108-616: Wadham may refer to: Education [ edit ] Wadham College, Oxford – a constituent college of the University of Oxford Wadham College Boat Club – the rowing club of Wadham College, Oxford Wadham School – a school for children near Crewkerne, Somerset, England Wadham Preparatory School – a primary school for children formerly in Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia Places [ edit ] Wadham Islands –
216-491: A 'confrontation,' and I may say, with anticipation. In common with many Oxford colleges, Wadham has produced a wide range of graduates in the fields of economics, history, law, physiology, medicine, management, humanities, mathematics, science, technology, media, philosophy, poetry, politics and religion who have contributed significantly to public life. Notable members of the college in its early years include Robert Blake , Cromwell's admiral and founder of British sea-power in
324-524: A dedicated social and study space for Wadham's graduate students on the main site of Wadham college. The Dr Lee Shau Kee Building and William Doo Undergraduate Centre were designed by Amanda Levete Architects . They replaced the Goddard building of 1951 and now provide facilities for the college's access activities and student union. Construction began in 2018 and was completed in late 2020. The Merifield annexe, named after Merryfield, Ilton once home to
432-868: A distinguished collection of trees. Restored and reshaped following the Second World War , the present Gardens are divided into the Warden's Garden, the Fellows' Private Garden and the Fellows' Garden, together with the Cloister Garden (originally the cemetery) and the White Scented Garden. They are still notable for their collection of trees (specimens include a holm oak , silver pendant lime, tulip tree , golden yew, purple beech, cedar of Lebanon , ginkgo , giant redwood , tree of heaven , incense cedar , Corsican pine , magnolia and
540-497: A fellow Westminster Schoolboy , said of him "Since the time of Archimedes there scarce ever met in one man in so great perfection such a mechanical hand and so philosophical mind." When a fellow of All Souls , Wren constructed a transparent beehive for scientific observation; he began observing the Moon, which was to lead to the invention of micrometers for the telescope. According to Parentalia (pp. 210–211), his solid model of
648-470: A fermentative motion arising from the mixture of two heterogeneous fluids. Although this is incorrect, it was at least founded upon observation and may mark a new outlook on medicine: specialisation. Another topic to which Wren contributed was optics. He published a description of an engine to create perspective drawings and he discussed the grinding of conical lenses and mirrors. Out of this work came another of Wren's important mathematical results, namely that
756-441: A few weeks of their birth. Their son Christopher was born in 1632. Then, two years later, another daughter named Elizabeth was born. Mary must have died shortly after the birth of Elizabeth, although there does not appear to be any surviving record of the date. Through Mary Cox, however, the family became well off financially for, as the only heir, she had inherited her father's estate. As a child Wren "seem'd consumptive". Although
864-467: A group of islands near Newfoundland, Canada Offer Wadham Lighthouse Companies [ edit ] Wadham's Oil and Grease Company of Milwaukee See also [ edit ] Wadhams, Kimball Township, Michigan Wadhams, Westport, New York People with the surname Wadham or Wadhams People of the name Wadham Wyndham Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
972-655: A major role in the early life of what would become the Royal Society; his great breadth of expertise in so many different subjects helped in the exchange of ideas between the various scientists. In fact, the report on one of these meetings reads: Memorandum November 28, 1660. These persons following according to the usual custom of most of them, met together at Gresham College to hear Mr Wren's lecture, viz. The Lord Brouncker , Mr Boyle , Mr Bruce , Sir Robert Moray , Sir Paule Neile , Dr Wilkins , Dr Goddard , Dr Petty , Mr Ball , Mr Rooke , Mr Wren, Mr Hill . And after
1080-732: A member of the Oxford Philosophical Club that met weekly in Wilkins's chambers at Wadham, as did Robert Hooke who became Boyle's assistant after having been a chorister at Christ Church . Arthur Onslow (1708), a great Speaker of the House of Commons, and Richard Bethell , who became Lord Chancellor as Lord Westbury in 1861, were members of the college. Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS ( / r ɛ n / ; 30 October 1632 [ O.S. 20 October] – 8 March 1723 [ O.S. 25 February])
1188-478: A nine-page answer, De motu corporum in gyrum , which was later to be expanded into the Principia . Mentioned above are only a few of Wren's scientific works. He also studied other areas, ranging from agriculture, ballistics , water and freezing, light and refraction , to name only a few. Thomas Birch 's History of the Royal Society (1756–57) is one of the most important sources of our knowledge not only of
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#17327725832771296-783: 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. His scientific work
1404-416: A presence in the general process of rebuilding the city, but was not directly involved with the rebuilding of houses or companies' halls. Wren was personally responsible for the rebuilding of 51 churches ; however, it is not necessarily true to say that each of them represented his own fully developed design. Wren was knighted on 14 November 1673. This honour was bestowed on him after his resignation from
1512-886: A range of 17th- and 18th-century houses and several modern buildings to create a Back Quad between the Front Quad and Holywell Street . The small quadrangle formed by the Junior Common Room, the William Doo Undergraduate Centre, the Dr. Lee Shau Kee Building, the Holywell Music Room and (latterly) the Bowra Building was sometimes known to students as the "Ho Chi Minh" quad. It is thought to have been thus named (in honour of Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh ) during
