Sir Christopher Wren

by Lawrence Weaver

This picture was acquired by the fifth Duke of Portland in 1861. It was then attributed to H. Gascar, who is stated to have been in England circa 1674-80, and who might consequently have painted Sir Christopher soon after he made his design for the new Cathedral. The West Front is shown in the picture with the single Order, an early stage of the design. The architect looks very young for a man of about forty-two years of age, but in the case of painted portraits it is often difficult to reconcile the actual age of a sitter with his apparent age.

(h) The Queen’s College Bust.—This posthumous portrait has been attributed to Rysbrack; it is certainly worthy of him. Wren is shown as a very old man.

(k) The Medal at Wadham College ([Plate XVI.]).—As it is commonly said that this medal was struck to celebrate the completion of St. Paul’s, it is a little unkind to have to set down the fact that it was cast and chased (not struck) by G. D. Gaale, a German, about the year 1783, when he exhibited it in London, sixty years after Wren’s death in 1723.

(l) Art Union of London Medal.—A medal was issued in 1846: obverse, with bust of Wren, signed H. Wilson, Sc.; reverse, St. Paul’s, signed B. Wyon.

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 prepared. Their publication in the Bicentenary issue of Architecture brought Mr. Richard W. Goulding to my aid in correcting some mistakes I then made, and he has added the facts about the Welbeck portrait.

A list of engravings after the Kneller portrait is given in Mr. F. O’Donoghue’s “Catalogue of Engraved English Portraits in the British Museum.”

