Sir Christopher Wren Part 29

Vintners " Joiners "

* Dyers " Weavers "

Brewers " Plasterers "

* Leathersellers " Stationers "

Cutlers " Apothecaries "

Bakers " Pinmakers "

Tallow Chandlers " Coachmakers "

Girdlers "

Many of these buildings have been considerably altered since Wren's time, and many are now let as warehouses, or turned to other uses.

_Colleges._

Christ Church, Oxford. Pembroke, Cambridge.

Emmanuel, Cambridge. * Physicians, Warwick Lane, Holy Trinity " London.

" Oxford. Queen's (?) Oxford.

Morden, Blackheath. Sion, London.

_Palaces._

Hampton Court. Kensington. * Newmarket. Winchester.

_Other Public Buildings._

Alderman's Court, Guildhall. Middle Temple, front of.

Archbishop Tenison's Library. Monument, the.

Ashmolean Museum. Monument { to Edward V. & Bohun's Almshouses, Lee. { Richard, Duke of York Bushey Park, { Pavilion. { Ranger's house at. Observatory, Greenwich.

Chapter House, S. Paul's. * Royal Exchange, London.

* Custom House, Port of London. Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford.

Deanery, St. Paul's, London. Temple Bar.

Hospitals, { Chelsea College. Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

{ Greenwich. Theatre in Salisbury Court.

London, City of. Tower of London.

Merchant Taylors' Almhouses, Windsor, Town Hall.

London.

_Private Houses._

Allaston's, Lord, London. Fawley Court, Oxon.

Bloomsbury, two in. Marlborough's, d.u.c.h.ess of, London.

Buckingham's, d.u.c.h.ess of, Oxford's, Earl of, London.

London. Sunderland's, Lord, London.

Chichester, two at. Windsor, two at.

Cooper's, Madam, London.

This list, which is, I fear, imperfect, only professes to give such buildings as were actually built or repaired; there are, besides, a large number of unexecuted designs.

* Signifies that the building has been destroyed.

APPENDIX III.

Sir Christopher Wren left the rough drafts of four tracts on architecture, which are printed in the 'Parentalia,' and a few notes on Roman and Greek buildings, some of which Mr. Elmes transcribed in his 'Life;' they are for the most part very technical and are incomplete.

The copy of the 'Parentalia' now in my hands contains the autograph draft of a Discourse on Architecture, which, as I think, has never been printed; it appears to me to be of great interest. It is therefore given entire, though I regret I cannot give the quaint prints of Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, Babylon, &c., with which the original is ill.u.s.trated. The two former prints tally so exactly with the descriptions in the 'Discourse'--the print of the ark containing a small section, an elevation, and a vignette of a man feeding one of the creatures, besides a large drawing of the floating Ark--that I incline to think they were engraved, either by Wren himself, or from his drawings. Engraving was an art he well understood. He divides with Prince Rupert the honour of the invention of mezzo-tint. The prints are numbered Pl. IV. and V. respectively, and have no signature.

_Discourse on Architecture._

Whatever a man's sentiments are upon mature deliberation, it will be still necessary for him in a conspicuous Work to preserve his Undertaking from general censure, and so for him to accomodate his Designs to the gust of the Age he lives in, tho it appears to him less rational. I have found no little difficulty to bring Persons, of otherwise a good genius, to think anything in Architecture would be better then what they had heard commended by others, and what they had view'd themselves. Many good Gothick forms of Cathedrals were to be seen in our Country, and many had been seen abroad, which they liked the better for being not much differing from ours in England: this humour with many is not yet eradicated, and therefore I judge it not improper to endeavour to reform the Generality to a truer taste in Architecture by giving a larger Idea of the whole Art, beginning with the reasons and progress of it from the most remote Antiquity; and that in short touching chiefly on some things, which have not been remarked by others.

The Project of Building is as natural to Mankind as to Birds, and was practised before the Floud. By Josephus we learn that Cain built the first City, _Enos_, and enclosed it with Wall and Rampires; and that the Sons of Seth, the other son of Adam, erected two Columns of Brick and Stone to preserve their Mathematical Science to Posterity, so well built that tho ye one of Brick was destroy'd by the Deluge, ye other of Stone was standing in ye time of Josephus. The first Peece of Naval Architecture we read of in Sacred History was the _Arke_ of _Noah_, a work very exactly fitted and built for the Purpose intended.

It was by measure just 6 times as Long as Broad, and the Heighth was 3/5 of the Breadth. This was the Proportion of the Triremes afterwards. The Dimensions, and that It was 3 Stories high, and that It had a Window of a Cubit Square is only mention'd; but many things sure were of necessity to be contrived for Use in this Model of the Whole Earth.

First, One small Window was not sufficient to emit the Breath of all the Animals; It had certainly many other Windows as well for Light as Air.

