In CA 373, we lamented the lack of a society ready to take on the task of managing the tercentenary of the death of Sir Christopher Wren. Fortunately, the Georgian Group has put on the mantle of chief co-ordinator of this year’s events. While Wren’s greatest works were designed in the 17th century, he lived long enough (1632-1723) to see the coronation of the first of the Georges (1 August 1714), so the Georgian Group is quite within its rights.
Wren’s legacy – as his monument in St Paul’s Cathedral reminds us – remains for all to see on the London skyline: of the 52 medieval churches he rebuilt in the City after the Great Fire, 24 buildings and six towers survived the Blitz. The City would have borne an even stronger Wren imprint, though, if he had been allowed to rebuild it along rational lines, with a grid system, radiating avenues, and just 19 churches. The landowners of London refused to accept such a massive intervention – they just wanted the swiftest possible return to business as usual, even if this meant reverting to dark narrow alleys lined by cramped tenements.
This was not the only disappointment in his life: Wren burst into tears when his Great Model for St Paul’s (still on display in the cathedral) was rejected as being ‘too Catholic’ for a Protestant nation. Baroque it might be in style, but St Paul’s ended up with a Gothic plan form, with a long nave and choir.