1620-574: A rare Chinese gutta-percha ) and they still contain a number of vestigial curiosities from the past (notably an 18th-century 'cowshed' set into the remnants of the Royalist earthworks of 1642, one of the second generation of 'Emperors Heads' that adorned the Sheldonian Theatre from 1868 to around 1970, and a sculpture of Warden Bowra ). Undergraduate students at Wadham are offered accommodation for all years of their course. Accommodation
1728-553: A reputation as a supporter of gay rights partly because it plays host to "Queerfest", a celebration of the LGBTQ cause. In 2011, Wadham became the first Oxbridge college to fly the Rainbow Flag in support of equality, as part of its annual Queer Week. The rainbow flag also flies over Wadham each year during February, to mark LGBT history month . A Wadham student tradition is that student social events are always concluded with
1836-435: A series of formal rectangles laid out around a (then fashionable) mound which was, in turn, surmounted by a figure of Atlas . These gardens were notable not least for their collection of mechanical contrivances (including a talking statue and a rainbow-maker), a number of obelisks and a Doric temple. Under Warden Wills (1783–1806), the terrain was then radically remodelled and landscaped (by Shipley ) and became notable for
1944-473: A set of rooms and a stipend and required to give weekly lectures in both Latin and English. Wren took up this new work with enthusiasm. He continued to meet the men with whom he had frequent discussions in Oxford. They attended his London lectures and in 1660, initiated formal weekly meetings. It was from these meetings that the Royal Society, England's premier scientific body, was to develop. He undoubtedly played
2052-504: A sickly child, he would survive into robust old age. He was first taught at home by a private tutor and his father. After his father's royal appointment as Dean of Windsor in March 1635, his family spent part of each year there, but little is known about Wren's life at Windsor. He spent his first eight years at East Knoyle and was educated by the Rev. William Shepherd, a local clergyman. Little
2160-470: A smoking desert and old St Paul's to ruin. Wren was most likely at Oxford at the time, but the news, so fantastically relevant to his future, drew him at once to London. Between 5 and 11 September, he ascertained the precise area of devastation, worked out a plan for rebuilding the City and submitted it to Charles II. Others also submitted plans. However, no new plan proceeded any further than the paper on which it
2268-665: A spell into it; that every Beating of the Balance will tell you 'tis the Pulse of my Heart, which labors as much to serve you and more trewly than the Watch; for the Watch I beleeve will sometimes lie, and sometimes be idle & unwilling ... but as for me you may be confident I shall never ... This brief marriage produced two children: Gilbert, born October 1672, who suffered from convulsions and died at about 18 months old, and Christopher , born February 1675. The younger Christopher
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#17327725832772376-404: A thorough grounding in Latin and also learned to draw. According to Parentalia , he was "initiated" in the principles of mathematics by William Holder , who married Wren's elder sister Susan (or Susanna) in 1643. His drawing was put to academic use in providing many of the anatomical drawings for the anatomy textbook of the brain, Cerebri Anatome (1664), published by Thomas Willis , who coined
2484-580: A trip to Paris in 1665, Wren studied architecture, which had reached a climax of creativity, and perused the drawings of Bernini , the great Italian sculptor and architect, who himself was visiting Paris at the time. Returning from Paris, he made his first design for St Paul's. A week later, however, the Great Fire destroyed two-thirds of the city. Wren submitted his plans for rebuilding the city to King Charles II, although they were never adopted. With his appointment as King's Surveyor of Works in 1669, he had
2592-408: Is Robert Hannigan . Hannigan succeeded Lord Macdonald of River Glaven QC as Warden upon Macdonald's retirement in 2021. In 1974, after more than three and a half centuries as a men-only institution, Wadham was among the first group of five all-male colleges at Oxford to admit women as full members, the others being Brasenose , Jesus College , Hertford and St Catherine's . Wadham College has
2700-477: Is a fairly traditional Oxford Gothic , modified by classical decorative detail, most notably the 'frontispiece' framing statues of James I and the Founders immediately facing visitors as they enter the college. Classical, too, is the over-powering emphasis on symmetry. The central quadrangle was originally gravelled throughout; the present lawn was laid down in 1809. The college was refaced in the 1960s, and much of
2808-699: Is an important part of student life and has brought the years together over a shared love of pool and darts. In 2022 the Wadham pool team set a new record with a 78% frame win rate in Cuppers. Wadham has a student exchange program with the Sarah Lawrence College in New York . About 30 students come each year and live at Merifield, and about six Wadham students go to SLC in the spring each year for 3 weeks. There are elected welfare officers on both
2916-402: Is dated 1616, and attributed to Robert Rutland, a local craftsman. The windows of the antechapel, which also show saintly figures, are Victorian. They were designed by John Bridges, and created by David Evans in 1838. Limited additions were made during the 18th and 19th centuries, including a converted warehouse originally used to store Bibles. A series of expansions since 1952 have made use of
