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"If you seek his monument, look around," commands Adrian Tinniswood in his scholarly but elegantly entertaining biography of Christopher Wren (1632-1723). "As an architect, he changed the face of England and the course of architectural history." Tinniswood describes with appreciation and discernment Wren's greatest buildings: "the bubble of unexampled lightness that is St. Stephen Walbrook" church, the additions to Hampton Court, and of course London's majestic St. Paul's Cathedral, a symbol of British faith and courage throughout the centuries. These structures were political as well as architectural achievements, and Tinniswood nicely captures the discretion, ruthlessness, and carefully cultivated connections that enabled Wren to survive the Civil War, get himself named Royal Surveyor, hang on to the job under five monarchs, and get designs approved and money wheedled out of a reluctant parliament. Tinniswood pays equally intelligent attention to Wren's early career as an esteemed Oxford astronomy professor and charter member of the Royal Society (and its president from 1681-3). He writes wittily about the quirks of Wren and such peers as Newton and Bernini, capturing the intensely personal nature of 17th-century public culture, and he (sparingly) offers his opinions in a way that enhances our understanding of the period. "I want my heroes to be people, not ideas," Tinniswood writes, after describing a squabble at the Royal Society. This sparkling biography reveals Wren as a human being without detracting from the heroic nature of his accomplishments. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (3)

By his deeds shall a man be known
Sir Christopher Wren has earned his reputation as a man of great learning and marvelous architectural works. He is therefore entitled to another book devoted to his lifework and HIS INVENTION SO FERTILE is just that. Adrian Tinniswood's "A Life of Christopher Wren" offers a well researched and finely detailed picture of the architectural legacy of Wren and his equally impressive, but lesser known work as an inventor, astronomer, and scientist. As a straight biography of the man - his thoughts and ideas and his family life - the book is a little sketchy. Unlike his friend John Evelyn and Samuel Pepys, Wren was no diarist. He in fact had very little to say about himself, his family, or the times in which he lived. When a biographer says that this is "a man you would give a great deal to know" you get a clear sense of the frustration Tinniswood faced in unearthing biographical details on Wren.

There is still of course quite a story to tell. Wren was born in 1632 and since his father was King's Chaplain at Windsor Castle one of little Christopher's playmates was the young Prince Charles (later Charles II). By the time Wren was 17 he had invented a pneumatic engine and a machine that wrote in the dark. His early interest was in astronomy and he made sundials and created a model of the Solar System. Wren tested the effectiveness of opium as an anaesthetic for prolonged surgery. This is where Tinniswood begins his book and I'd recommend skimming through the unpleasant description of experiments on a dog. A point that Tinniswood brings across, with Wren as a classic example, is that this was a time of knowledge as something whole. Learning was enlightenment in many subjects. Wren distinguished himself in mathematics, physics, medicine, and astronomy. In 1661, Wren not yet 30, was made professor of Astronomy at Oxford. Tinniswood highlights another interesting point about the general historical setting. How is it that this "fertile" period of great scientific discovery and expanding intellectual horizons coexisted with a time of civil war and massive political upheaval? The 1640's in England was a time of parliamentary revolt, a King (Charles I) losing his head - literally, and the rise of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell represented a significant threat to Royalists such as Wren and his family. When the Restoration of the monarchy was achieved and Charles II took the throne, Wren was in a perfect position to benefit from the application of his "formidable intellect" in the service of his friend the King. Shortly after Wren and others formed a society for the study of science Charles II gave it a Royal Charter in 1661, and thus the Royal Society of London was created.

The main substance of the book and the work for which we best know Wren - his architecture - we now see as simply just another career for Wren. The first building he designed was the chapel for Pembroke College, Cambridge but the work that was to stand him in good stead a few years later was his dome for the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford. For this he studied Michelangelo's drawings for the dome of St Peter's in Rome, and Wren went to Paris in 1665 to look at Lemercier's Baroque style dome at the church of the Sorbonne. Wren was again fortuitously placed to benefit when following the Great Fire of London in 1666, thousands of houses, over 50 churches, and a significant landmark were destroyed. John Evelyn said it best in his diary "I was infinitely concerned to find that goodly church, St Paul's, a sad ruin..." Because Wren was so quick on the draw with a post-fire plan for a redesigned St Paul's, there has always been a rumour that Wren himself may have started the fire. Tinniswood does not fan the flame of that falsehood at all.

