Wren's Masons: The Strongs and the Rebuilding of London after the Great Fire.

The Strongs were a family of stonemasons from the Cotswolds in England. Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, several members of the family moved to London where they were responsible for building some of the most beautiful structures in the new city. In this video I discuss the history of the family, the buildings which they helped to raise, and what their careers can tell us about the construction industry in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century London.

[elainesanders]

Such an interesting and enjoyable account of something we rarely talk about or even think about... the actual creators of these marvellous buildings. Many thanks for an enriching

[ricktalks]

Wonderful lecture very detailed .... Thankyou 🙏

[andrewchang]

Very well researched, presented and narrated!

[richardwb]

To echo previous comments, this is indeed interesting, extensively researched, and well presented.

[martinparrack]

Very informative thank you for sharing and spending the time in research 👏👍🍷

[katem]

A very interesting and informative talk which I much enjoyed. The topic is of special interest in St Albans, Strong's final home, where I research. Strong may have had input into the construction of Ivy House there, but did not live in that house, as the plaque on the building suggests. My research has found Nikolas Pevsner's statement to that effect to be incorrect. Strong lived at New Barns, now Sopwell House hotel, which came into the family by the marriage settlement of his daughter Elizabeth with Robert New. He seems to have moved there with his wife Martha after the death of Robert in 1708. Ivy House was the mansion of St Peter's vicar, Revd Dr Robert Rumney, a witness to Strong's will and probably a friend. A brick building, there being little local stone, it could however have been designed by Strong on Rumney's behalf; Strong died only a year or two after its construction in 1719/20, but the possibility of its design or construction by Strong is still an idea I would love to explore, along with that of the construction and design of several other contemporary mansions in the town.

[annwalker]

Hello Ian, I have just watched your lecture - it is great, such clear delivery, interesting content and lovely illustrations. We don't often hear about the people who actually do the work, only about those who design or order the building.

Following the economic disruption of the plague and fire, and the reduction in population caused by these disasters, what was the source of the money for rebuilding domestic, business and religious buildings over a comparatively short time?
You mention that members of the family are buried in churches. How does that actually work? Where are the bodies and how are they prevented from contaminating the building during decomposition? Are they accessible after burial?

Regards, Ann

[richardshepley]

Very informative, interesting and well put together which interesting images. Fantastic blue sky photos of St Paul's.

I was interested that the Strongs' Quarries provided stone for St Paul's as it is completely faced in Portland Stone. presumably the Strongs provided the structural stone?

Another point. You say that they got the contract to build the North West (?) quarter of the dome. Do you mean the drum? The outside dome is lead and timber, the inside dome is plaster and timber. between them is a brick cone which caries the weight of the lantern - and you can't build a vertical quarter of that!