Pop into St Anne's, Soho's parish church

Quietly situated in its own private garden in Soho, the original Church of St Anne, Soho, was built between 1677 until 1686, as the parish church for Soho. Apart from the tower, however, the church we see today is much newer, having actually been built in the 1990s.


Destroyed during the Blitz, on the night of 24 September 1940, only the tower remained, and was used as a chapel for a period during the 1950s and restored in 1979 by the Soho Society. Whilst the congregation continued to worship at other sites, including at the adjoining St Anne's House, it wasn't until 1990-91 that the re-building of the whole church was arranged, and the tower is Grade II listed.

The church is between Dean Street, Wardour Street, Old Compton Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, and the website notes that the local area is home to many homeless people, some meeja types, prostitutes, the F.A., the gays, and 5,000 residents, so it is certainly an interesting parish.

For more on St Anne's, Soho, see http://www.stannes-soho.org.uk/

_{^Picture by Matt From London^}