A City Full of People, a new pop-up exhibition in four of the Square Mile Churches is now open. The exhibition will reveal fascinating facts and rarely seen details of the lives of people who lived and worked in the City of London during its rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1666, up to 1726.

The project, supported by the London Diocesan Fund and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is part of the ongoing Wren300 national festival, which marks the 300^th anniversary of the architect Sir Christopher Wren’s death at the age of 91 in 1723.

Researchers have shared their findings and the stories they have uncovered and through written narratives they will breathe life back into long-forgotten people in a pop-up exhibition to be held across four churches in 2023.

“Visitors to the four churches will be able to see a series of illustrated panels that reveal our researchers’ findings and the stories they uncovered. Through written narratives they positively breathe life back into long-forgotten people who made their own, lasting contributions to the City of London.” – Dr Susan Skedd, co-leader of the A City Full of People research team

 

Where to see the Exhibition

City Full of People is on display across four City churches from Friday 10th November. Each church has different panels from the exhibition.

Admission to the following churches is free. Please check individual church websites before visiting as opening times are subject to change.

St Vedast-alias-Foster:

Location – At the front of the church.

Times – Monday to Friday, 10:00am – 3:00pm, Sunday 11:00am – 12:00pm

Exhibition ends – 1^st December 2023

St Bride’s Fleet Street:

Location – Located within the crypt.

Times – Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm, Saturday 10:00am – 3:30pm

Exhibition ends – 30^th November 2023

St Martin Ludgate

Location – At the back of the church next to the font

Times – Monday to Wednesday, 9:00am – 5:00pm, Thursday to Friday 11:00am – 3:00pm

Exhibition ends – 31^st December 2023

St Botolph’s without Aldgate

Location – In the entrance of the church

Times – Monday to Thursday, 9:00am – 5:00pm

Exhibition ends – 31^st January 2023

 

“Architect and artisan,  creative collaborations.”

Thursday 26th October –  Saturday 28th October. 2023  10:00- 16:00.  Free entry.

St Mary at Hill Church,  Lovat Lane  ( off Cheapside ),  London EC3R 8EE.

Housed in the magnificent Wren Church, this show will feature stone and wood carvings by current practicing master carvers as well as works in glass and other crafts.

Using drawings, maquettes and sample works, it will show how high profile projects evolve and are realised and highlight the relationship between architect and maker as Wren did with Georgian artisans.

The rebuilding of London and the new St Paul’s cathedral after the 1666 fire was said to have taken place with a frenzy and fervour akin to the conflagration itself. Overseen by the Phoenix and the inscription ‘Resurgam’, this compact exhibition is constructed to expose visitors to the intensity of this significant moment in the Capital’s history through the life and works of Christopher Wren and his contemporaries. Within a re-creation of Wren’s St Paul’s working ‘office’ as it is described in James Campbell’s ‘Building St Paul’s young and old will be able to explore, study. witness and appreciate in animated fashion:

 

• The building methods and tools of the age,
• Peruse facsimile drawings and documents from The Guildhall’s and other collections
• A case study of how citizens lost and regained their properties after the fire
• The daily lives of 17th century diarists and writers (Robert Hooke, John Evelyn, Margaret Cavendish)
• The birth of ‘The Royal Society’ and new scientific enquiry at Gresham College
• The similarities and differences of the working world of ‘The English Baroque Architect’ from our own 21st century perspective.

 

Entering this faux 17th century environment – constructed by Chelsea Construction – will add weight and substance to perceptions of our own age through the lens of one man’s achievements. The artist / cartographer Adam Dant has created a specially commissioned map which describes all these aspects of Christopher Wren’s life and times. This will be displayed alongside illustrations from Architect George Saumarez- Smith and members of the WCCA , a scale model of St Paul’s Dome from students at Kingston University, and stone models from master mason Pierre Bidaud

A free interactive space in the Mezzanine Gallery of the Visitor Centre invites visitors to explore classical architecture inspired by Wren, his work, and designs. A programme of workshops and activities for adults, families and children will accompany the exhibits in the studio space.

