19 Kerry Downes, The architecture of Wren

Figure 10: North elevation of Wren’s St Mary-le-Bow (left) and Figure 11: Antonio da Sangallo's model for St Peter's, Rome (right)

In fact, it is precisely these theories which gave way to the formation of the English Baroque at the turn of the eighteenth century. Though the climax of the English Baroque was to be seen in the generation after Wren (most notably in the works of John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor) the architecture of England at the time evolved sporadically and as we have seen in the instance of St Stephen Walbrook, Wren was truly aware of the outstanding qualities and rhetorical capabilities of the Baroque. As far as any steeples and towers, St Vedast Foster Lane is arguably the greatest embodiment of the Baroque spirit amongst any of Wren’s City steeples40 - rivalled only by the West towers of St Paul’s. The body of the church contains all the traditional elements one would expect of an Anglican church - albeit in a modest capacity - whilst also making resourceful use of the lasting medieval fabric of the church.41 A conservative use of the Tuscan order on the south aisle arcade is defined by an exceptionally large stained-glass window illustrating the life of the Frankish Saint amongst other things and flanked by smaller round-headed windows. As with the majority of the Wren churches however, the primary allure of St Vedast is the striking steeple which sits in the southwest corner of the church and overlooks Cheapside. In most cases, Wren’s churches were designed with only a single show façade in which most investment and aesthetic forethought was put towards.42 It is for this reason that the towers and steeples of Wren’s churches were his biggest architectural expression. At St Vedast, a group of tightly packed diagonal composite pilasters form concave walls above the Doric frieze of the tower. Above this lies a second diminished layer of convex and concave walls which seem to almost absorb the plainpilasters, much like the composite ones below. Figure 12 shows the result: a series of swinging curves and bends on two separate stages of the steeple, a curious deviance from Wren’s usual tendencies rooted in a post-Palladian classicism and order of antiquity,43 but nonetheless reminiscent of the sensuous, flamboyant surface play of Borromini’s oratory of St Philip Neri in Rome44 or even his church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Furthermore, the rectangular openings punched into each face make intricate play of the light and shadow arrangements, adding a further sense of drama to an otherwise unassuming church. In any

40 Nikolas Pevsner and Simon Bradley, London. 1, The City of London, pg. 265 41 Nikolas Pevsner and Simon Bradley, London. 1, The City of London, pg. 265 42 Kerry Downes, The architecture of Wren, pg. 64 43 http://romananglican.blogspot.com/2019/08/baroque-rebirth-and-birth-of-anglican.html 44 John Summerson, Architecture in Britain: 1530 -1830, pg. 200

case, St Vedast serves as an endearing reminder to us that although Wren’s eclectic City churches can be seen to lack the ‘passionate intensity’ seen in the works of Borromini and the like, they are nonetheless a great indication of his invention, creative pragmatism, and ability to compromise with a clergy that could hardly grasp the classicism of the continent, much less the excess of the Roman Baroque.45

Figure 12: St Vedast, Foster Lane, Steeple (left) and Figure 13: Engraving of Borromini’s oratory of St Philip Neri, Rome (right)

The last of Wren’s main steeple types was those which showcased his own interpretation of Gothic principles. Examples of Wren’s Gothic conception can be seen in some of his church steeples such as those of St Mary, Aldermary and St Alban, Wood Street. Even St Mary-le-Bow for instance, whilst being rooted in Wren’s classicism, certainly has elements of a Gothic allusion in the reversed scrolls of the tower.46 St Dunstan-in-theEast, however, is Wren’s strongest example of a Gothic revivalist City church in its purest form. One must not forget that the rebuilding of the City was undertaken on the old medieval street plan. As we have seen, Wren’s initial plan for London was considered too utopian and unrealistic,47 hence the medieval spirit of the pre-fire City was likely to be retained to a degree when the City was rebuilt from the ashes in the second half of the seventeenth century. In the case of St Dunstan (as with other churches), Wren was tasked by the Parish to repair the partly damaged Gothic structure of the pre-fire church as well as add a new steeple.48 Wren, who in his writings had expressed his preference of the ‘better’ (Classical) to the dated Gothic style, was obliged to be flexible in his approach to the design. Indeed, it seems a far cry from the unassuming Renaissance classicism of his first few

45 Colin Amery, Wren’s London, pg. 8 46 John Summerson, Architecture in Britain: 1530 -1830, pg. 199 47 Colin Amery, Wren’s London, pg. 6 48 Doreen Yarwood, The architecture of England: From prehistoric times to the present day, pg. 233