1941-1990

The St. Anne's Society included Dorothy L. Sayers, (whose ashes are buried in the Tower) and Rose MacCauley, both of whom were Churchwardens here. T.S. Eliot and other Christian writers, all took part in regular meetings at St. Anne's House.

 

In the mid 1960's Piccadilly became a centre for drug addicts and in 1969 Ken Leech, a priest on the staff at St. Anne's, set up Centrepoint in the basement of St. Anne's House as an emergency and, it was hoped, temporary night shelter for homeless young people. Over forty years later Centrepoint is still at St. Anne's House but this is now just one small part of a large independent charity which works with the young homeless.

In the 1960's and 1970's attempts were made to redevelop the site of the Church but these foundered on seemingly endless difficulties.

 

Worship was continued by a handful of people in the Chapel on the first floor of St. Anne's House, with Sunday services for a time held at St. Barnabas Chapel and at St. Paul's Covent Garden. At this time successive Parish priests were also Chaplains to the Actors Church Union.

 

Meanwhile Soho was in a sorry state. The site of the Church was a car park. The Parish School in Great Windmill Street was threatened with closure. The sex industry had taken over the area and the local authority was moving tenants out of Soho.

 

In·1972 the local residents who remained decided they had had enough and the Soho Society was formed with the aim of making Soho a better place in which to live, work and visit.

In July 1975 St. Anne's and the Soho Society joined forces with the aim of developing the Church site to achieve the greatest benefit for Church and Community. As a consequence of this partnership the Tower room was renovated in 1976 to 'be the headquarters of the newly formed’ Soho Housing Association and by 1979 enough money had been raised in the community for the whole Tower to be refurbished and the Parish clock restored to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

'Let people know that life and heart and hope are in Soho', wrote John Betjeman, patron of the fund raising appeal.

Out of the Church/Community partnership grew several schemes for the development of the site which would include a Church, Community Centre and flats, and by 1984 a plan was agreed by the Diocese, the Church Council and the Soho Housing Association.

We were very fortunate to have Arundel House act as the developer and our architects, the Westwood Partnership, to lead the team of professionals.