3024-418: Is known of Wren's schooling thereafter, during dangerous times when his father's Royal associations would have required the family to keep a very low profile from the ruling Parliamentary authorities. It was a tough time in his life, but one which would go on to have a significant impact upon his later works. The story that he was at Westminster School between 1641 and 1646 is substantiated only by Parentalia ,
3132-548: Is located in Summertown , adjoining the Merifield residential complex. The Wadham JCR common room consists of a pool table and a table tennis table . Famously, this has been the home of the Wadham bar sports team for over 15 years which has now grown to over 30 members. Notable alumni include influential figures from the finance, tech and legal sectors, in particular BlackRock , Google and Hogan Lovells . An annual dinner
3240-465: Is not dynamics , for which the book is now better known, but rather the strength of materials, which Galileo had recognized 30 years earlier as a "science that is very necessary in making machines and buildings of all kinds." In 1624 Henry Wotton , the British ambassador to Venice , published a book on architecture in which he analyzed in a rudimentary way the structure of a stone arch . Moreover, in
3348-506: Is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford , at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road . Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham , according to the will of her late husband Nicholas Wadham , a member of an ancient Devon and Somerset family. The central buildings, a notable example of Jacobean architecture , were designed by
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3456-537: Is one of the few instruments by Henry Willis , the doyen of Victorian English organ builders, to survive without substantial modification of its tonal design. The East Window, which depicts several scenes from the Old and New Testaments , was created by Bernard van Linge in 1622. The windows on the north and south sides of the chapel depict various Old Testament prophets, such as Jonah , and apostles, such as St Andrew . They originate from different periods. One window
3564-475: Is only sporting to remind you that our governing body includes three experts in chemical warfare, two ex-commandos skilled with dynamite and torturing prisoners, four qualified marksmen in both small arms and rifles, two ex-artillerymen, one holder of the Victoria Cross, four karate experts and a chaplain. The governing body has authorized me to tell you that we look forward with confidence to what you call
3672-513: Is provided within college for the first and final years of their course, and during the second (or fourth) year within the newly constructed Dorothy Wadham Building, on Iffley Road , or within the Merifield annexe in Summertown . Since 1976, Wadham has been distinctive in having a Student Union, which in principle represents both undergraduate and graduate members. In practice the SU is more concerned with undergraduate interests and activities, whilst
3780-473: Is that events are always concluded with the playing of Free Nelson Mandela . There are three football teams, two chess teams, a cricket team, a boat club , a hockey team with Trinity, trampolining Cuppers side (mixed); Gaelic Football Cuppers side, men's darts, men's rugby, women's rugby Fives, mixed pool as well as Ultimate Frisbee. There is also Wadham Women's Weightlifting, an inclusive weightlifting club for marginalised genders. Wadham College Boat Club
3888-452: Is the rowing club for students at Wadham, and it also allows Harris Manchester College students to join. The college boat house is located on Boathouse Island. There once was a Warden of Wadham Who approved of the folkways of Sodom, For a man might, he said, Have a very poor head But be a fine Fellow at bottom. Dear Gentlemen: We note your threat to take what you call 'direct action' unless your demands are immediately met. We feel it
3996-519: The Church of St Leonard . The Wren family estate was at The Old Court House in the area of Hampton Court . He had been given a lease on the property by Queen Anne in lieu of salary arrears for building St Paul's. For convenience Wren also leased a house on St James's Street in London. According to a 19th-century legend, he would often go to London to pay unofficial visits to St Paul's, to check on
4104-596: The Invisible College , Within the arms of All Souls, the arms of Wren's friend Robert Boyle appear in the colonnade of the Great Quadrangle, opposite the arms of the Hill family of Shropshire , close by a sundial designed by Boyle's friend Wren. His days as a fellow of All Souls ended when Wren was appointed Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College , London, in 1657. He was there provided with
4212-540: The Mediterranean , John Cook the first solicitor general of the English Commonwealth and prosecutor of King Charles I , the libertine poet and courtier John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester , and Sir Christopher Wren . Wren attended the meetings of scientifically inclined scholars which were held by Warden John Wilkins (Cromwell's brother-in-law) in the college in the 1650s. Those attending formed
4320-623: The façade of the Louvre and the observatory of the Académie Française . In London, it was Wren and Hooke who collaborated as chief architect and city surveyor after the city was devastated by the Great Fire of 1666. In 1661, just months after taking his post at Oxford, Wren was invited by Charles II to oversee the construction of new harbour defences at Tangier—then-newly under British control . Wren ultimately excused himself from