After the task of surveying the fire damage was completed Wren submitted a plan for the redesign of not just St Paul's but of great sections of London. The Rebuilding act of 1667 set some things in place such as wider streets but only a few elements of the city plan were accepted. Even with St Paul's, Wren had to submit many designs. Tinniswood goes into detail on the "First Model", the "Great Model" and the finally accepted "Warrant Design" which incorporated a Latin Cross layout with a large dome. Any architect reading these descriptions will be on familiar ground. Some aspects of the profession such as constantly modifying plans, negotiating and compromise, all have a very old history.

Readers who enjoy history, science, and of course architecture will thoroughly enjoy this book. Given that it's a biography it's surprising that those are the fans who'll probably be disappointed. There's nothing new here about Wren the man and what we already know is not much. Look to his work instead; it says a lot that words alone can't express.

An Architect, and More
In London, within St. Paul's Cathedral, one can find possibly the most famous epitaph in the world. In Latin, it says, "Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you." Within the crypt is the architect of St. Paul's, and what a monument he has, and how fitting. But it is not hard, even oceans away from England, to look around and find something that Wren affected. One of the great lessons of the fascinating _His Invention So Fertile: A Life of Christopher Wren_ (Oxford University Press) by Adrian Tinniswood is that Wren is not St. Paul's, although the cathedral may be regarded as the centerpiece of his life. He was not even merely an architect. Wren's astonishingly comprehensive genius reached into many fields, and he was an advocate to encourage the way we do science in the modern world.

It was obvious when Wren entered Wadham College at Oxford as a seventeen year old in 1649 that he had a mind directed toward inquiry and practicality - his favorite activity was designing sundials. The two impulses would continue throughout his long life. The "new science" of Francis Bacon was showing that experimentation was better than Aristotle at showing how the universe worked, and as a scientist, not as a builder, Wren initially found fame. He made discoveries in astronomy and anatomy, and showed practical insights into lens grinding, water pumps, weaving, and submarine navigation. He was a founding member of the Royal Society which propelled science forward in England in the ensuing centuries. It is not surprising that this many-sided man would take an interest in architecture. When London burned in 1666, he was the first with a plan to rebuild the city (nine days after the fire), and although the plan was too ambitious, its centerpiece, the new St. Paul's, became his to work on for over three decades. He had one chapel finished in Cambridge at the time, and a theater under construction in Oxford; before he was appointed architect of St. Paul's, this was his entire architectural portfolio.

Tinniswood has given us a big, thorough biography of an imposing intellect. The facts of Wren's endeavors must remain as the only real illumination to his personality, because much of his personal life is hidden. He died at age 91, and had many fights with lesser minds in order to bring his vision of St. Paul's into being. He succeeded, but it might have been that the battles made him look back with regret as death approached. He concluded that by being appointed Surveyor General he had been condemned "to spend all his time in Rubbish." He mean such rubbish as the Royal Hospitals at Greenwich and Chelsea, the Trinity College library, or the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. At the end he lamented that he had eventually let architecture sap his time from being a professional scientist. Wren did leave behind a scientific legacy, and one cannot second guess history, but read this fine biography and know that he made the right choice.

Extremely readable account of England's most famous architec
Tinniswood's new book is the first of a string of new biographies of Wren due out over the next few years. Tinniswood is a writer first and a historian second and he was succeeded in producing a book that is undoubtedly highly readable. The tone is as a colleague described, positively conspiratorial and the reader is seduced into turning each of the 463 pages to find out what happens next. This is thoroughly admirable and there is no doubt that Tinniswood has succeeded in his aim of producing the most readable account of Wren's life to date. He is also extremely good at setting the scene, quoting from a wide range of sources from the period, rumour as well as fact. In view of all this it thus seems almost carping to comment on the scholarship but as people will inevitably use such a good book as a source for Wren I think it is justified. Tinniswood himself says in the foreword that he relies heavily on the Wren Society, yet this is now out of date. His facts are unreliable and students should beware. Moreover the truth is often sacrificed at the altar of readability so that in those places where there is considerable doubt, such as Christopher's son's mental handicap, the arguments for and against are not mentioned, one side being presented as gospel. All this said if asked to recommend a single volume introduction to Wren, I would cite this one. There are few writers that have managed to capture the excitement of Wren and none are likely to be as accessible to the modern reader. ... Read more

