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What did Christopher Wren propose in his plan to rebuild London after the Great Fire?
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Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren, detail of an oil painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1711; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, Christopher Wren surveyed the devastation and submitted a proposal to Charles II to rebuild the City of London on new and more regular lines.1
His plan was heavily influenced by his observations of the Palace of Versailles and his study of engravings depicting the Rome of Pope Sixtus V. Ultimately, however, the proposal was never implemented. The practical challenges regarding land surveys, property compensation, and the redistribution of plots proved too complex, and the city was instead rebuilt under the guidelines of a 1667 rebuilding act, which focused on widening specific streets and establishing new construction standards.1