4428-535: The hyperboloid of revolution is a ruled surface . These results were published in 1669. In subsequent years, Wren continued with his work with the Royal Society, although after the 1680s his scientific interests seem to have waned: no doubt his architectural and official duties absorbed more time. It was a problem posed by Wren that serves as an ultimate source to the conception of Newton's Principia Mathematica Philosophiae Naturalis . Robert Hooke had theorised that planets, moving in vacuo , describe orbits around
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4536-653: The 17th century, it was people who would now be called scientists who were awarded the commissions to design and build monumental structures. In Turin , Guarino Guarini , a mathematician, devised the plans for such celebrated buildings as the Royal Church of Saint Lawrence , the Chapel of the Holy Shroud and the Palazzo Carignano . In Paris , Claude Perrault , a physician and an anatomist , designed
4644-487: The 2021-2022 academic year ranked 7th in the Norrington Table , a measure which ranks Oxford colleges by academic performance. Amongst Wadham's most famous alumni is Sir Christopher Wren . Wren was one of a brilliant group of experimental scientists at Oxford in the 1650s, the Oxford Philosophical Club , which included Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke . This group held regular meetings at Wadham College under
4752-405: The 37-year-old Wren married his childhood neighbour, the 33-year-old Faith Coghill, daughter of Sir John Coghill of Bletchingdon . Little is known of Faith, but a love letter from Wren survives, which reads, in part: I have sent your Watch at last & envy the felicity of it, that it should be soe near your side & soe often enjoy your Eye. ... .but have a care for it, for I have put such
4860-595: The Garden Quadrangle at Trinity College, Oxford , and the chapel of Emmanuel College, Cambridge . Wren left for Paris in July 1665 on his first and only trip abroad. In France, the architect encountered an architectural milieu more closely linked to the ideals of the Italian Renaissance . Wren also met Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who was "widely acknowledged by contemporaries as the greatest artist of
4968-580: The Garter, younger brother of Dr. Mathew ( sic ) Wren Ld Bp of Ely, a branch of the ancient family of Wrens of Binchester in the Bishoprick [ sic ] of Durham 1653. Elected from Wadham into fellowship of All Souls 1657. Professor of Astronomy Gresham College London 1660. Savilian Professor. Oxford After 1666. Surveyor General for Rebuilding the Cathedral Church of St.Paul and
5076-545: The King's offer. Letters dated to the end of 1661 note that in addition to the Tangier project, Charles II had also sought Wren for consultation regarding repairs to Old St Paul's Cathedral , the reconstruction of which would ultimately be the architect's magnum opus. Speaking of Wren's vocational transition from academic to architect-engineer, biographer Adrian Tinniswood writes "the use of mathematicians in military fortification
5184-481: The Moon attracted the attention of the King who commanded Wren to perfect it and present it to him. He contrived an artificial Eye, truly and dioptrically made (as large as a Tennis-Ball) representing the Picture as Nature makes it: The Cornea, and Crystalline were Glass, the other Humours, Water. He experimented on terrestrial magnetism and had taken part in medical experiments while at Wadham College , performing
5292-922: The Parochial Churches & all other Public Buildings which he lived to finish 1669. Surveyor General till April 26. 1718 1680. President of the Royal Society 1698. Surveyor General & Sub Commissioner for Repairs to Westminster Abbey by Act of Parliament, continued till death. His body is to be deposited in the Great Vault under the Dome of the Cathedral of St. Paul. "The Curious and Entire Libraries of Sir Christopher Wren", and of his son, were auctioned by Langford and Cock at Mr Cock's in Covent Garden on 24–27 October 1748. One of Wren's friends, Robert Hooke , scientist and architect and
5400-413: The Royal Society from 1680 to 1682. In 1661, Wren was elected Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, and in 1669 he was appointed Surveyor of Works to Charles II. From 1661 until 1668 Wren's life was based in Oxford, although his attendance at meetings of the Royal Society meant that he had to make periodic trips to London. The main sources for Wren's scientific achievements are the records of
5508-435: The Royal Society. His scientific works ranged from astronomy, optics , the problem of finding longitude at sea, cosmology , mechanics , microscopy , surveying , medicine and meteorology . He observed, measured, dissected, built models and employed, invented and improved a variety of instruments. It was probably around this time that Sir Christopher Wren was drawn into redesigning a battered St Paul's Cathedral . Making
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#17327725832775616-525: The SU and MCR committees. There is a general welfare room, as well as a women's room. The college also has a nurse who runs an open surgery. Wadham has a relatively high number of state school students, compared to other Oxford colleges. Wadham hosts Queerfest (formally Queer Bop), and Wadstock (a twelve-hour live music festival named after Woodstock ). It also hosts bops five times a term in Michaelmas term and Hilary term . A Wadham student tradition
5724-659: The Savilian chair in Oxford, by which time he had already begun to make his mark as an architect, both in services to the Crown and in playing an important part in rebuilding London after the Great Fire. Additionally, he was sufficiently active in public affairs to be returned as Member of Parliament on four occasions. Wren first stood for Parliament in a by-election in 1667 for the Cambridge University constituency , losing by six votes to Sir Charles Wheler . He
5832-451: The Sun because of a rectilinear inertial motion by the tangent and an accelerated motion towards the Sun. Wren's challenge to Halley and Hooke, for the reward of a book worth thirty shillings, was to provide, within the context of Hooke's hypothesis, a mathematical theory linking Kepler's laws with a specific force law. Halley took the problem to Newton for advice, prompting the latter to write