Book Description

Wren's "Tracts" on Architecture and Other Writings is the first scholarly examination of the theoretical work of one of the most important architects of early modern Europe. From his study of ancient buildings, he posited a new version of the origins and development of the Classical style, thereby becoming one of the first to challenge theoretical principles of architecture that had been upheld since the Renaissance. Rejecting the idea of beauty as absolute and innate, Wren formulated an empirical definition, based on visual perception and custom. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wren's 'Tracts' - a wonderful compendium of Primary Sources
In this work Prof. Soo has collected the surviving writings of Wren on architecture. These, for the serious student, are invaluable, and here they are collected together in one volume for the first time, at least in modern times.

Covering such topics as London's antiquities, Reports on Gothic churches, Church architecture in general, and the tracts themselves, Soo's work gives the reader a rare chance to 'get into the mind' of one of the greatest minds ever to have existed.

Soo's annotations shed much light on Wren's own writings (many of which were actually transcribed by Wren' own son). Much has been written about Britain's most famous architect, but very few have attempted to get 'under the bonnet' (hood) of the Great Man - and here Soo has succeeded.

Copiously illustrated with Wren's own drawings and many contemporary illustrations, the book can be thoroughly recommended. A magnificent effort. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Place to Start with Wren
If you're interested in learning about the work of Christopher Wren, England's most famous architect, Margaret Whinney's classic book is a must. Wren was, of course, a prodigious talent--an intellectual prodigy who started his career as an astronomer and scientist before becoming increasingly interested in architecture in his early 30s. Wren's first commission was the beautiful Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford, and only a few years later he was asked to propose a new design for London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Days later, the majority of the city burned to the ground in London's Great Fire, and Wren was given the responsibility not only of rebuilding St. Paul's but of all London's other churches. Finishing St. Paul's was to take the rest of Wren's long lifetime, but he was still able to complete the many important secular commissions that flowed his way, including the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, the Chelsea Hospital (a home for retired soldiers), and improvements on new construction on an assortment of palaces.

In barely over 200 pages--most of those chock-full of helpful photographs, diagrams, and illustrations--Whinney makes clear the arc of Wren's career and the evolution of his ideas and designs. The book is not for someone who knows absolutely nothing about architecture, although I don't know much and I was able to puzzle my way through some of her more dense descriptions with patience and careful attention. But for someone with an amateur interest in architecture, the book is the indispensible, concise, and thorough volume on Wren's professional accomplishments. ... Read more

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Renaissance Quarterly, published by Renaissance Society of America on June 22, 2000. The length of the article is 752 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wren's "Tracts" on Architecture and Other Writings.(Review) (book review)
Author: Christy Anderson
Publication: Renaissance Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2000
Publisher: Renaissance Society of America
Volume: 53Issue: 2Page: 609

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description

The Library at Trinity College, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1695, is known all over the world for its books, its architecture and its sculpture. Each of these aspects is authoritatively examined in this volume, as David McKitterick, Howard Colvin and Malcolm Baker explore the ways in which seventeenth-century ideas were modified and extended until by the early nineteenth century the Library had achieved the coherent appearance that it has today. Their discussion is accompanied by numerous illustrations, including reproductions of all of Wren's surviving drawings. ... Read more

