Never was a man more clearly marked down for greatness than Wren. As a boy it was expected of him, as a young man it was recognised in him, and in his middle years even he was acclaimed by his own generation, though he had his detractors, as the greatest of known British architects.
Wren was restricted then as he would have been restricted now. But what he bequeathed to us is still a wonderfully complete account of his many-sided talent. In his article on Wren which we publish to-day, Professor Lethaby says of him that “he was not only a great architect; he was a great Englishman”. That we believe to be true, not only because his gifts ranged far beyond even architecture to rank him among the great minds of his time, but also because his expression of his art is English. We [have] suggested that the most fitting honour which his countrymen could pay to Wren was to celebrate his work. First and foremost, that means to take pride in our surroundings and to plan and build worthily of our pride. The modern architect, we gratefully acknowledge, is returning, or has returned, to the essentials of his art in the true Wren spirit. But he must have the public taste moving with him. It is necessary that the public, too, should turn against the pretension implicit in current usage of the words “super” and “palatial” and look for the natural dignity and beauty of buildings aptly and honestly constructed.
Talking point
On Friday next the Matrimonial Causes Bill will come up for its second reading as a Private Member’s Bill. All it proposes to do is to amend the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857, so as to enable a woman to divorce her husband on the grounds of adultery.
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Key quote
If Tutankhamun’s tomb had not been found probably nobody would have bothered about him.
A.M. Blackman, Egyptologist