Wren300 will mark the tercentenary of the death of Sir Christopher Wren, one of Great Britain’s most famed architects, with a series of fascinating events and activities throughout London in 2023.
Wren300 will bring together Wren’s magnificent iconic London landmarks: St Paul’s Cathedral, the Square Mile Churches, Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Oxford and Cambridge Universities, the Georgian Group and many other organisations for this extraordinary celebration. Wren’s epitaph at St Paul’s Cathedral, reads: ‘Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you’. From centres of learning in Greenwich, Oxford and Cambridge, churches and palaces fit for a king, Wren’s influence spans the centuries. Alongside his many talents for architecture, he was a keen astronomer, physicist, mathematician and anatomist.
To commemorate Wren, some of his most famous buildings will host an exciting programme of events across the year.
Special exhibitions, school programmes, conservation workshops, lectures, tours, choral events, and a float in the Lord Mayor’s Show, are amongst many more rich and varied activities in 2023 which will celebrate the life and genius of Sir Christopher Wren.
St Paul’s Cathedral will launch a special exhibition exploring the life of Christopher Wren, and the building of St Paul’s from the ashes of the Great Fire of London. Alongside the special exhibition, St Paul’s will host a special Service of Thanksgiving in the summer of 2023 and a symposium bringing together leading academic voices on Wren. For schools and families, St Paul’s will offer a new and fully inclusive curriculum linked onsite and digital school sessions; digital school resources to inspire young historians, architects, engineers and mathematicians; and family-friendly activities focused on the Great Fire of London and how St. Paul’s was rebuilt as a symbol of a new beginning.
The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich will run specialist tours and hands on family activities from March 2023 onwards looking at the extraordinary life of Wren and the impact he made on this site. Throughout the summer months, visitors can enjoy exhibitions and concerts and a special focus on architectural heritage.
The Royal Hospital Chelsea, Home of the Chelsea Pensioners will mark Wren’s architectural genius through specialist tours of the 66-acre site, where he lived and worked, his importance as an astronomer through a series of star-gazing workshops and his significance in the development of the London skyline through a commemorative programme of music and worship.
The Wren City Churches have planned projects to include school children building a replica of the Dome of St Paul’s, a discovery programme enabling young people living in and around the City of London to visit and learn about the Wren churches and the people over the centuries connected with them, and a Wrenathon of work-based, community and inter-generational choirs drawn from diverse communities including The Samaritans Choir and the Ukrainian Refugees Choir coming together and performing within Wren churches.
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers will link three of the Wren masterpieces in particular, and a special boat ticket will connect The Old Royal Naval College, St Paul’s Cathedral and Royal Hospital Chelsea, being located in close proximity to Greenwich, Blackfriars/Bankside and Cadogan piers respectively.
For more information on Wren300 and listings of associated events taking place across the year, please visit the website.