Book Description

Before he became a professional architect, Christopher Wren had a highly successful career as an astronomer - he was Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford University - and he was actively involved in many branches of the science or 'natural philosophy' of his day. This side of his career has, until now, been neglected by historians and biographers, and has been regarded as distinct and separate. This book contains the first detailed account of Wren's natural philosophy and, in addition, after showing that 'science' and 'architecture' were not then distinct in the way we understand them today, it presents a new perspective on Wren's architectural philosophy. The book will be of value to anyone interested in the history of science or of architecture. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Detailed, plodding tome-only for the serious researcher.
The book is really geared towards someone who knows about Christopher Wren and wishes to go into a great deal of detail about his efforts. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Uneven but extremely useful
St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, St. Bride, Fleet Street and St. Stephen Walbrook (the 'dress rehersal for St. Paul's Cathedral') are familiar to most Londoners; their elaborate spires, now hemmed in by ugly office-blocks, spatter the horizons of tidy panoramas of 18th century London by Canaletto and Samuel Scott. Every one of these - with maybe the exception of St. Martin Ludgate - was gutted during the Second World War, by which time many of their pews, reredos and glass had been ousted in favour of convenient but sytlistically incongruent fittings. St. Dunstan-in-the-East, not exclusive in Wren's oeuvre as an exercise in 'Gothick' architecture (in spirit rather than in form), is now a pretty free-standing tower looming over a formal garden. St. Mary Aldermanbury was rebuilt in Wisconsin, whilst St. Michael Bassishaw, and St. Christopher-le-Stocks (to name but two) survive only as drawings and descriptions. Jeffery's 'City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren' is an affordable, nicely produced survey of the 52 London churches built from 1670 to replace those gutted during the Great Fire in 1666. After several discursive essays on design, attribution, fittings and other aspects of their conception, Jeffrey provides an expansive gazetter of each church.

His objective is - as he states in his introduction - to present a case for the conservation of the 20-odd churches that remain, whilst addressing aspects of authorship and parochial history relevant to the particular buildings. For those who find the twenty volumes of the exhaustive (and undigested) Wren Society journals daunting and (in the case of most copies accessable) rather fragile, Jeffery's parochial histories and surveys of expenses, craftsmen and subsequent renovations to the churches are brief, concise, and specific. The photographs and engravings included (as appropriate) are eloquent and printed to a high standard. Furthermore, plans (some in Jerrery's own hand) of churches of which little information can be milked (St. Olave Jewry, St. Matthew Friday Street and St. Mary Woolnoth before Hawksmoor replaced it, etc.) are included with each entry in the gazetter, and this section is the author's finest; but his excursions in problems of authorship give frequent pause for thought.

The attribution of St. Paul, Benet's Wharf, and St. Edmund the King to Robert Hooke is reasonably well established: the elevation of the recessed ranges of Bethlehem Hospital and the east and west elevations of Ramsbury Manor are sufficiently close in detail to identify Hooke as the probable author. Furthermore, the similarity of St. Martin Ludgate to St. Edmund means that Hooke's oeuvre is more elastic than one might have anticipated. However, the oblique and hazy attribution of the steeple of St. Mary-le-Bow to Hawksmoor is, quite simply, unhistorical: a drawing by Hawksmoor for the church (complete with an unbuilt three-bay brick loggia with stone coigns and pilasters) is not sufficient ground for the attribution that Jeffery implies. Furthermore, the delegation of 'thirds' of the city to respective surveyors (which has some documentary support) contradicts Jeffery's own conclusion that autograph works by Wren are largely concentrated in the north and west of the city. This would account for St. Clement Danes and St. James Picadilly (whose authorship has never been doubted), but the churches grouped far further east (around St. Vedast, Foster Lane, and St. Lawrence Jewry) are similarly attributed to Wren in other studies on what seem sound traditions. Jeffery does not delve into stylistic analysis to a sufficient degree to play with questions of this sort, and the results he presents should be treated with caution.

As a book that pleads for the conservation of these sometimes crude, ugly or obscure but consistently fascinating and diverse churches, The 'City Churches' succeeds. Thomas Archer's vast Westminster church, St. John, Smith Square, is at present a concert hall; similarly, Wren's St. Magnus the Martyr, whose rusting iron cramps are staining the coursed rubble masonry at the east-end, has been relegated the status of an uninteresting, decaying hybrid wedged onto a narrow site. Jefferys study underlines - in its imperfect but worthwhile scholarship - that the City Churches of Sir Christopher Wren, despite mutilation and neglect (All Hallows, Lombard Street, was pulled down, in the face of fairly serious disgust, as recently as 1938), continue to warrant study and are of considerable architectural interest. ... Read more