It must have Scupper-Holes and a large Sink and an Engin to Pump It; for It drew, as I compute, with all its Cargo and Ballast, at least 12 foot Water. There must be places for Insects the only Food of some Birds and Animals. Great Cisterns for Fresh Water not only for Land Animals, but for some Water fowl and Insects. Some Greens to grow in Tubs, the only food of Tortoises and some Birds and Insects; since we certainly have learnt that nothing is produced by Spontaneous Generation, and we firmly believe there was no new Creation. I need not mention stairs to the several Stories, with many other things absolutely necessary for a year's Voyage for Men and Animals, tho not mention'd in the Story, and Providence was the Pilot of this Little World, the Embrio of the next.

Most certainly Noah was divinly qualified not only as a Preacher of Righteousness but the greatest Philosopher in the 'Historia Animalium'

that ever was; and it was Work enough for his whole Family to feed them, and take care of the young Brood; for in a year's time there must be a great increase in the Ark, w^{ch} was food for the Family, and the Beasts of Prey.

The first Peece of Civil Architecture we meet with in Holy Writ is the Tower of Babel. Providence scatter'd the first Builders, so the Work was left off, but the Successors of Belus the son of Nimrod probably finished It and made it His Sepulchre, upon his Deification.

It was built of Burnt Brick Cemented with Bitumen.

Herodotus gives us a surprizing Relation of it w^{ch} being set down by measure is not beside our subject to observe. It consisted of Eight several Stories; the First was one Stade, or 625 foot square, and of the same measure in Height upon which were rais'd seven more, w^{ch} if they were all equal with the First would amount to 2,500 foot, which is not credible: the Form must be therefore Pyramidal and being adorn'd on the outside with Rows of Galleries in divers stories diminished in Height in Geometrical Proportion; so the whole Ma.s.s would have the Aspect of Half an Octaedron, which is that of all the Egyptian Pyramids.

These Corridors being Brick wasted in more than 1600 years: and it was these which Alexander actually began to Repair, not the whole Bulk, as I suppose.

How Herodotus had his measures I question, for He flourish'd but 100 years before Alexander's Conquests of Babylon, so it was then 1500 years Old.

I proceed next to those mighty Works of Antiquity the Wonderful _Pyramids_ of Egypt yet remaining without considerable decay after almost 4000 years: for 2000 years agoe, they were reckon'd by Historians of Uncertain Original.

I cannot think any Monarch however Despotick could effect such things meerly for Glory; I guess there were reasons of State for it.

Egypt was certainly very early Populous, because so Productive of Corn by the help of Nile, in a manner without labour. They deriv'd the River when it rose, all over the Flat of the Delta; and as the People increas'd, over a great deal of Land that lay higher. The Nile did not always Flow high enough for a great Part of the then inhabited Country, and without the Nile, They must either Starve or prey upon those who had Corn; This must needs create Mutiny and Bloodshed, to prevent which it was the Wisdom of their ancient Kings and Priests to Exact a certain Proportion of Corn, and lay it up for those who wanted the benefit of the Rivers when it disappointed their sowing.

Thus Joseph lay'd up for seven years, and sur'ly He was not first: this Provision being ever so essentially necessary to support the Popularity and consequently the Grandure of the Kingdom; and continued so in all Ages, till the Turks neglected all the upper Ca.n.a.les except one which still suppli'd Alexandria. Now what was the consequence? It was not for the Health of the Common People nor Policy of the Government for them to be fed in Idleness: great Mult.i.tudes were therefore imploy'd in that which requir'd no great Skill, the Sawing of Stone Square to a few different scantlings, nor was there any need of Scaffolding or Engines, for hands only would raise them from step to step: a little teaching serv'd to make them set Line: and thus these great Works in which some Thousands of hands might be imploy'd at once, rose with Expedition: the difficulty was in mustering the men to move in order under proper Officers, and probably with Musick, as Amphion is said much about the same Age to have built the walls of Thebes with his Harp; that is Musick made the Workmen move exactly together without which no great weight can be moved, as Seamen know, for the Sheet Anchor will by no means be moved without a fiddle to make men exert their United force in equal time: otherwise they pull one against another and lose great part of their force.

The next observable Monument of great Antiquity which yet remain is the Pillar of Absolom.

By the description given of it, and what I have learnt from Travellers who have seen it, we must allow it to be very Remarkable though not great.

It is compos'd of seven Pillars six about in a Hexagon, and one in the middle and the Tholus solid, a large Architrave, Frize and Cornice lie upon the Pillars which are larger in proportion to their height then what we now allow to the Tuscan order, so likewise is the Entablature larger.

This whole composition though at least 30 foot high, is all of the one Stone, both Basis, Pillars and Tholus cut as it stood out of the adjacent Cliff of white Marble.

I could wish some skilful Artist would give us the exact dimensions to inches, by which we might have an idea of the Antient Tyrian manner; for it was probable Solomon by his correspondence with King Hiram employ'd the Tyrian Artists, in his Temple; and from the Phoenicians I derive as well the Arts as the Letters, of the Graecians, tho it may be, the Tyrians were Imitators of the Babylonians, and they of the Egyptians. Great Monarchs are ambitious to leave great Monuments behind them, and this occasions great Inventions and Mechanick Arts.

What the Architecture was that Solomon used we know little of, though Holy Writ hath given us the general dimensions of the Temple, by which we may in some manner collect the Plan but not of all the Courts.