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Description

One of the Rarest of Christopher Wren's Proposed Plans for Rebuilding London.

Fine reduced example of Christopher Wren's plan for rebuilding London after the fire, by John Gwynn, engraved by Edward Rooker and published by the Proprietors at Palladios Head in Long Acre.

The second title includes a dedication from John Gwynn to the Lord Mayor, Court of Aldermen, and Common Council of the City of London.

Includes two panels with notes on Wren's proposal at top left and right, and an explanation to the plan at the bottom portion of plate.

The Shading indicates area destroyed in Great Fire.

British Library, Maps Crace Port. 17.6:

This edition has a textual explanation beneath the map. Wren was a Professor of Astronomy at Oxford with interest in the science of architecture, he was among the first to submit a proposal after the catastrophe. The narrow streets that had helped spread the fires have been replaced by monumental avenues radiating from piazzas. The classical buildings and formal street plans that Wren had studied in Paris and Rome are a clear influence. He also proposed constructing a Thameside quay from Bridewell to the Tower, replacing the ramshackle wooden wharf-side buildings with warehouses. A vignette of Tamesis (a river god), with London burning in the background has been added to the border. Wren's plan was never used.

Reference
Not in Howgego.
John Gwynn Biography

John Gwynn was a writer, architect and bridge-builder, who is well known for his writings on the monuments of London and most notably, St. Paul's Cathedral, a well as the needs and status of artists (including architects).  This second topic led to the formation of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768.

His Plan for Rebuilding the City of London (reduced copy of the Wren Plan), is one of his earliest published works.