51°04′00″N 1°47′57″W / 51.0666°N 1.7993°W
Wren Hall is a Grade I listed building in Salisbury Cathedral Close, Wiltshire, England.
Situated on the west side of Choristers' Green, it was originally part of the attached Braybrook House. A rebuilding was commissioned and funded by Sir Stephen Fox, an alumnus of the Cathedral School, and carried out in 1714 by Thomas Naish,[1] Clerk of Works to the cathedral, to provide a classroom and further dormitories for the cathedral choristers. It has little proven connection with Christopher Wren[2] except that in its style it provides a suitable memorial to the Wiltshire-born architect.
After the removal of the Choir School the College of Sarum St Michael acquired it for a short period until it became the diocesan archive repository. In the 1980s it was used as the Salisbury Cathedral Spire Appeal office and later became a cathedral educational resource centre for school visits. The desks of the headmaster and assistant master remain at opposite ends of the room as a reminder of the original use as a single large classroom, or "Big School Room" as it was called, with the two classes sitting back-to-back. The attic contains some dormitories and there are original medieval cellars below the building.[2]
The building was designated as Grade I listed in 1952.[2]
References edit
- ^ "Question: Names on 18th-century map of Salisbury". Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. Wiltshire Council. 5 January 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Wren Hall (e1023620)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