INDEX

Abbey, Westminster, Wren and, [137], [138], [139]
Aims of architecture, Wren on the, [153]
All Hallows, Lombard Street, Church of, [81]
Armoury and Mint at the Tower of London, [107]
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, [110]
Association between architecture and military engineering, [13]
Astronomy, Wren as a Professor of, [19], [36]
Bacon, influence on Wren of, [30], [31]
Barometer:
Torricelli’s work on the, [36]
Wren’s work on the, [36]
Belton House, [105]
Benson, William, Surveyor-General, [74]
Bernini:
Lay-out in front of St. Peter’s, Rome, [53], [108];
meeting with Wren, [48], [49];
referred to, [108]
Bird, Robert, coppersmith, [120]
Birth of Sir Christopher Wren, [1]
Building materials, Wren’s views on, [93], [94]
Busby, Dr., of Westminster School, [4], [10], [11]
Cambridge:
Pembroke College Chapel, [109]
Trinity College Library, [46], [47], [109], [110], [125]
Campbell, Colin, work at Greenwich Hospital by, [103]
Carlyle, Thomas, on the City churches, [97], [98];
on Chelsea Hospital, [97]
Cathedrals:
Lincoln, Honywood Chapel at, [110]
St. Paul’s, London. See St. Paul’s Cathedral
Salisbury, [137]
Chapels:
Pembroke College, Cambridge, [46], [109]
Trinity College, Oxford, [110]
Wadham College, Oxford, [16], [17]
Charles I., design for the tomb of, [107], [108];
pedestal for statue of, Charing Cross, [104]
Chelsea Hospital, [97], [98], [99], [108], [125]
Childhood of Wren, [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]
Christ Church:
Newgate Street, [90]
Oxford, College, [111]
Christ’s Hospital, London, [107], [130]
Chronology, an attempt at a Wren, [160]
Church:
St. Andrew, Holborn, [87]
St. Clement Danes, Strand, [78], [125]
St. James, Piccadilly, [78], [90], [94], [95]
St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, [21], [22]
Temple Church, [21]
Churches, City:
Christ Church, Newgate Street, [90]
St. Alban, Wood Street, [80], [81]
St. Andrew-in-the-Wardrobe, [90]
St. Anne and St. Agnes, [81]
St. Antholin, Watling Street, [90]
St. Augustine, Watling Street, [55], [86], [119], [126]
St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf, [86], [119]
St. Benet Fink, [90]
St. Bride, Fleet Street, [87], [88], [90], [92]
St. Clement, Eastcheap, [81]
St. Dunstan-in-the-East, [78], [81], [82], [136]
St. Lawrence Jewry, [86], [89]
St. Magnus, London Bridge, [81], [85]
St. Margaret, Lothbury, [86]
St. Margaret’s Pattens, Rood Lane, [84], [85], [86]
St. Martin, Ludgate, [56], [85]
St. Mary Abchurch, [90]
St. Mary, Aldermanbury, [81]
St. Mary Aldermary, [76], [136]
St. Mary-at-Hill, [81]
St. Mary-le-Bow Cheapside, [87], [88], [145], [146]
St. Mary Somerset, [78]
St. Mary Woolnoth (by Hawksmoor), [79]
St. Michael, Cornhill, [136]
St. Michael Paternoster Royal, [81]
St. Mildred, Bread Street, [86], [90], [91], [120]
St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, [80]
St. Sepulchre, [78]
St. Stephen, Coleman Street, [81]
St. Stephen, Walbrook, [81], [88], [89], [119]
St. Swithin, Cannon Street, [84], [90]
St. Vedast, Foster Lane, [79], [80]
City Churches, referred to, [97], [98], [119], [120], [124], [126], [136], [145], [146], [160]
Coghill, Faith, Wren’s first wife, [20], [21]
College:
All Souls, Oxford, [11], [12]
Christ Church, Oxford, [111]
Emmanuel, Cambridge, [110]
Morden, Blackheath, [108], [109]
Pembroke, Cambridge, [46], [109]
of Physicians, Warwick Lane, [107]
Queen’s, Oxford, [110]
Trinity, Cambridge, [46], [47], [109], [110], [125]
Wadham, Oxford, [4], [9], [10], [11], [12], [16]
Cox, Mary, mother of Wren, [2]
Custom House, London, [107]
De l’Orme, Philibert, referred to, [50]
Denham, Sir John, Surveyor-General, [43], [101]
“Dome of London, The,” [59]
Draughtsman, Wren as a, [129], [130]
East Knoyle Rectory, Wilts, Wren’s birthplace, [1]
Emmanuel College, Cambridge, chapel and cloister at, [110]
Etching on glass, Wren’s experiments in, [40]
Evelyn, John, [15], [24], [25], [43], [53], [60], [62], [98], [102], [112], [113], [114], [115], [137]
Family life of Sir Christopher Wren, [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27]
Fitzwilliam, Jane, Wren’s second wife, [21], [22]
Fitzwilliam of Lifford, Lord, father of Wren’s second wife, [21]
France, Wren’s travels in, [41], [47], [48], [49], [50], [51]
Gibbons, Grinling, [71], [104], [106], [107], [108], [114], [115]
Gothic Architecture, Wren and, [138], [139]
Greenwich Hospital, [83], [101], [102], [103], [125]
Groombridge Place, Kent, [106]
Hampton Court Palace, [99], [100], [101], [121], [156]
Hawksmoor, Nicholas, [79], [103], [104], [110], [126], [149]
Holder, Dr. William, a tutor and brother-in-law of Wren, [3], [20]
Honywood Library and Cloister, Lincoln Cathedral, [110]
Hooke, Robert, [4], [8]
Hospital:
Chelsea, [97], [98], [99], [108], [125]
Christ’s, London, [107], [130]
Greenwich, [101], [102], [103], [125]
Kilmainham, Dublin, [108]
