Matthew Wren

Matthew Wren (3 December 1585 – 24 April 1667) was an influential English clergyman, bishop and scholar. Life He was the eldest son of Francis Wren (born 18 January 1552 at Newbold Revell), citizen and mercer of London, only son of Cuthbert Wren (d.1558), of Monk's-Kirby, in the county of Warwick, and his wife Mary, daughter of William Jenkinson. His grandfather Cuthbert Wren was the second son of William Wren, of Sherborne-House and of Billy-Hall in the bishopric of Durham. He was descended from an ancient family which came originally from Denmark. Matthew Wren's mother was Susan, daughter of William Wiffinson. His parents lived in the parish of St Peter, Westcheap in the City of London, and had three children: a daughter Anna, and two sons; Matthew, born 1585, and Christopher, born 1589. He was the brother of Christopher Wren, who also took holy orders, and the uncle of the prominent architect Sir Christopher Wren. He attended Merchant Taylors' School, London, and proceeded in 1601 to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he was a protégé of Lancelot Andrewes. He became a Fellow in 1605 and later President. He was Master of Peterhouse from 1625 to 1634. He accompanied Charles I to Holyrood Palace for his Scottish coronation in 1633, and was appointed chaplain and Clerk of the Closet. He became Bishop of Hereford in 1634, Norwich in 1635, and Ely in 1638.