Sir Christopher Wren: the Design of St Paul's Cathedral

London: Trefoil Publications and The American Institute of Architects Press in association with Guildhall Library, 1990. Second printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Good. The format is approximately 10.25 inches by 9.75 inches. 191, [2] pages. The illustrated cover has some wear and soiling. Contents are Preface, Introduction, Notes, Colour Plates, Explanation, Chronology, Catalogue, Engravings, and Index. This contains lavish prints of architectural drawings: floor plans, elevations, sections, details, statuary, etc. throughout, not just of the final design but of the many that preceded it. The author was the organizer of major Wren exhibitions in London. Kerry John Downes OBE FSA (8 December 1930 - 11 August 2019 was an English architectural historian. He was Professor of History of Art, University of Reading, 1978-91, then Emeritus. Downes was a librarian at the Courtauld in 1958. He joined the University of Reading, as a lecturer in Fine Art, then as a Reader (1971 - 1978) and finally Professor, History of Art, retiring in 1991. Downes was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1961. In addition to his career at Reading, Downes was a commissioner with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (1981-93); President (1984-88) and Honorary Patron (2017) of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (1984-88). In 1994 he was appointed OBE. His interests included the work of Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723); the Flemish painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and Francesco Borromini (1599 - 1667). In 1993, a collection of 24 original essays by colleagues, pupils and friends was dedicated to him, entitled English Architecture Public and Private: Essays for Kerry Downes. This work is associated with the Wren Exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1982. St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London. Its dedication in honor of Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. The present structure, which was completed in 1710, is a Grade I listed building that was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren. The cathedral's construction was part of a major rebuilding program initiated in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. The earlier Gothic cathedral (Old St Paul's Cathedral), largely destroyed in the Great Fire, was a central focus for medieval and early modern London, including Paul's walk and St Paul's Churchyard, being the site of St Paul's Cross. Sir Christopher Wren FRS (30 October 1632 [O.S. 20 October] - 8 March 1723 [O.S. 25 February]) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including what is regarded as his masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710. The principal creative responsibility for a number of the churches is now more commonly attributed to others in his office, especially Nicholas Hawksmoor. Other notable buildings by Wren include the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and the south front of Hampton Court Palace. Educated in Latin and Aristotelian physics at the University of Oxford, Wren was a founder of the Royal Society and served as its president from 1680 to 1682.