Houses by, or attributed to, Wren:
Belton, [105];
Groombridge Place, Kent, [106];
Hampton Court Palace, [99], [100], [101], [121], [156];
Kensington Palace, [105];
Marlborough
House, London, [106];
Pallant House, Chichester, [106];
Winchester Palace, [107];
Wren’s House, Chichester, [106]
Inventions of Wren, [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17]
Jennings, Richard, master-carpenter, [71]
Jones, Inigo, referred to, [13], [43], [51], [52], [53], [70], [101], [106], [144], [145], [146], [147]
Kempster, Christopher, [119]
Kensington Palace, [105]
Kent, William, and Kensington Palace, [105]
Kilmainham, Dublin, Royal Hospital at, [108]
Knighting of Wren, [121]
Lansdowne Chronology, MS. by Christopher Wren junior, [9]
Letter of Wren to his son, [22], [23], [24]
Library:
Honywood, Lincoln Cathedral, [110]
Trinity College, Cambridge, [109], [110], [125]
Love-letter from Wren to Faith Coghill, [20], [21]
Marlborough House, London, [106]
Mathematics, Wren’s study of, [4], [31]
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Wren’s conjectural restoration of the, [132], [133], [134]
Middleton, Constance, wife of Christopher Wren junior, [25]
Mint, the, in the Tower of London, [107]
Monument, the, London, [34], [104]
Morden College, Blackheath, [108], [109]
Morris, William, and the City churches, [97], [98]
Museum, Ashmolean, Oxford, [110]
“News from the Dead,” pamphlet by Wren, referred to, [16]
Oughtred, Mr., Wren’s letter to, [7]
Oxford:
Ashmolean Museum, [110]
Christ Church College, [111]
Incident at, [16]
Queen’s College, [110]
Sheldonian Theatre, [45], [46]
Trinity College Chapel at, [110]
Wren’s education at, [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17]
Palace:
Hampton Court, [99], [100], [101], [121], [156]
Kensington, [105]
Winchester, [107]
Palladio’s influence on Wren, [52]
Pallant House, Chichester, [106]
Parentage and pedigree of Wren, [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]
Parentalia, the, [1], [3], [5], [8], [9], [13], [15], [22], [24], [26], [34], [41], [65], [109], [124], [125], [132], [149]
Paris, Wren’s journey to, referred to, [41], [47], [48], [49], [50], [51]
Parliament, Wren as a member of, [120], [121]
Pascal’s problem and Wren’s solution of it, [34], [35], [36], [158], [159]
Pedestal of the Charles I. statue, Charing Cross, [104]
Pembroke College Chapel, Cambridge, [46], [109]
Pepys, Samuel, [14], [114], [130]
Physicians, College of, Warwick Lane, [107]
Pigott, Mrs. Corbett, [26]
Plan for rebuilding London after the Great Fire, Wren’s, [53], [54], [55], [56], [57], [58]
Portraits of Sir Christopher Wren, some, [164], [165], [166]
Pulpits and pews, Wren’s views on, [95]
Queen’s College, Oxford, [110]
Ripley, Thomas, and Greenwich Hospital, [103]
Royal Society, Wren and the, [12], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42]
Ruskin, John, and Renaissance Architecture, [137]
Ryland’s pedigree of the Wren family, [18]
St. Alban, Wood Street, [81]
St. Andrew, Holborn, [78]
St. Andrew-in-the-Wardrobe, [90]
St. Anne and St. Agnes, [81]
St. Antholin, Watling Street, [90]
St. Augustine, Watling Street, [55], [86], [119], [126]
St. Benet, Paul’s Wharf, [86], [119]
St. Benet Fink, [90]
St. Bride, Fleet Street, [87], [87], [88], [90], [92]
St. Clement Danes, Strand, [78], [125]
St. Clement, Eastcheap, [81]
St. Dunstan-in-the-East, [78], [81], [82], [136]
St. James, Piccadilly, [78], [90], [94], [95]
St. Lawrence Jewry, [86], [89]
St. Magnus, London Bridge, [81], [85]
St. Margaret, Lothbury, [86]
St. Margaret Pattens, Rood Lane, [84], [85], [86]
St. Martin, Ludgate, [56], [85]
St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, [21], [22]
St. Mary Abchurch, [90]
St. Mary, Aldermanbury, [81]
St. Mary Aldermary, [78], [136]
St. Mary-at-Hill, [81]
St. Mary-le-Bow Cheapside, [87], [88], [145]
St. Mary Somerset, [78]
St. Mary Woolnoth, [79]
St. Michael, Cornhill, [136]
St. Michael Paternoster Royal, [81]
St. Mildred, Bread Street, [86], [90], [91], [120]
St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, [80]
St. Paul’s: Old, Wren’s plans for the restoration of, [56], [59], [60], [61];
Cathedral, London, balustrade on the upper cornice of, [74];
cost of, [73];
dome of, [55], [56], [59], [71], [103];
first design for, [63];
mean treatment of Wren over, [73], [74];
opening of, [73];
“rejected” or “model” second design for, [63], [64], [64], [65], [66], [66];
South Staircase of, referred to, [34];
third or “warrant” design for, [67], [68];
Wren’s achievement in, [76], [77];
reference to, [83], [116], [121], [122], [126], [143], [145], [147], [148], [154], [155], [156]
St. Peter’s, Rome, [53]
St. Sepulchre, [78]
St. Stephen, Coleman Street, [81]
St. Stephen, Walbrook, [81], [88], [89], [119]
St. Swithin, Cannon Street, [84], [90]
St. Vedast, Foster Lane, [79], [80]
Salisbury Cathedral, [137]