The exhibition showcases a selection of works by students and researchers from the Architecture Department, School of Design, at the University of Greenwich. Artworks will include a 3D architectural fly-through animation of the Old Royal Naval College, as well as models and technical drawings of Wren-designed churches and other buildings.

The studio space will also feature never seen before views of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site created by Captivate, a Spatial Modelling Research Group. The digital models use a variety of remote sensing technologies such as 3D scanning, photogrammetry, ground penetrating radar, hyper-spectral frequencies, and drone surveys.

Capital Art Gallery are proud to announce a showcase of artworks dedicated to Britain’s greatest architect, Sir Christopher Wren.

Artwork of various medias will be shown at Capital Art Gallery from Saturday 1st July, until Saturday 8th July. We will be exhibiting artwork from both professional and amateur artists.

Any artists wishing to take part, should contact Capital Art Gallery.

 

 

A solo exhibition at the Fitzrovia Gallery of pencil drawings by architectural artist Minty Sainsbury. The exhibition looks a number of different collections of drawing styles that Minty has developed over the years. More recently she has been inspired by the architecture near her artists’s studio in the City of London.

The exhibition includes drawings of four Christopher Wren designed buildings:

• St Paul’s Cathedral
• St Stephen Walbrook
• St Margaret Pattens
• St Mary le Bow

Alongside original artworks there will be prints and greetings cards available.

Minty will be at the exhibition for the full duration of the exhibition and would love to chat all things art, architecture, and Christopher Wren!

Location: The Fitzrovia Gallery, 139 Whitfield Street, London, W1T 5EN

It is 300 years since the death of Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), the revolutionary scientist, mathematician and architect who was responsible for building the St Paul’s Cathedral we know and love today.

To commemorate his remarkable life, our exhibition Sir Christopher Wren: The Quest for Knowledge will explore and reflect on the early life and career of Wren. The exhibition will chart his lesser-known achievements in mathematics, astronomy and physiology, as well as the design and building of his greatest monument, St Paul’s Cathedral.

With a wealth of material from our archives, discover these rich stories alongside drawings, photographs and treasures from our collection including remarkable historical objects personal to Wren himself.

This exhibition is included with Cathedral admission and can be found in the Crypt’s North aisle.

Opens 27th April 2023.

After the Great Fire of 1666, new churches were built by Sir Christopher Wren across the City of London. In 1940-41 fire once again wreaked devastation across the City during the Blitz and thirteen churches were destroyed. The night of 29 December 1940 is sometimes called the ‘Second Great Fire of London’.

The iconic image of Wren’s dome of St Paul’s Cathedral rising above the smoking ruins of a blitzed London was as an enduring symbol of resistance. Among the firefighters who fought to save St Paul’s and the City Churches were a remarkable group of artists. Painters including W.S. Haines, Reginald Mills and Paul Dessau recorded the experience of firefighters thrown into the horror of the Blitz, from dramatic paintings of incidents to more reflective scenes of firefighters at rest. Women, who joined the fire service for the first time in the Second World War, worked as control operators, despatch riders and delivery drivers and a small number were also artists, including Julia Lowenthal and Mary Pitcairn.

As part of the celebration of Wren legacy, the London Fire Brigade Museum in collaboration with the Square Mile Churches tells this powerful story of resilience and regeneration through an exhibition of reproductions of paintings by firefighter artists, and contemporary photographs from the LFB archive.

 

You can drop in to visit across the following venues:

• St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street: Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 5.00pm, Saturday 10.00am – 3.30pm
• The Temple Church, Temple: Monday to Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm, Please note there is an admission charge.
• St Clement Danes Church, the Strand: Monday to Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm, Saturday 10.00am – 3.00pm
• St Andrew Holborn Church: Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm
• St James’s Church, Piccadilly: Monday to Saturday 10.00am – 4.00pm