Christopher Wren was 33 when the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed the medieval city. Over the following 35 years, he designed 51 new city churches and his masterpiece — St Paul’s Cathedral — while serving as Surveyor of the King’s Works. No architect has so completely reshaped a major city before or since.
St Paul’s Cathedral
St Paul’s Cathedral took 35 years to build, from 1675 to 1710, and Wren lived to see its completion at the age of 78. The dome is his greatest technical achievement — it consists of three shells: a brick cone supporting the outer dome and the lantern, with the interior painted dome visible from below. The Whispering Gallery inside the dome transmits a whisper across 34 metres.
Wren’s City Churches
Of Wren’s 51 city churches, 23 survive intact. Each has a different plan, adapted to the irregular plots left by the fire. St Bride’s Fleet Street — with its distinctive tiered steeple said to have inspired the wedding cake — St Mary-le-Bow (whose bells define a Cockney), and St Stephen Walbrook are among the finest. Many are open for lunchtime recitals.
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