5940-475: The Wadhams, is in Summertown , about 1.2 miles from the centre of Oxford. Most of the graduate student accommodation is at Merifield. The Dorothy Wadham Building, on Iffley Road , was designed by Allies and Morrison and opened in 2019. It houses undergraduates, predominantly in their second year of studies. Wadham Gardens are relatively large when compared with those of other Oxford colleges, even without
6048-525: The Winter of 1662 or 1663 and the chapel was completed in 1665. Wren's second, similarly collegiate work followed soon after, when he was commissioned to design Oxford's " New Theatre ", financed by Gilbert Sheldon . His design for the structure was met with lukewarm to negative reception, with even Wren's defenders admitting the young architect to have not yet been "capable of handling a large architectural composition with assurance". Adrian Tinniswood credits
6156-587: The architect William Arnold and erected between 1610 and 1613. They include a large and ornate Hall. Adjacent to the central buildings are the Wadham Gardens. Wadham is one of the largest colleges of the University of Oxford, with about 480 undergraduates and 240 graduate students. The college publishes an annual magazine for alumni, the Wadham College Gazette . As of 2022, it had an estimated financial endowment of £113 million, and in
6264-512: The architect of this church and city, Christopher Wren, who lived beyond ninety years, not for his own profit but for the public good. Reader, if you seek his monument – look around you. Died 25 Feb. 1723, age 91. His obituary was published in the Post Boy No. 5244 London 2 March 1723: Sir Christopher Wren who died on Monday last in the 91st year of his age, was the only son of Dr. Chr. Wren, Dean of Windsor & Wolverhampton, Registar of
6372-463: The biography compiled by his son, a fourth Christopher, which places him there "for some short time" before going up to Oxford (in 1650); however, it is entirely consistent with headmaster Doctor Busby 's well-documented practice of educating the sons of impoverished Royalists and Puritans alike, irrespective of current politics or his own position. Some of Wren's youthful exercises preserved or recorded (though few are datable) showed that he received
6480-470: The building's flaws to "Sheldon's refusal to pay for an elaborate exterior, Wren's inability to find an adequate external expression for a building which was wholly conditioned by the functionality of its interior space and, ...his refusal to bend the knee to classical authority in the way that our experience of eighteenth-century architecture has conditioned us to believe is right." Prior to the theatre's 1669 completion, Wren had received further commissions for
6588-416: The century". Though Bernini's concrete influence on Wren's designs was transmitted via published plans and engravings, the encounter surely impacted the budding architect and his vocational trajectory. St Paul's Cathedral in London has always been the highlight of Wren's reputation. His association with it spans his whole architectural career, including the 36 years between the start of the new building and
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#17327725832776696-403: The chapel. The present stone reredos was inserted in the east end in 1834. The elegant young man reclining on his monument is Sir John Portman, baronet, who died in 1624 as a nineteen-year-old undergraduate. Another monument is in the form of a pile of books; it commemorates Thomas Harris, one of the fellows of the college appointed at the foundation. The Chapel organ dates from 1862 and 1886. It
6804-428: The college statutes, and appointed the first warden, fellows, scholars, and cook. Although she never visited Oxford, she kept tight control of her new college and its finances until her death in 1618. The wardenship of John Wilkins (1648–1659) is a significant period in the history of the college. Wilkins was a member of a group which had met for some years in London to discuss problems in the natural sciences. Many of
6912-496: The college tower. The Oxford group kept up close relations with their colleagues in London, and in 1660, at Gresham , the decision was taken to create the body which, in 1662, was to be formally incorporated as the Royal Society . Wilkins was the first president of the provisional body, and became the first secretary of the Royal Society itself. These were the beginnings of organised scientific research in Britain. Maurice Bowra
7020-517: The college. The large portrait in the gallery is of John Lovelace , who held Oxford for William of Orange during the Revolution of 1688 ; the inscription records his role in freeing England 'from popery and slavery'. Although a ceremonial door opens directly into Front Quad, the chapel is usually reached through the door in staircase 3. The screen, similar to that in the hall, was carved by John Bolton. Originally Jacobean woodwork ran right round
7128-464: The declaration by parliament of its completion in 1711. Letters document Wren's involvement in St Paul as early as 1661, when he was consulted by Charles II regarding repairs to the medieval structure. In the spring of 1666, he made his first design for a dome for St Paul's. It was accepted in principle on 27 August 1666. One week later, however, the Great Fire of London reduced two-thirds of the City to
7236-681: The end of the 1960s, the Warden, Maurice Bowra , President of the British Academy and one of the first co-founders of the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), welcomed a donation to construct the building of the New Library in Wadham, where the emphasis would be given to Persian Studies and the post in Persian. Since then a special connection between Wadham and Iran has been established. The Wadham library building
