In the words of the great architect Sir Christopher Wren, "architecture aims at eternity".

CNN: A Quest to build

Portland stone, mined in the south western county of Dorset, was used by Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild St Paul's Cathedral between 1675 and 1710.

BBC: Stone exhibit on a roll

Opponents of modern architecture may scoff that Sir Christopher Wren and Filippo Brunelleschi tended to make buildings that lasted a little longer than 60 years.

ECONOMIST: An aptly named masterpiece reopens

The same could have been said, though, about Sir Christopher Wren, whose 51 churches, and landmarks like Kensington Palace and Greenwich Naval Hospital, dominated the city after the Great Fire of London.

BBC: Lord Foster: Stormin' Norman

From the deck, tick off architectural and historical glories as you sweep past: to your right, the Monument - Sir Christopher Wren's memorial to the Great Fire of 1666 - then Wren's towering achievement, dome-hatted St Paul's Cathedral.

BBC: A perfect day in London

In fact, Max -- who spends only part of the year at Easton Neston -- has become so enamored with "all things English" that he's relocated part of his design studio to a former real tennis court in a wing designed by Sir Christopher Wren, famous for the construction of St Paul's Cathedral in London.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS