Christopher Wren Research Paper

Sir Christopher Wren can be considered England’s greatest architect. His greatest architectural achievement is St. Paul’s Cathedral located in London, England. The cathedral was constructed between 1675-1711 in response to being destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. St. Paul’s Cathedral is a rather exceptional building in terms of its uniqueness and historical context.

On 2 September 1666, the Great Fire of London began and continued for the next four days burning through 30,000 houses and around 90 churches. St. Paul’s Cathedral was immensely damaged, and this was considered a great loss for the city of London. St. Paul’s Cathedral was considered one of the most extraordinary buildings of the era because it was not just a place for

Paul’s Cathedral. Conversely, this came with great costs, and the initial attempt to repair the cathedral caused many deaths by falling debris due to the damaged foundation from the Great Fire. In order to decide who should design and oversee the new building, the royal commission took a major risk and appointed an astronomer named Christopher Wren. During this period in history, professional architects did not exist as a profession, and architecture was perceived as a branch of mathematics. With Wren being one of the leading mathematicians of the era, he was the natural choice for England’s royal

As a mathematician, Wren did not like the odd proportions and shapes that existed in Gothic architecture. Instead, Wren believed that only certain systematic, geometric shapes and mathematical symmetry could create genuine architectural beauty. Wren sought inspiration from the classical structures of ancient Greece and Rome because he saw them as the personification of geometric beauty.

In France and Italy, architects during the Baroque era were also looking at classical architecture for inspiration. The desire for Wren’s choice in architectural style was not shared by the royal commission. This was due to the new architecture, which was thriving in Italy and France, being sponsored by the Catholic Church, and the Protestant commission members saw it as a threat from Catholicism. In order to sway members of the royal commission, Wren commissioned a very expensive scale model of his design.

This came to be known as the “Great Model.” It was carved with great detail and now resides in an upper room of the cathedral. Initially, the royal commission disliked the original design; however, a compromise was struck and Wren redesigned the layout being shaped like an outstretched cross. This redesign was a combination of old and new styles of