by Suzanne Seurattan
The Sir Christopher Wren Building stands at the heart of the William & Mary campus - literally and figuratively. Originally known as simply "The College Building," the structure is the symbol of the university's 322-year history. Still, there may be a few things not everyone knows about this iconic structure.
Ten things you may not know about the Wren:
1. Doors Closed. The Wren, the oldest college building in the U.S., has not been in continuous use. It was closed during both the Revolution and the Civil War and during the Silent Years of 1880-1888 when the entire university was closed. The Wren was used as a field hospital during both the Revolution and Civil War.
2. Ghosts on the rafters. There are several architectural “ghosts” visible today on the façade of the Wren – the sites of former windows in the Great Hall when the space was divided into two floors, the shadow of the towers that graced the east front from 1859 to 1862 and traces of 19th-century windows on the north and south ends of the east facade.
3. Aim. Fire. On the east front, just below the second window from center on the main floor, several musket holes remain from a skirmish of the Civil War.
4. Foundations of history. The cornerstone of the College was laid on Aug. 8, 1695. No images of the cornerstone are known to exist. Hmm ... wonder if Lord B. knows where it is?
5. Not really our organ. Despite being commonly referred to as the “Wren” Organ, the 18th-century instrument doesn’t actually belong to the university. It is on loan from Colonial Williamsburg. The organ, among the four oldest in the United States, was bought in England by Colonial Williamsburg in 1954 and imported to America to reside in the ballroom of the Governor's Palace, which is adjacent to the college in Williamsburg. In 1963, Colonial Williamsburg moved it to a hallway in the Williamsburg Lodge where it stood for several years as a silent piece of furniture. In 1970, it was placed into the balcony of Wren Chapel. Today it is used regularly for concerts (Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. during the school year), recitals, weddings and other functions. While this organ may not belong to William & Mary, there is an 1806 record of repairing an organ at the College - evidence that the chapel may have had another organ in the past.
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