St Anne's Churchyard

St Anne's Churchyard
Map
LocationWardour Street, Soho
Coordinates51°30′45″N 0°07′56″W / 51.5124°N 0.1323°W / 51.5124; -0.1323
Operated byWestminster City Council
OpenAll year

St Anne's Churchyard, also known as St Anne's Gardens, is a public park on Wardour Street in Soho, London. Formerly the churchyard of St Anne's, Soho, it was closed to burials in 1853 by Act of Parliament.

It is believed that up to 60,000 bodies remain buried there. This explains why the ground is so high above the entrance on Wardour Street.[1]

It was laid out as a garden by the landscape gardener Fanny Wilkinson on behalf of the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association in 1891. It was opened to the public by Lady Hobhouse on 27 June 1892. The London plane trees remain a notable feature of the garden.[2] It is managed by Westminster City Council and has received the Green Flag Award.[3]

War memorials to WWI and WWII are located in the churchyard on the wall of the church tower.[4] The WWII memorial was only installed in 2012.[5] There are a small number of memorials remaining within the churchyard, including the essayist William Hazlitt, whose gravestone was restored in 2003.[6]

The gardens contain a memorial to the victims of the 1999 Admiral Duncan pub bombing.[7] There are three art installations, all of which serve practical purposes: "Wall of Light" (an illuminated security fence), "Art Loo" (a WC with art displays) and "Table" (a monumentally-sized picnic table).[8][9]

References

  1. ^ "HISTORY | St Anne's Church, Soho".
  2. ^ "London Gardens Trust: St Anne's Churchyard". Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  3. ^ "St Anne's Churchyard | Westminster City Council". Archived from the original on 3 November 2014.
  4. ^ "War Memorials Online: St Anne's, Soho". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Royal British Legion: Soho War Memorial Unveiling 2012". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  6. ^ "The Guardian: "William Hazlitt's near-derelict grave restored", 11 April 2003". TheGuardian.com. 11 April 2003. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  7. ^ "London Remembers: Admiral Duncan Memorial". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Soho Green". Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  9. ^ "St Anne's Churchyard | Westminster City Council". Archived from the original on 3 November 2014.


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