England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Westminster St Anne Soho

The Parish

The parish of St Anne Soho lies within on the northern edges of the city of Westminster. Westminster is the second city within the metropolis of London sitting roughly 2 miles southwest of the ancient City of London. One could write a book about Westminster but suffice it to say that this city is the home to Britain's monarchs and to its Parliament. The city of Westminster is divided into 8 historic parishes of which St Anne is one of the more northern and the second smallest in terms of its population. Westminster grew up around Royal residences, once a discrete settlement distanced from the hubbub of the City of London, it did not take long before the growing metropolis spread beyond the walls of the original city and today Westminster is indistinguishable from wider metropolitan London. The city is a major commercial centre and a truly international tourism draw with sights such as Buckingham Palace to draw in the crowds. St Anne Soho parish is sited between London's theatre district around Leicester Square and northwards towards St Pancras, it includes the former rather seedy areas of Chinatown and the uptown commercial district around Wardour Street. Westminster fronts the Thames with most of the city's drainage getting to the mighty river through sub-surface means. Westminster is sited at between sea level and 10 metres above the same being sat upon the Thames' flood plain. St Anne's parish occupied the a tiny part of the northern area of the city between Holborn & Bloomsbury it was largely developed during the 17th century from the former parkland associated with Whitehall Palace. The tightly packed urban landscape would have covered only a token area of acres and yet would have held a population of close to 15,500 parishioners. In Domesday times Westminster has its own entry, a holding of the nascent Westminster Abbey and sufficiently large enough even then to be amongst the 20% most populous in the country; reflecting the still partially rural nature of the area in those times Westminster held 21 ploughs as well as meadows and, rather unbelievably today, even woodland with foraging pigs.

The Church

St Anne's church sits in Westminster's theatre-land just north of Shaftesbury Avenue and east of Wardour Street. Sadly much of the church was lost to enemy action during World War II and the church is now part of a site that includes a small parochial chapel and premises for the the Soho Society and Soho Housing Association. The church was originally built between 1677 & 1686 as part of the development of the area from parkland into the urban environment we see today, a small section of the 17th century church still remains on the face closest to Dean Street. The stand-out feature of the site is, however, the tower added in  1803. Built in a yellow brick and topped with a stone bell-stage and a bulging set of clock faces. After the bombing the church was largely demolished in 1953, several proposals for its continued use were unsuccessful until that of the Soho Society that was proposed in 1980 and took 11 years to fulfill.  Like most urban churches this is one to visit on foot using the capital's public transport system. The site is a fenced public park surrounded by the thriving commercial area with close adjacent buildings such that the photographer is limited only to views from due west.