the sun, moon and planets using the telescope. In particular he spoke of sunspots and of applications of the moon to the problem of determining longitude at sea:-

... so by the professors of this place was augmented by the first invention and observation of the mutation of the magnetical variation; a thing, I confess, as yet crude, yet what may prove of consequence in philosophy, and of so great use, possibly to the navigator, and thereby we may attain the knowledge of longitudes, than which, former industry hath hardly left any thing more glorious to be aimed at in art.

Wren was part of a scientific discussion group at Gresham College London that, in 1660, initiated formal weekly meetings. He undoubtedly played a major role in the early life of what would become the Royal Society, his great breadth of interests and his expertise in so many different subjects helping in the exchange of ideas between the various scientists. His lectures at Gresham also provided a focal point for meetings of the scientists prior to the formal inauguration of the Royal Society. In fact the report of the meeting at which the Royal Society was founded reads:-

Memorandum November 28 1660. These persons following according to the usual custom of most of them, met together at Gresham College to hear Mr Wren's lecture, viz. The Lord Brouncker, Mr Boyle, Mr Bruce, Sir Robert Moray, Sir Paule Neile, Dr Wilkins, Dr Goddard, Dr Petty, Mr Ball, Mr Rooke, Mr Wren, Mr Hill. And after the lecture was ended they did according to the usual manner, withdraw for mutual converse.

In 1662 this body received its Royal Charter from Charles II and 'The Royal Society of London for the Promotion of Natural Knowledge' was formed. In addition to being a founder member of the Society, Wren was president of the Royal Society from 1680 to 1682.

Wren became Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford in 1661 and held this post until 1673. It was after this appointment that he made his important contributions to mathematics. Newton, never one to give excessive praise to others, states in the Principia that he ranks Wren together with Wallis and Huygens as the leading mathematicians of the day. Whiteside writes in [16]:-

Wren's mathematical work now exists, if at all, in detached fragments rescued from oblivion, some in print, and a little more in bare outline in the published work of contemporaries, especially Wallis.

Wren's fame in mathematics resulted from results he obtained in 1658. He found the length of an arc of the cycloid using an exhaustion proof based on dissections to reduce the problem to summing segments of chords of a circle which are in geometric progression.

He was the first to resolve Kepler's Problem on cutting a semicircle in a given ratio by a line through a given point on its diameter. This problem had a basis in astronomy for it had arisen in Kepler's work on elliptical orbits. Kepler reduced finding the mean motion of a planet to that of cutting an ellipse in a given ratio with a line through a focus. In addition to solving Kepler's Problem, Wren independently proved Kepler's third law and, as we noted above, formulated the inverse-square law of gravitational attraction.

Another topic to which Wren contributed was optics. He published a description of a machine to create perspective drawings and he discussed the grinding of conical lenses and mirrors. Out of this work came another of Wren's important mathematical results, namely that the hyperboloid of revolution is a ruled surface. These results were published in 1669.

Work on the logarithmic spiral, which had been rectified by Wallis in the late 1650s, led Wren to note that it was possible to consider an area preserving transformation which would transform a cone into a solid logarithmic spiral. This, he remarked, resembled snail shapes and sea shell shapes, ideas which D'Arcy Thompson was to examine 250 years later.

It is not quite clear where Wren's interest in architecture first arose although we have noted his contributions during his Oxford days to military devices for defending cities and means for fortifying ports. Certainly he read On Architecture by Vitruvius, written in the first century BC, while he was a student in Oxford. In 1661 he was invited to work on the fortifications of the harbour at Tangiers and, although he turned down this request, it is interesting to realise that even in 1661 Wren was considered someone who might take on a major architectural project. In 1663 Wren made a thorough study of the Theatre of Marcellus, examining pictures of the theatre and drawings that showed its original form. This was important in Wren's development as an architect and the influence of the Theatre of Marcellus is clearly evident in his early designs. A visit to Paris in 1665 was also influential, particularly the impression that the church of the Sorbonne and the church of Les Invalides made on him.

In 1663 he designed the chapel at Pembroke College, Cambridge, commissioned by his uncle the Bishop of Ely.

You can see pictures of Pembroke chapel at THIS LINK

In the same year he submitted a model of his design of the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, to the Royal Society. This project, with its construction beginning in 1664, was the first of his projects to include the design of a dome. It is seen by Summerson as the point at which Wren the mathematician turned into Wren the architect [14]:-

The Sheldonian demonstrates perfectly the parting of the ways. Its architecture and decoration are immature ... The hissed roof structure, on the other hand (not now existing), was a most interesting study in the problem of designing trusses for the considerable span involved a real piece of 'Royal Society' research. So here in one building we have Wren working in both his capacities at once - as a neat decorative draughtsman and an experimental philosopher attempting to solve a practical problem in a new scientific way.

