WREN, Christopher.

£7,500 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Manuscript document signed, from Royal Hospital Chelsea account book. Christopher Wren signs "Chr. Wren" to authorize payments to various tradespeople, in his role as Surveyor-General of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.Wren was the architect of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, founded as a retirement home for disabled soldiers by Charles II in 1682. His building, one of his best-known works, remains virtually unchanged today: "it met its brief with such distinction and success that even in the twenty-first century it fulfils its original function, albeit with the benefit of modern standards of comfort and hygiene" (ODNB). The first pensioners were admitted in 1689. Wren was one of three commissioners empowered by royal warrant in March 1693 to examine the accounts of the hospital. This leaf originated from the account book kept by Ralph Cooke, under-treasurer of the hospital, from December 1698 to November 1702. Wren signs alongside his two fellow commissioners Lord Ranelagh (Paymaster-General) and Sir Stephen Fox (Commissioner of the Treasury) to authorize the payments. The account book was broken into individual leaves by the autograph dealer Gerard Stodolksi in 1994. The accounts are dated 12 April 1700. It lists payments of over £159 to Charles Hudson the butcher, £66 to John Clarke the baker, £75 to John England the brewer, £84 to Robert Madock the cheesemaker, £75 to John Gill the whitster, £28 to Elizabeth Hastings the tallow chandler, £8 to William Fells the lampman, and £25 to

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