Wren in the City Walking Tour with Open City Friends, Saturday 26 July 2pm

Join Core and Keystone Friends for a walking tour marking over 300 years since the death of the architect, scientist and polymath Christopher Wren — a man with an extraordinary and unique architectural legacy in the urban landscape of London.

Celebrating the achievements of Christopher Wren, this walking tour led by former Royal National Theatre head of tours and Golden Key Academy graduate Alison Rae is a fascinating and insightful wander from one corner of the Square Mile to the other, charting Wren’s role in the City’s transformation from smoldering ruin after the 1666 Great Fire to glittering, modern metropolis. We will wind our way through the City’s streets and alleyways, finishing at Wren’s masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral.

Passing by some of the City’s most recognisable landmarks, we will track Wren’s ideas, his inspiration and the constraints he had to deal with along the way. The tour will include amongst much else, the impressive dome of St Stephen Walbrook, the unique Gothic spire of St Margaret Pattens and a close look at the hidden meanings behind the carvings on The Monument.

Providing a fun way for enthusiastic urbanists to explore the city, this tour will cover Wren’s unrealised plans for the city, other non-religious works such as the Temple Bar Gateway: the only surviving gateway into the City of London, and the long-lasting impact Wren has had on architecture right up to the modern day.

Starting at 2pm this tour will last approximately 2.5 hours. Ending around 4.30, there will be the option of entering St Paul's to listen to the Evensong choir light up the cathedral. 

This walking tour is for Core and Keystone Friends of Open City only - to find out more and how to become a Friend, email friends@open-city.org.uk