World’s-end bridge, St. Olave’s street, Southwark.
World’s-end yard, Old Horselydown lane, Southwark.
Worley’S court, Redgate court, in the Minories.†
Wormwood street, extends from Bishopsgate street to Broad street.
Worrel’s rents, Cherry-tree alley, Golden lane.†
Worship street, near Upper Moorfields.
Worsley’s yard, Field lane, the bottom of Holbourn hill.†
Wray’s court, Cross lane, Parker’s lane.†
Sir Christopher Wren, the celebrated architect, many of whose most excellent works of this kind are described in several places of this work, and views of them given, has on this account an equal claim to our regard in this place, with Inigo Jones, his competitor in the same path of fame, some account of whom we have already given under his name.
Sir Christopher was descended from a branch of the ancient family of the Wrens, of Binchester in the bishoprick of Durham. He was grandson of Mr. Francis Wren, citizen of London, and son of Christopher Wren, dean of Windsor, a younger brother of doctor Matthew Wren, successively Bishop of Hereford, Norwich, and Ely. He was born at London October the eighth 1632, and became gentleman commoner of Wadham college in Oxford, where he took the degree of bachelor of arts, March the eighteenth 1650, and that of master December the eleventh 1653, and the same year was chosen fellow of Allsouls college there. While he was very young he discovered a surprising genius for the mathematics; in which science he made great advancement before he was sixteen years old, as Mr. Oughtred informs us in the preface to the third edition of his Clavis Mathematica, printed at Oxford in 1652. August the seventh 1652, he was made professor of astronomy at Gresham college in London. In the beginning of July 1658, he communicated to Doctor Wallis several papers concerning the Cycloide which were published by Doctor Wallis 1659, in his treatise de Cycloide. In February 1660, Mr. Wren resigned his professorship at Gresham college, upon being chosen to the Savilian professorship of astronomy in Oxford. The same year he was sent for by order of King Charles the Second, to assist Sir John Denham, surveyor of his Majesty’s works. September the twelfth 1661 he was created Doctor of laws, and May twenty 1663, was elected fellow of the Royal Society; in the history of which society by Doctor Sprat, we have an account of some of his discoveries in philosophy and mathematics made before the year 1667, the most considerable of which is his Doctrine of Motion, which is the best of all others for establishing the first principles of philosophy by geometrical demonstrations. He also published a History of Seasons, in which he proposed to comprehend a diary of wind, weather, and other conditions of the air, as to heat, cold, and weight, which might be of admirable use if constantly pursued and derived down to posterity. He also contrived a thermometer to be its own register, and an instrument to measure the quantities of rain that fall, and he devised many subtle ways for the easier finding the gravity of the atmosphere. Some discoveries in the Pendulum are to be attributed to him, and he has invented many ways to make astronomical observations more easy and accurate. He added many devices and improvements to telescopes, and improved the theory of dioptrics, it being a question among the problems of navigation, to what mechanical power, sailing against the wind especially, was reducible, he shewed it to be a wedge. The geometrical mechanics of rowing he shewed to be a Vectis, on a moving or cedent Fulcrum. He invented a curious and speedy way of etching, and has started several things towards the emendation of water-works. He was the first inventor of drawing pictures by microscopical glasses. He found out long-liv’d lamps, and registers of furnaces for keeping a perpetual temper in order to various uses, as hatching eggs, insects, production of plants, chemical preparations, imitating nature in producing fossils and minerals, keeping the motion of watches equal in order to longitude and astronomical uses, and infinite other advantages. He was the first author of the noble anatomical experiment of injecting liquors into the veins of animals, an experiment now well known. It were easy to enumerate a great number of other inventions and improvements of his, from Doctor Sprat’s account of them, but these may suffice as a specimen.