St Anne's Church, Limehouse — Attraction in London

One of Nicholas Hawksmoor's 6 London Churches & one of the 12 London Churches actually built in response to Queen Anne's decree to buid 50 churches in London to serve the burgeoning populations & also , quite likely , to counteract growing religious dissension. I visited on a weekday & coveniently I chose to go whilst there was a photographic exhibition taking place , ensuring that I got to see the interior of the church. Of course , there is a lot of fictitious speculation about Hawksmoor concerning psychogeography & his churches & you can indulge in that by admiring the white pyramid sitting hard by a fine London Plane in the churchyard. It is inscribed somewhat enigmatically , with " The Wisdom of Solomon ". Apparently , there was or was intended to be another one. The Churchyard is well maintained with scattered gravestones & tombs - look out for an upside down headstone. Also an impressive war memorial & lines of headstones against the brick wall in the car park. Queen Anne decreed that St. Anne's was to be build as near to the River Thames as possible so as to serve as a registry for Sea Captains to record important events. The golden ball is visible from the river & as such serves as a Trinity House marker. This led to some planned housing blocks in the area being required to reduce their height in order that the ball remains unobscured. In addition to this , St. Anne's is permitted to fly the second most important flag in The Royal Navy , The White Ensign. The clock on the Church Tower is the highest in London. Inside , the Church is in need of some work , as evinced when you examine the walls & ceiling but nonetheless it is very impressive. The wooden galleries are accessed via a staircase & up here you can take a close look at the lovely organ which won first prize at The Great Exhibition of 1851 & replaced the original which was destroyed along with the interior of the church by a fire in 1850. A stained glass window behind the altar is currently absent for...

Highly recommended

I attended the 6.00p.m. service. The service was quiet and intimate. We took communion together and covered Exodus 15 v 22-27 which covers the Israelites grumbling in the desert because 1) there was no water 2) once God provided it, it was bitter 3) after the Lord instructed Moses to throw wood into it, miraculously it was made sweet enough to drink. The Lord issued a command for the Israelites to do what is good in the sight of the Lord. As they moved on they came upon the blessed place of Elim with 12 springs and 70 palm trees.

Kind Christian hospitality by Rev. Richard Bray and his hardworking wife. Great opportunity to enjoy Christian fellowship after the service in the Rectory. I made the decision that night that I would try to become a part of this Christian community as I am local and need to know that there is Christian family in my neighbourhood. It can be isolating in London and yet this church seems to be doing all the right things to support locals by opening up their home and doing good work for the homeless by offering a shelter on...

Just off the busy Limehouse Road, lies the elegant and spectacular St Anne's Church, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1727. I think there were several churches with this name built on honour of the then Queen Anne.

It really is a stunningly beautiful design and flies the White Ensign on top of its flagpole. This is in recognition of the registry which sea captains used to record significant events at sea. Atop the flagpole, you can see a golden ball - this was used as a navigational mark on Trinity maps.

In the church yard, there is a mysterious pyramid which bears an inscription "The Wisdom of Solomon". Hawksmoor put it there though no one seems to fathom its meaning.

The church is a quiet haven and is well kept and also contains a war memorial with a bronze statue of Christ.

I didn't manage to enter the church but it does open! However, I enjoyed my time there and from there, you can stroll around the Limehouse Basin and the...