Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723) was the most celebrated English architect of his age, best known for designing St Paul's Cathedral and numerous City of London churches after the Great Fire of 1666. Before turning to architecture he was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer, a professor at Oxford and a founding member of the Royal Society.
After the fire, Wren was appointed one of the commissioners for rebuilding London and in 1669 became Surveyor of the King's Works, a post he held for nearly fifty years. His City churches, with their inventive steeples and varied plans, and St Paul's, with its great dome, defined the English Baroque. Among his other works are the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, the library of Trinity College Cambridge, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, additions to Hampton Court Palace and the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich. His office trained figures such as Nicholas Hawksmoor, and his style influenced generations of architects. Many buildings are attributed to Wren without firm evidence, so undocumented attributions should be treated with care. For collectors, prints, plans and engravings of his buildings, and fittings associated with his churches, remain of enduring interest.