7344-427: The first successful injection of a substance into the bloodstream (of a dog ). In Gresham College , he did experiments involving determining longitude through magnetic variation and through lunar observation to help with navigation , and helped construct a 35-foot (11 m) telescope with Sir Paul Neile. Wren also studied and improved the microscope and telescope at this time. He had also been making observations of
7452-476: The front quad has undergone further restoration work. In 2019 a new 135 bed student accommodation was completed for the campus. In 1898, the hall was the third largest amongst Oxford colleges after Christ Church and New College . It is notable for its great hammer-beam roof and for the Jacobean woodwork of the entrance screen. The portraits include those of the founders and of distinguished members of
7560-508: The group moved to Oxford and held regular meetings in the Warden's lodgings at Wadham. Among them were Robert Boyle , Robert Hooke , John Locke , William Petty , John Wallis , and Thomas Willis . Wadham provided the largest contingent, some twelve of the fifty names mentioned. These included Christopher Brookes (mathematician and instrument-maker), John Mayow (a distinguished chemist and physician), Lawrence Rooke (later astronomy professor at Gresham College , London), Thomas Sprat (later
7668-507: The guidance of the warden, John Wilkins , and the group formed the nucleus which went on to found the Royal Society . The college was founded by Dorothy Wadham (née Petre) in 1610, according to the wishes set out in the will of her husband Nicholas Wadham . Over four years, she gained royal and ecclesiastical support for the new college, negotiated the purchase of a site, appointed the West Country architect William Arnold , drew up
7776-479: The infant Christopher back with her to Oxfordshire to raise. In 1677, 17 months after the death of his first wife, Wren remarried, this time to Jane Fitzwilliam, daughter of William FitzWilliam, 2nd Baron FitzWilliam , and his wife Jane Perry, the daughter of a prosperous London merchant. She was a mystery to Wren's friends and companions. Robert Hooke , who often saw Wren two or three times every week, had, as he recorded in his diary, never even heard of her, and
7884-513: The king. In 1658, he found the length of an arc of the cycloid using an exhaustion proof based on dissections to reduce the problem to summing segments of chords of a circle which are in geometric progression. A year into Wren's appointment as a Savilian Professor in Oxford, the Royal Society was created and Wren became an active member. As Savilian Professor, Wren studied mechanics thoroughly, especially elastic collisions and pendulum motions. He also directed his far-ranging intelligence to
7992-504: The land sold to build Rhodes House in the 1920s. Originally a series of orchards and market-gardens carved out from the property of the previously existing Augustinian priory, their appearance and configuration have been significantly modified over the course of the last four hundred years to reflect their constantly changing functional and aesthetic purpose. The land was shaped, in particular, by two major periods of planning. Gardens were first created under Warden Wilkins (1648–1659) as
8100-458: The lecture was ended they did according to the usual manner, withdraw for mutual converse. In 1662, they proposed a society "for the promotion of Physico-Mathematicall Experimental Learning". This body received its Royal Charter from Charles II and "The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge" was formed. In addition to being a founder member of the Society, Wren was president of
8208-474: The media speaking on legal issues and, particularly, on issues relating to rights and security. Wadham is sometimes put forward as the last major English public building to be created according to the mediaeval tradition of the Master Mason . Wadham's front quadrangle (quad), which served as almost the entire college until the mid-20th century, is also an early example of the "Jacobean Gothic" style that
8316-435: The nucleus of the Royal Society at its foundation in 1662. John Wilkins invited Robert Boyle to Oxford in 1653, writing that "[I] shall be most ready to provide the best accommodations for you, that this place will afford". Boyle moved to Oxford in 1655, but preferred not to accept Wilkins's offer of accommodation, choosing instead to arrange his own rooms where he could carry out his scientific experiments. Boyle became
8424-432: The official historian of the Royal Society ), Seth Ward (mathematician and Savilian Professor of Astronomy ), and Sir Christopher Wren (mathematician and Savilian Professor of Astronomy ). Sir Christopher Wren was an undergraduate at Wadham before he became a fellow of All Souls and then succeeded Rooke as astronomy professor at Gresham College , London. He eventually returned to occupy rooms at Wadham while he
8532-582: The only surviving Donaldson organ, built in 1790 by John Donaldson of Newcastle and installed in 1985 after being restored. The Ferdowsi Library (formerly the Ashraf Pahlavi Library) specialises in Persian literature, art, history, and culture. It possesses about 3,500 volumes, almost 800 manuscripts, about 200 lithographs in Arabic and Persian, and about 700 rare and early Armenian books, most of which were donated by Dr. Caro Minasian. At
8640-481: The origins of the Society, but also the day-to-day running of the Society. It is in these records that most of Wren's known scientific works are recorded. Wren was a prominent man of science at the height of the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution seemed to promise a merger of the science of mechanics and the art of building. In Galileo Galilei 's Two New Sciences the first science
