St Anne's Church

Soho Parish Church

By Tim Devitt

The church of St Anne , Soho was built between 1677 and 1686 according to the designs of either Sir Christopher Wren or William Talman. A tower was subsequently added in 1717 and was rebuilt by S P Cockerell in 1803. In 1940 the church was severely damaged in an air raid, but the tower survived. In 1976 an appeal was launched by the Poet Laureate, Sir John Betjeman, to restore the tower. Today it houses the Museum of Soho . Amongst the thousands of Soho residents who were buried in the burial ground (now the church gardens) were Theodore, the dethroned King of Corsica (1694-1756) and the author William Hazlitt (1778-1830). A plaque commemorates the famous writer of detective stories Dorothy L Sayers (1893-1957), who was a churchwarden and whose ashes are buried beneath the tower.

Photo:Report Centre message form concerning the church of St Anne, Soho, (bomb incident number 457), 24 Sep 1940

Report Centre message form concerning the church of St Anne, Soho, (bomb incident number 457), 24 Sep 1940

Photo:Black and white photograph of Old Compton Street showing damage to the church of St Anne, Soho, (bomb incident number 1522), 11 May 1941

Black and white photograph of Old Compton Street showing damage to the church of St Anne, Soho, (bomb incident number 1522), 11 May 1941

Photo:View of the Church of St Anne, Soho, watercolour by R G Mathews, Aug 1945

View of the Church of St Anne, Soho, watercolour by R G Mathews, Aug 1945

Photo:Black and white photograph of St Anne's Church, Dean Street, Soho, (bomb incident bomb number 290), 7 Oct 1940

Black and white photograph of St Anne's Church, Dean Street, Soho, (bomb incident bomb number 290), 7 Oct 1940

This page was added by Tim Devitt on 26/03/2010.
Comments about this page
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By Jay
On 23/01/2016

Marvellous pictures accompany this interesting piece

By Fiona Green
On 20/03/2014
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