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Matthew Wren

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For his son, the English politician and writer, see Matthew Wren (writer).

The Right Reverend

Matthew Wren
Bishop of Ely
ChurchChurch of England
DioceseDiocese of Ely
In office1638–1646
1660–1667
PredecessorFrancis White
SuccessorBenjamin Lany
Other post(s)Bishop of Hereford (1634–35)
Bishop of Norwich (1635–38)
Personal details
Born(1585-12-23)23 December 1585
Parish of St Peter, Westcheap, London
Died24 April 1667(1667-04-24) (aged 81)
Ely House, Holborn, London
BuriedPembroke College, Cambridge
NationalityEnglish
DenominationAnglican
SpouseElizabeth Cutler
EducationMerchant Taylors' School
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge

Matthew Wren (23 December 1585 – 24 April 1667) was an influential English clergyman, bishop and scholar.

Life

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Wren was the eldest son of Francis Wren, citizen and mercer of London.[1] Matthew Wren's mother was Susan, daughter of John Wiggington. His parents lived in the parish of St Peter, Westcheap in the City of London,[2] and had three children: a daughter Anna, and two sons; Matthew, born 1585, and Christopher, born 1589.[3]

Wren was the brother of Christopher Wren, who also took holy orders, and the uncle of the architect Christopher Wren.[2]

Wren attended Merchant Taylors' School, London, and proceeded in 1601 to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was a protégé of Lancelot Andrewes. He became a Fellow in 1605 and later President. He was Master of Peterhouse from 1625 to 1634.[4][5] He accompanied Charles I to Holyrood Palace for his Scottish coronation in 1633, and was appointed chaplain and Clerk of the Closet. He became Bishop of Hereford in 1634, Norwich in 1635, and Ely in 1638.[2]

However, Wren's strong support of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, and his toughness on Puritans, led to his being imprisoned in the Tower of London by the Parliamentarian faction from 1642 to 1660.[2] Unlike Laud, he survived, and was allowed the freedom to write notes on improvements to the Book of Common Prayer, on which he later had some influence. He was deprived of his See by Parliament on 9 October 1646, as episcopacy was abolished for the duration of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate.[6][7] Upon the Restoration, he was released on 15 March 1660.[8]

While in the Tower, Wren vowed to devote a sum of money to "some holy and pious employment" should he be released. To fulfill this vow, he chose to pay for a new Chapel for Pembroke College, and had it built by his nephew Christopher Wren – one of his first buildings, consecrated in 1665. Wren also led the movement to rebuild St Paul's Cathedral after it had been damaged by the Puritans, and again his nephew accomplished the task.

Wren married Elizabeth Cutler on 17 August 1628. She was the daughter of Thomas Cutler of Ipswich and Sproughton, Suffolk.[2] Wren’s diary records the event as that he was "joined together in happy matrimony."[9]

Of the twelve children whose birth Wren records in his diary, six died while very young.[9]

Wren died at Ely House, Holborn, on 24 April 1667. His body was transported from London to Cambridge and was buried in the chapel he had built at Pembroke College, Cambridge on 11 May.[2]

Theology

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Wren was well acquainted with the Dutch Arminian literature.[13] He was himself firmly attached to the Arminian views.[14]

List of appointments

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Notes and references

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Citations

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  1. ^ Mathew David (1948). The Social Structure in Caroline England.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cranfield, Nicholas W. S. (October 2008). "Wren, Matthew". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  3. ^ "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Sir Christopher Wren, by Lucy Phillimore". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Wren, Matthew (WRN604M)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  5. ^ Phillimore, Lucy (30 November 2007). Sir Christopher Wren: His family and his times, 1585-1723. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-548-80595-4.
  6. ^ Plant, David (2002). "Episcopalians". BCW Project. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  7. ^ King, Peter (July 1968). "The Episcopate during the Civil Wars, 1642–1649". The English Historical Review. 83 (328). Oxford University Press: 523–537. doi:10.1093/ehr/lxxxiii.cccxxviii.523. JSTOR 564164.
  8. ^ a b Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 7, 1992, pp. 7–10
  9. ^ a b "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Sir Christopher Wren, by Lucy Phillimore". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  10. ^ "WREN, Sir William (1638-89), of Wilburton, Cambs. and Lincoln's Inn. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Wren, Charles (WRN662C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  12. ^ Ely, Eng (Diocese); Gibbons, Alfred W. (1891). Ely Epicsopal records. PIMS - University of Toronto. Lincoln, J. Williamson.
  13. ^ Milton 2002, p. 436.
  14. ^ Tyacke 2001, pp. 123, 217.

Sources

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  • Milton, Anthony (2002). Catholic and Reformed: The Roman and Protestant Churches in English Protestant Thought, 1600-1640. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Tyacke, Nicholas (2001). Aspects of English Protestantism C. 1530–1700. Manchester: University Press.
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Academic offices
Preceded by Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge
1625–1635 		Succeeded by
Church of England titles
Preceded by Bishop of Hereford
1634–1635 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Norwich
1635–1638 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Ely
1638–1646 & 1660–1667 		Succeeded by
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