Scarborough, Sir Charles, a tutor of Wren, [4], [5], [6], [7], [10]
Shaw, Norman, and Hampton Court Palace, [100]
Shepheard, Rev. William, a tutor of Wren, [3]
Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford, [45], [46]
Soane Museum, Wren relics at, [121]
Sir John, [99]
Sons of Sir Christopher Wren, [25]
Spires, City church, by Wren, [84]
Strong, Edward, master-mason, [22], [23], [24], [69], [71], [73], [119], [120]
Talman, William, architect, [101], [156]
Temple Bar, [104], [105]
Temple Church, [21]
Thermometer designed by Wren, [8]
Thornhill, Sir James, paintings in St. Paul’s by, [74]
Tijou, Jean, metal-worker, [71], [101], [120], [121]
Tomb, Wren’s design for a, [108]
Tom Tower, the, Oxford, [111]
Torricelli, his work on the barometer, [36]
Tower of London, [107]
Town-planning, Wren and, [53]
Trinity College, Cambridge, Library of, [46], [47], [109], [110], [125]
Trinity College, Oxford, Chapel at, [110]
University degrees, Wren’s, [11], [12]
Vanbrugh, Sir John, [103], [106], [110], [149], [157]
Ward, Dr. Seth, [9]
Webb, John, [43], [101], [106]
Wilkins, John, Warden of Wadham, [9], [12], [13]
Winchester Palace, [107]
Wotton, Sir Henry, [139], [140], [141], [142], [157]
Wren, Sir Christopher:
Family and relations:
Father, [1];
mother, [2];
sisters, [18];
grandfather, [1];
great-grandfather, [1];
sons, [21], [22], [23];
daughter, [13];
brother-in-law, [2];
uncle, [2], [18];
cousin, [18]
Education and Studies:
Studies at home, [3];
at Westminster School, [4];
under Sir Charles Scarborough, [5];
Assistant at the Surgeon’s Hall, [7];
at Oxford, [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17];
matriculation of, [11];
University degrees of, [11], [12];
Fellowship of All Souls, [16]
Personal:
Critical mind, [138], [139], [140], [141], [142];
death, [122];
epitaph of, [75];
health of, [4], [10], [18];
heirlooms at Soane Museum, [121];
Kirkall engraved portrait, [26];
legible penmanship, [4];
letter to his son, Christopher, [22], [23], [24];
letter in Latin to his father, [5];
love-letter to Faith Coghill, [20];
marriage, first, to Faith Coghill, [21];
marriage, second, to Jane Fitzwilliam, [21];
patience of, [8];
poetic gift of, [16];
portraits of, [164], [165], [166];
retirement, [75];
social relaxations, [114], [115], [116];
theories of beauty, [150], [151];
will, [25], [26], [27]
Scientific Studies and Achievements:
As an astronomer, [32], [33], [34], [37];
as a classical archæologist, [132], [133], [134];
as a student and scholar, [132], [133], [134], [135], [136], [137], [138], [139], [140], [141], [142], [143];
essays, [15];
experiments in etching on glass, [40];
experiments in natural science, [38], [39], [40], [41];
inventions of, [6], [7], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17];
part in the development of natural science, [28], [29];
place as a mathematician, [34], [35], [36];
scientific labors of 116, [117], [118];
solution of Pascal’s problem, [34], [35], [36], [158], [159];
transactions with the Royal Society, [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42]
Professional and Public:
“Architect of Adventure, The,” [144], [145], [146], [147], [148], [149], [150], [151], [152], [153], [154], [157];
as a Member of Parliament, [120], [121];
as a professional man, [123], [124], [125], [126], [127], [128], [129], [130], [131];
influence of Inigo Jones, [51], [52];
influence of Palladio, [52];
introduction to Bernini, [48];
knighting of, [121];
plan for rebuilding London, [53], [54], [55], [56], [57], [58];
remuneration and fees, [124], [125];
Surveyor-General of His Majesty’s Works, [43], [124], [125], [127], [128], [129];
travels in France, [41], [47], [48], [49], [50], [51]
Wren, Dean Christopher (father), [1], [2], [3], [20], [142]
Wren, Christopher (second son) 21, [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [119], [125]
Constance (daughter-in-law), [25]
Cuthbert (great-grandfather), [1]
Faith (mother), [2], [18]
Francis (grandfather), [1]
Gilbert (eldest son, died in infancy), [21]
Jane (daughter), [13], [21], [22]
Margaret (great-granddaughter), [26]
Matthew, Bishop of Ely (uncle), [2], [18]
Matthew (cousin), [18]
Stephen (grandson), [26]
William (great-great-grandfather), [1]
William (third son), [22], [24], [25], [27]
Wren chronology, an attempt at a, [160]
Wren’s House, Chichester, [106]

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