In the Wiltshire village where Sir Christopher Wren was born, St Paul's Cathedral's 300th birthday was marked only by extra work for postmistress Janeen Evans.

She spent the day dealing with hundreds of special edition St Paul's stamp sets that collectors sent to be given a post mark.

"I did know it was the 300th anniversary, but only because I had lots of people sending me mail," said Janeen.

"There was a special edition stamp collection a while back of St Paul's Cathedral, and stamp collectors from all over the world sent me their copies to be franked on that particular day.

"I suppose they wanted the East Knoyle postmark on it with the date, and then it would be even more special, because it was his birthday, the 300th anniversary of St Paul's Cathedral and it would have the mark of the village in which he was born.

"It did make that day rather busy for me, I have to admit."

East Knoyle rejuvenated itself with the opening of a post office and community-run village stores, in a converted public toilet two years ago – five years after the old village shop closed.

When it came to name the new store there was only one candidate once villagers decided to abandon a "village shop" moniker.

So the Wren Shop was born, complete with a shop sign incorporating the iconic St Paul's Dome, which withstood the Blitz of London and became a beacon of hope during World War II.

"We are rather proud of Sir Christopher Wren, and the fact he was born here," said Janeen.

"We still do get lots of tourists who come to the village to see the church – but unfortunately the house he was born in was knocked down in the 1700s."

This month marked the 300th anniversary of the completion of St Paul's Cathedral.

And this week the church leaders of St Paul's announced they had met their target of raising £40 million for its restoration – turning the blackened stone of its famous curves into a gleaming light colour again.

Anglican leaders celebrated with a high-profile Evensong celebration, inviting the great and the good who donated the tens of millions.

Sir Christopher was born in 1632, the son of East Knoyle's vicar. A sickly child, he wasn't expected to survive into adulthood, and when he was three his father was appointed Dean of Windsor.

That catapulted the young Christopher to London society. He attended Westminster School and then Oxford before becoming one of the greatest minds of his generation.

His greatest legacy was St Paul's, which he lived to see completed 40 years after the Great Fire of London.

It is being restored to coincide with its 300th anniversary, with the £40 million raised without the need for a lottery grant.

The Dean of St Paul's, the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles, said: "In today's turbulent economic conditions, St Paul's provides a place of calm, escape, rest and reflection from the maelstrom of daily city life."