Posted October 30, 2019
On this date in 1632, a baby boy was born England. Even though he had older siblings (including several who died at a very early age), this baby was the first (and, it turns out, only) surviving son in his family; and so, as was the custom, he was given his father's name.
The baby's father, Christopher Wren the Elder, was the spiritual head of Windsor Castle and its chapel. The baby's mother, Mary Cox, was the only child of the Cox family, and she inherited all of her family's wealth.
Because of that wealth, that baby boy was able to grow up to be a highly educated man, including studying at Oxford University. Christopher Wren's fields of accomplishment include anatomy, astronomy, meteorology, physics, optics, ballistics, geometry and other fields of mathematics. Wow!
But none of that is what made Christopher Wren most famous. Instead, he is best known for architecture.
As a matter of fact, Wren is one of the most respected English architects in all of history!
Among the buildings Wren designed are buildings for two colleges and a palace front. After the Great Fire of London, in 1666, Wren was given the responsibility of rebuilding 52 churches! Of course, he didn't do all of the creative and architectural design for all those churches; other architects working under Wren's supervision did some. One that was all Wren is considered his masterpiece:
St. Paul's Cathedral!
St. Paul's is located at the highest point in London, and it has featured large in the London skyline for more than 300 years. For two and a half centuries, it was the tallest building in London, and its WWII image among all the smoke and wreckage from Nazi bombing is especially famous - it's so remarkable that it wasn't destroyed during the Blitz, like so many buildings that neighbored it! (The cathedral was hit twice, but luckily the damage was repairable.)
St. Paul's is the second largest cathedral (in area) in the United Kingdom, and its dome is one of the highest in the world.
 |
| Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married at St. Paul's. Her train was 25 feet long, and her veil was 153 yards!!! |
St. Paul's has been the location of many very important ceremonies - weddings, funerals, celebrations - but it's also a working church with daily services.
Also on this date:
(October 25 - 31)
Plan ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
He really was an interesting architect. Nowadays it takes more imagination to bring something new. And I found some very cool ceiling panels that make OpenCeilings for rooms and offices. They make you look at lighting in a new way.
ReplyDelete