8748-526: The period of student radicalism in the 1960s. The college grounds contain the Holywell Music Room . This is said to be the oldest purpose-built music room in Europe , and hence England 's first concert hall . It was designed by Thomas Camplin, at that time Vice-Principal of St Edmund Hall , and opened in July 1748. The interior has been restored to a near-replica of the original and contains
8856-469: The planet Saturn from around 1652 with the aim of explaining its appearance. His hypothesis was written up in De corpore saturni but before the work was published, Huygens presented his theory of the rings of Saturn. Immediately Wren recognised this as a better hypothesis than his own and De corpore saturni was never published. In addition, he constructed an exquisitely detailed lunar model and presented it to
8964-706: The playing of the Specials ' Free Nelson Mandela . The motion to play the song to conclude every student event until Nelson Mandela was freed from prison was passed by the Wadham Student Union in 1987, when Wadham alumnus Simon Milner (History, 1985), now Policy Director at Facebook, was SU President. Following Mandela's liberation, the Student Union voted to continue the tradition as a mark of affection. President Mandela visited Wadham College and dined there on 11 July 1997. In 2017, this tradition
9072-503: The progress of "my greatest work". On one of these trips to London, at the age of ninety, he caught a cold and on 25 February 1723 a servant who tried to awaken Wren from his nap found that he had died in his sleep. Wren was laid to rest on 5 March 1723. His body was placed in the southeast corner of the crypt of St Paul's. There is a memorial to him in the crypt at St Paul's Cathedral. beside those of his daughter Jane, his sister Susan Holder, and her husband William. The plain stone plaque
9180-481: The progressive act it was intended to be. A vote to remove the constitutional requirement to play the song was narrowly defeated in a Wadham SU meeting. In 2013 the warden, Lord Macdonald of River Glaven QC , created the Wadham Human Rights Forum, a new public forum for the discussion of human rights issues that welcomes top level speakers to Wadham College. Lord Macdonald was also frequently in
9288-671: The separate MCR committee represents graduate students. All students can use the on-site facilities such as the Moser Theatre, squash court, gym, kitchen, laundry room, music practice rooms and various meeting rooms. The JCR Lounge is the main common room space used by undergraduate students, along with the bar. Since 2012 the MCR has had its own social area in the McCall MacBain Graduate Centre, with its kitchen, small bar, and media room. The college sports ground
9396-417: The study of meteorology : in 1662, he invented the tipping bucket rain gauge and, in 1663, designed a "weather-clock" that would record temperature, humidity, rainfall and barometric pressure. A working weather clock based on Wren's design was completed by Robert Hooke in 1679. In addition, Wren experimented on muscle functionality, hypothesizing that the swelling and shrinking of muscles might proceed from
9504-464: The term "neurology". During this time period, Wren became interested in the design and construction of mechanical instruments. It was probably through Holder that Wren met Sir Charles Scarburgh whom Wren assisted in his anatomical studies. Another sister Anne Brunsell, married a clergyman and is buried in Stretham . On 25 June 1650, Wren entered Wadham College, Oxford , where he studied Latin and
9612-498: The title Wadham . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wadham&oldid=917861104 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( / ˈ w ɒ d ə m / )
9720-641: The works of Aristotle . It is anachronistic to imagine that he received scientific training in the modern sense. However, Wren became closely associated with John Wilkins , the Warden of Wadham . The Wilkins circle was a group whose activities led to the formation of the Royal Society , comprising a number of distinguished mathematicians, creative workers and experimental philosophers. This connection probably influenced Wren's studies of science and mathematics at Oxford. He graduated B.A. in 1651, and two years later received M.A. After receiving his M.A. in 1653, Wren
9828-458: Was adopted for many of the university's buildings. The main building was erected in a single building operation in 1610–1613. The architect, William Arnold , was also responsible for Montacute House and Dunster Castle in Somerset , and was involved in the building of Cranborne Manor, Dorset for Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury , James I 's Lord Treasurer . The style of the building
9936-584: 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
10044-523: Was challenged by a South African student, who is a member of the ANC and active in equality campaigning in South Africa, as no longer appropriate given the complex legacy of Mandela in post-Apartheid South Africa. He also highlighted that there is much more to South Africa than just the history of Apartheid, and that constant reference to it rather than South Africa's current issues is outdated and no longer
10152-465: Was declared void on 17 May 1690. Over a decade later he was elected unopposed for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis at the November 1701 general election . He retired at the general election the following year. Wren's career was well established by 1669, and it may have been his appointment as Surveyor of the King's Works early that year that persuaded him that he could finally afford to marry. In 1669,
10260-599: Was designed by Sir Richard MacCormac and opened in 1992. It includes a cafeteria, gym, seminar rooms, squash court and the Moser Theatre as well as student rooms. It also included a bar, which has since been moved to the Dr Lee Shau Kee Building and William Doo Undergraduate Centre. The McCall MacBain Graduate Centre was designed by Lee/Fitzgerald Architects and opened in 2012. It won a 2014 Riba Regional Award and Conservation Award. It provides
