Following a presentation yesterday by the conservation architects and others on what is planned for the future of St. Anne’s, Limehouse, noble as ever, I spent a bit of time trying to find out what the interiors had looked like in the past and came across the attached photograph which is presumably from the 1880s or 1890s – it is not labelled where it appears in ‘The Londonist’:
This presumably postdates its restoration in the early 1850s by Philip Hardwick. Maybe it postdates a further restoration in 1891 by Sir Arthur Blomfield, who was a pupil of Hardwick for three years after graduating from Trinity, Cambridge and before setting up in private practice. It shows Blomfield’s pulpit and altar.
The question which hovered over the discussion is whether it should remain in any way an ecclesiastical space or whether, instead, and perhaps more realistically, it becomes a flexible community space. It would be interesting to hear more about the experience of St. George’s, Bloomsbury which underwent a radical restoration in 2008 under the auspices of the World Monuments Fund.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
Who owns this church
Good question ! Is it vested in the care of the Parochial Church Council ? Charles
Most likely the Diocese
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div>C of E finances move
Hello
I know and used to sing in St Anne’s Limehouse many years ago as a music student and coming from LBTH I am very interested to know how the building will be used in the future. You also mention St George’s Bloomsbury https://stgeorgesbloomsbury.org.uk/performing.htmwhich is another space that I am connected to. In 2016 the music director (an Australian trumpeter/ music programmer Mark) invited very different types of musicians (jazz, classical etc) to hold concerts in the church and that’s how I got to know it along with it’s incredible socially activist history and wonderful resonant qualities. It is a wonderful church which has been lovingly restored with heated flooring (!!).
In Feb 2018 I presented the London Premiere of my work SWEET TOOTH https://www.elainemitchener.com/sweet-tooth. St George’s Bloomsbury were hugely open and supportive given the subject matter which also was/is relevant to that Church.
I hope St Anne’s restoration is sensitively restored and stands as a beacon for its community.
With regards Elaine
Elaine Mitchener MBE
St Georges in the East is back on Historic England’s at-risk register: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-67361118