sir christopher wren & works

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Sir Christopher Wren

• Wren was born in Wiltshire England in 1632.
• He attended Wadham College, in Oxford, starting
  in 1649.
• He was made the Gresham Professor of Astronomy in
  1657.
• He became an architect around 1661.
• He died London, England, in 1723.

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Biography
Wren the scientist. The greatest British
architect of all time was born in East Knoyle,
Wiltshire, in 1632, the son of the rector of
Knoyle. Christopher Wren attended Westminster
School and Wadham College, Oxford, where he
graduated with a masters degree in 1651.
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At this stage Wren was a pure scientist focusing
on astronomy, physics, and anatomy. He
experimented with submarine design, road paving,
and design of telescopes. At the tender age of 25
he was offered the Chair of Astronomy at Gresham
College, London. In 1660 Wren was one of the
founding members of the Society of Experimental
Philosophy. In 1662, under the patronage of
Charles II, this body became known as the Royal
Society. Wren died in 1723.
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BUILDINGS
Building Year of built
The Monument to The Great Fire of London Between 1671 and 1677
Trinity College After The Great Fire of London
Wren Building 1700
Wren Library 1695
St. Pauls Cathedral 1708
Royal Observatory 1675
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St Paul's Cathedral

• On 2nd September, 1666, the Great Fire of London
  destroyed a large area of the city including St.
  Paul's Cathedral. Sir Christopher Wren was given
  the task of designing and rebuilding St. Paul's -
  a task that was to take him thirty-five years to
  complete. The most dramatic aspect of St. Paul's
  was its great dome. It was the second largest
  dome ever built
• The cathedral is built of Portland stone in a
  late Renaissance to Baroque style.
• Its impressive dome was inspired by St Peters
  Basilica in Rome, rising 108 metres, making it a
  famous London landmark.

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Wren Library
The Wren Library is the library of Trinity
College in Cambridge. It was designed by
Christopher Wren in 1676 and completed in 1695.
It is credited as being one of the first
libraries to be built with large windows to give
comfortable light levels to aid readers
The library is a single large room built over an
open colonnade on the ground floor of Nevile's
Court. The floor of the library proper within the
upper storey lies several feet below the external
division between the two storeys, reconciling the
demands of use with the harmony of architectural
proportion. This device prefigures the inner,
middle and outer domes at St Paul's Cathedral
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Trinity College
Trinity's buildings also have many notable
features. On the top of the West Tower sit four
female statues, which represent Astronomy,
Geometry, Medicine, and Theology.
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Royal Observatory
Flamsteed House, the original part of the
Observatory, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren
and was the first purpose-built scientific
research facility in Britain.
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Wren Building (College of William and Mary)
The Wren Building is a highly notable building on
the campus of the College of William and Mary in
Williamsburg,Virginia. Construction began August
8, 1695 and was completed in 1700.
The Wren Building is the oldest continually used
academic building in the U.S. According to
tradition, the building was designed by famous
British architect Christopher Wren. The building
is constructed out of red brick and contains
classrooms, offices, and a chapel.
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The Monument to The Great Fire of London
The Monument to The Great Fire of London, more
commonly known as The Monument is a 61-metre
(202-foot) tall stone Roman doric column in the
City of London, near to the northern end of
London Bridge. It is located at the junction of
Monument Street and Fish Street Hill, 61 metres
from where the Great Fire of London started in
1666.
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• It consists of a large fluted Doric column built
  of Portland stone topped with a gilded urn of
  fire, and was designed by Christopher Wren and
  Robert Hooke. The west side of the base of the
  Monument displays an emblematical sculpture with
  King Charles II, and his brother, James, the Duke
  of York surrounded by Liberty, Architecture, and
  Science, giving directions for its restoration.
• Its 61-metre height marks the monument's distance
  to the site of Thomas Farynor, the king's baker's
  shop in Pudding lane, where the fire began. At
  the time of construction (between 1671 and 1677)
  it was the tallest freestanding stone column in
  the world.

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THANK YOU
KUMARESH T
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