Christopher Wren Jr

Christopher Wren (1675–1747), of Wroxall Abbey, Warwickshire, was a Member of Parliament and the son of the architect Sir Christopher Wren.

Life

Wren was the second but first surviving son of Sir Christopher Wren and his first wife, Faith Coghill, daughter of Sir John Coghill of Bletchingdon in Oxfordshire. He was educated at Eton and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where his father had built the new college chapel, his first completed work. His son entered the college in 1691, but left without a degree. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1693. He entered the Middle Temple in 1694. In 1698/9 he travelled in Europe making an architectural tour of France, Italy and Holland with Edward Strong the Younger, whose father was his father's main building contractor. This trip may indicate a friendship over and above a simple working relationship.

On his return, Wren worked for his father as a clerk-of-works. He became Chief Clerk of Works in 1702 (to 1716). In 1708, he laid the last stone of the lantern which surmounts the dome of St Paul's Cathedral in the presence of his father. In 1711, he was appointed a Commissioner to organise the building of 50 new churches. His first wife was Mary, daughter of Philip Musard, jeweller of Queen Anne. His second wife, Constance, daughter of Sir Thomas Middleton, and widow of Sir Roger Burgoyne, Bt., died on 23 May 1734. He left two surviving sons, Christopher (born 1710), who inherited Wroxall Abbey, and Stephen (born 1722).