10368-431: Was elected a fellow of All Souls' College in the same year and began an active period of research and experiment in Oxford. Among these were a number of physiological experiments on dogs, including one now recognized as the first injection of fluids into the bloodstream of a live animal under laboratory conditions. At Oxford he became part of the group around John Wilkins , he was key to the correspondence network known as
10476-759: Was highly regarded by Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal . Wren was born in East Knoyle in Wiltshire , the only surviving son of Christopher Wren the Elder (1589–1658) and Mary Cox, the only child of the Wiltshire squire Robert Cox from Fonthill Bishop . Christopher Sr. was, at that time, the rector of East Knoyle and, later, Dean of Windsor . It was while they were living at East Knoyle that all their children were born; Mary, Catherine and Susan were all born by 1628, but then several children who were born died within
10584-530: Was initially funded by donations from the then (1976) Iranian ruling family, the Pahlavi dynasty . The funds were secured by Fellow and tutor in economics, Eprime Eshag. The building, with associated accommodation blocks, was designed by Gillespie, Kidd & Coia . Today the library is open 24/7 and has wireless connectivity throughout. The Bowra Building next to the Ferdowsi Library and Bar Quad
10692-479: Was left only with nominal charge of a board of works when the surveyorship started in 1715. On 26 April 1718, on the pretext of failing powers, he was dismissed in favour of William Benson . In 1713, he bought the manor of Wroxall , Warwickshire, from the Burgoyne family , to which his son Christopher retired in 1716 after losing his post as Clerk of Works. Several of Wren's descendants would be buried there in
10800-407: Was never to marry again; he lived to be over 90 years old and of those years was married only nine. Bletchingdon was the home of Wren's brother-in-law William Holder, who was rector of the local church. Holder had been a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford . An intellectual of considerable ability, he is said to have been the figure who introduced Wren to arithmetic and geometry. Wren's later life
10908-481: Was not to meet her till six weeks after the marriage. As with the first marriage, this too produced two children: a daughter Jane (1677–1702); and a son William, "Poor Billy" born June 1679, who was developmentally delayed. Like the first, this second marriage was also brief. Jane Wren died of tuberculosis in September 1680. She was buried alongside Faith and Gilbert in the chancel of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Wren
11016-471: Was not unusual... Perhaps Wren also had experience of the business of fortification, more than we know." Wren's first known foray into architecture came after his uncle, Matthew Wren , Bishop of Ely , offered to finance a new chapel for Pembroke College, Cambridge . Matthew commissioned his nephew for the design, finding the architecturally inexperienced Christopher to be both ideologically sympathetic and stylistically deferential. Wren produced his design in
11124-574: Was not without criticisms and attacks on his competence and his taste. In 1712, the Letter Concerning Design of Anthony Ashley Cooper , third Earl of Shaftesbury , circulated in manuscript. Proposing a new British style of architecture, Shaftesbury censured Wren's cathedral, his taste and his long-standing control of royal works. Although Wren was appointed to the Fifty New Churches Commission in 1711, he
11232-509: Was the Savilian Professor of Astronomy from 1661. Wren had notable achievements in pure and applied mathematics, astronomy, physics and biology to his credit before he turned to architecture, in his thirties. In mathematical ability alone, Wren was ranked by competent authorities second only to Newton among the men of his time. The Warden's lodgings were stuffed with ingenious instruments, and powerful telescopes were mounted on
11340-466: Was trained by his father to be an architect. It was this Christopher that supervised the topping out ceremony of St Paul's in 1710 and wrote the famous Parentalia, or, Memoirs of the family of the Wrens . Faith Wren died of smallpox on 3 September 1675. She was buried in the chancel of St Martin-in-the-Fields beside the infant Gilbert. A few days later Wren's mother-in-law, Lady Coghill, arrived to take
11448-579: Was unsuccessful again in a by-election for the Oxford University constituency in 1674, losing to Thomas Thynne . At his third attempt Wren was successful, and he sat for Plympton Erle during the Loyal Parliament of 1685 to 1687. Wren was returned for New Windsor on 11 January 1689 in the general election , but his election was declared void on 14 May 1689. He was elected again for New Windsor on 6 March 1690 , but this election
11556-509: Was warden of the college from 1938 until 1970, and was influential in determining the character of the college as open and meritocratic. He was known for his hospitality but also for his waspish wit, and anecdotes about his time as Warden remain in circulation amongst Wadham alumni. A statue of Bowra is in the college gardens, and the college's 1992 Bowra Building bears his name. The college now consists of some 70 Fellows, about 230 graduate students, and about 450 undergraduates. The current Warden
11664-540: Was written by Wren's eldest son and heir, Christopher Wren the Younger The inscription, which is also inscribed in a circle of black marble on the main floor beneath the centre of the dome, reads: SUBTUS CONDITUR HUIUS ECCLESIÆ ET VRBIS CONDITOR CHRISTOPHORUS WREN, QUI VIXIT ANNOS ULTRA NONAGINTA, NON SIBI SED BONO PUBLICO. LECTOR SI MONUMENTUM REQUIRIS CIRCUMSPICE Obijt XXV Feb: An°: MDCCXXIII Æt: XCI. which translates from Latin as: Here in its foundations lies
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