[1] Situated in Old College Yard[4]: p.375 [1]—of William & Mary's "Ancient Campus", near the more contemporary Merchants Square east of campus—the frequently visited Wren Building anchors that Campus,[6][better source needed] with its forecourt defined by two further old structures, Brafferton (built in 1723 as an Indian school) and the President's House (completed in 1733).

[1][4] While many details regarding the matter are unknown, an undated modern Wren House informational placard states that the "building was made by the labor of enslaved individuals... possibl[y] including... enslaved children..." and that the same labor was used "to run the College, most likely assisting with cleaning, cooking, gardening, tending livestock, etc.

"[10][better source needed] The college named the building in honor of the English architect Sir Christopher Wren,[citation needed] after Hugh Jones—a Reverend and William and Mary mathematics professor[citation needed]—wrote in his Present State of Virginia (1724) that it was “first modelled by Sir Christopher Wren, adapted to the nature of the country by the gentlemen there”;[1] however, it is unknown how Jones came to this conclusion, since there are no actual documents tying Wren to the building's design, and he never even visited North America.

[not verified in body] Perry Shaw & Hepburn's restoration reflects the building's historic appearance from its reconstruction in 1716 after a 1705 fire to 1859, when it burned again.

[citation needed] The crypt beneath the chapel is the resting place of several notable Virginians, including royal governor the 4th Baron Botetourt, Speaker of the House of Burgesses Sir John Randolph, and his son Peyton Randolph, Founding Father and first President of the Continental Congress.

[not verified in body] In the early 1770s, plans were drawn up to complete the building as a quadrangle; alumnus Thomas Jefferson (class of 1762) drew up a floorplan which was submitted to Governor Dunmore, and foundations were laid in 1774.

[citation needed]) According to an undated modern Wren House informational placard, "[u]ntil at least 1724, students, administrators, faculty, and staff, including slaves and their families, lived in th[e] building [now called Wren]";[15][better source needed] in addition, they studied and attended religious services in the building.[when?

[15][better source needed] A Wren Building placard states that as of 1754, "8 body servants—enslaved African Americans about the same age as the students—were here to attend their young owners", with "bursar charges show[ing] minimal room and board costs".

Each year during the opening convocation ceremony, incoming William and Mary freshmen enter the building from the courtyard, pass through the central hall, and exit on the opposite side.

The Yule Log Ceremony, the College's holiday celebration, is held every year at the Wren Building, typically during the second weekend in December.

[18] After the completion of the President's House and the added chapel wing in 1732, the College's layout and overall architectural organization changed little until the construction of additional academic buildings in the early-twentieth century.

For nearly one hundred and fifty years, the campus consisted of the three buildings—the Wren Building, the Brafferton, and the President's House—proportionally arranged in the College yard.

With the Wren Building (or "College" as it was called) placed in the middle and bounded by the Brafferton to the south and the President's House to the north, the view gave visitors a sense of balance and proportion, important tenets of the Enlightenment and visible in Jacobean, Anglo-Dutch, and Georgian architecture of the period.

Since these initial archaeological discoveries, the Bodleian Plate has proved remarkably faithful in its depiction of the College yard's early garden layout.

[19] Although the two side structures are not entirely balanced (there is a slight size discrepancy between the Brafferton and President's House), the sight of the College would have been impressive for an 18th-century Virginian.

[28] A large plaque was presented by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities in 1914 which lists some of the notable firsts for William and Mary:[citation needed]