From 1686
Worship has been offered to God on this site since Bishop Henry Compton consecrated the original Church in 1686. The architects were either Sir Christopher Wren or his assistant Mr. William Talman, or possibly both. It was a Church of basilican plan about eighty-foot long and sixty-four feet wide.
In 1699 St. Anne's, Soho founded its Parish School for boys. Education was provided free-of-charge, and in 1704 the School opened its doors to girls. (The Parish School remains, to this day, a thriving part of the community.)
The Church was dedicated to St. Anne because Bishop Henry Compton, the Church's founder, had been tutor to Princess Anne, who became Queen Anne. By the nineteenth century the Church became noted for its commitment to social reform under a succession of remarkable, philanthropic and, in some instances, not to say eccentric Rectors.
The essayist William Hazlitt was buried at St. Anne's in 1830. His memorial stone can be seen in the Churchyard Gardens (accessible via Wardour Street).
From the time of its consecration St. Anne's, Soho was well known for its "Singing boys" and the quality of its music. The first organ was a gift from the Dowager-Queen's Chapel in Marlborough House. The first organist was Dr William Croft who wrote while here the tune "St. Anne", sung to "O god our help in ages past". Sir Joseph Barnby, organist 1871-1888, and later Precentor of Eton, introduced the first performance of the Bach "St John Passion". In 1886 the choir was summoned to Windsor Castle to sing Spohr's "Last Judgement" before Queen Victoria. Later on it sang at Buckingham Palace for Queen Alexander. In the 1920's St. Anne's presented the first religious service with music broadcast on the "wireless".
From 1940
On the evening of 24th September 1940 the Church building received a direct hit from a bomb during the height of the London blitz. Although St. Anne's Church Tower, which dates from 1803, remained intact the body of the Church was burnt out. Worship continued at St. Thomas's, Regent Street (now no longer in existence), and various other places, including at the adjoining St. Anne's House in the "Upper Room", now known as the "Allen Room".
Between 1941 and 1958 St. Anne's played a special role in promoting a link between the Church and the literary worlds. The powerfully intellectual St. Anne Society flourished under Father Patrick McLaughlin, and included such names as J.C. Winnington-Ingram, Fr Gilbert Shaw, Charles Williams, T.S. Eliot, Agatha Christie, Fr Max Petitpierre, Arnold Bennett, Dom Gregory Dix, C.S. Lewis and two notable Churchwardens, Dorothy L. Sayers (who was buried at St. Anne's) and Rose Macaulay.
The Revd Ken Leech, assistant priest at St. Anne's in the late sixties, started Centrepoint, a charity that works with homeless young people, in the basement of St. Anne's House in December 1969 and has grown to be the most important charity in this field.
From 1990
After a long struggle involving St. Anne's Parochial Church Council, the Diocese, The Soho Society and the Soho Housing Association the foundation stone of the new St. Anne's was laid by HRH, the Princess Royal on 12th March 1990. The Church was re-dedicated and the site opened for use on St. Anne's Day, 26th July, 1991.
The small church is utterly different from its predecessor. It can be varied in size to meet different needs, from those of a tiny group engaged in quiet prayer to a family wishing to hold an elaborate memorial service to the Parish School Christmas service.
The Church is set within a Community Centre as a sign of its prayerful presence in the diverse community that is Soho today. St. Anne's provided a focus for much of the community's grief and anger at the bombing on 30th April, 1999 of the Admiral Duncan, a pub frequented by gay men and women sited a hundred or so yards away in Old Compton Street, which left three people dead.
The Church contains stained glass designed by students from the St. Martin's School of Art and an unusual crucifix which, along with candlesticks and a font were a gift from a German family. The crucifix, candlesticks and font were created by Thomas Duttenhoefer, a highly acclaimed artist from Darmstadt, Germany. His work is able to contain pain and hope, and death and resurrection, as does the Church of St. Anne's, Soho.
Further information can be obtained on the British History Online website - [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/]