You can see a picture of the Sheldonian theatre at THIS LINK

In 1668 building work began on Wren's designs for the Emmanuel College Chapel, Cambridge and the Garden Quadrangle, Trinity College, Oxford.

You can see pictures of Emmanuel College Chapel at THIS LINK

Wren's greatest opportunity in architecture came with the rebuilding that followed the fire of London of 1666. Appointed Commissioner for Rebuilding the City of London in that year he carried out a survey of the area destroyed by the fire with the help of three surveyors, one of whom was Robert Hooke. Wren replanned the entire city and supervised the rebuilding of 51 churches. For example in 1670 he was architect for the following London buildings: The Custom House, St Christopher-le-Stocks, Threadneedle Street, St Dunstan in the East, St Benet Fink, Threadneedle Street, St Vedast, Foster Lane, St Dionis Backchurch, Fenchurch Street, St Michael, Wood Street, St Mildred, Poultry, St Olave, Old Jewry, St Mary-at-Hill, Thames Street, St Mary, Aldermanbury, and St Edmund King and Martyr, Lombard Street.

You can see a picture of St Benet Fink at THIS LINK and a picture of St Dunstan in the East at THIS LINK.

The year 1670 marked his appointment as Surveyor for Rebuilding the City Churches. With Hooke as an assistant he was given the task:-

... to direct and order the dimensions, forms and models of the said Churches.

It is worth noting that despite the remarkable number of designs Wren was working on at this time, he still held the Savilian Chair of Astronomy at Oxford. Clearly his love of the academic world made him reluctant to cut his links with it despite his position by this time of Britain's leading architect.

In 1669 Wren was appointed as Surveyor of St Paul's Cathedral. He had been involved in repairs of the old cathedral in 1663 and he was a natural choice to take over this role when, in 1669, he was appointed Surveyor-General of the King's Works. This appointment may also have convinced Wren that he was now secure enough to marry, for he married Faith Coghill, the daughter of Sir John Coghill of Bletchingham. Wren had spent much time with his brother-in-law William Holder in Bletchingham and had known Faith for a long time. The marriage lasted for only six years for Faith died in September 1675 shortly after giving birth to their second child. Wren, left with two young children, soon married again, this time to Jane Fitzwilliam in 1677. Wren's second marriage was, sadly, shorter than his first since Jane died of tuberculosis in 1679. There were two children from this second marriage.

Wren is best known today at the architect for St Paul's Cathedral. We noted above that he was appointed as Surveyor of St Paul's Cathedral in 1669. His first design for the new cathedral was rejected by London City Council as not sufficiently grand and Wren produced a second plan together with a model in 1674. This second plan was based on a Greek design which was rejected by the clergy as not in keeping with the proper form of a Christian church. Wren, despite the tragedy in his personal life at this time and his great disappointment at the reaction to his plans for St Paul's, set to work again and produced a third design based on a Latin Cross with a large dome. This third design would form the basis for the plans for the Cathedral that we see today, but Wren modified them as the work progressed over a period of 35 years. As Wren was already 43 years old when the project began, he might not have been expected to live to see its completion. However, he lived to the age of 90, and St Paul's Cathedral was completed 12 years before his death.

You can see pictures of St Paul's at THIS LINK

In 1675, the year in which Wren's plans for St Paul's were accepted, he received a commission from Charles II to build a Royal Observatory for Flamsteed who had been appointed as Astronomer Royal in that year. As is so often the case the King was short of money so Wren had to design a building to be constructed 'on the cheap'. Of course Charles II was not having an observatory built to push forward scientific research, rather he wanted a solution to the longitude problem which would give England a huge advantage over its competitors as a sea-faring nation.

It is impossible in an article of this length to give even an indication of the range of architectural commissions which Wren carried out. We should, however, mention two further works. In 1696 he was appointed Surveyor of Greenwich Naval Hospital, and three years later Surveyor of Westminster Abbey. He resigned the former role in 1716 but held the latter until his death.

You can see pictures of Greenwich Naval Hospital at THIS LINK

He died after catching a chill while travelling to his London home in February 1723 and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral on 5 March under the south aisle of the choir at the east end.

We can understand a little of Wren's character when we realise that he remained friends with some of the most awkward people of his time, particularly Hooke and Flamsteed. Phillimore's account, written in the 19th century, of Wren's nature paints a glowing picture:-

Loving, gentle, modest, he was as a boy; and the famous architect possessed these qualities still. In a corrupt age all testimony leaves him spotless; in positions of great trust and still greater difficulty his integrity was but the more clearly shown by the attacks made against him ...