Portland stone celebrating Christopher Wren to be unveiled

The Wren's Stone, commemorating the 300th anniversary of the death of architect Christopher Wren, will become the second stone to be unveiled after The Ocean Stone in February.

An unveiling will take place at the Memory Stones, Tout Quarry Sculpture Park, Portland, this afternoon at 2pm.

‘Wren’s Stone’ will be unveiled by the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the life and architectural achievements of Sir Christopher Wren in his tercentenary (300th) year.

Following the Great Fire of London of 1666, Wren sourced much stone for the rebuilding of London from Portland, including his masterpiece St Paul's Cathedral.

Sir Christopher Wren used Portland stone to rebuild much on London after the Great Fire of 1966 (Image: Wikimedia)

Designed and carved by the Portland Sculpture & Quarry Trust with inclusive training for young people, the stone has been commissioned by The Worshipful Company of Masons Livery and supported by the Island and Royal Manor of Portland Court Leet.  

A live performance by artists and Portland-based Stromatic Dance will accompany the ceremony.

The carving of Wren’s Stone is part of a project to highlight Portland’s heritage.  

It is the second of 12 Memory Stones to be commissioned, with each stone allowing people to work together to create a legacy on the island.

The hand-carved stone includes a Gnomon (the part of a sundial which creates a shadow) designed at 1:500 scale of the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral; aligned to solar noon on midsummers day, when Wren placed the first stone to mark the centre of the dome. 

The Gnomon casts a shadow across Wren’s 12 existing churches in order of their distance from St Pauls Cathedral, and marks the start of a walk-through Portland's heritage quarries to ‘Wrens Way’.

This was once a 10ft wide roadway that Wren built to transport stone to London and gives dramatic views across the sea and the former location of Kings Pier. 

It follows The Ocean Stone which was the first memory stone to be completed.

It was made to raise awareness of the importance of ocean protection and the impact that extractive activities have on our oceans.

Overlooking Tout Quarry, The Ocean Stone was crafted by local artist Hannah Sofaer.