A Nicolas Hawksmoor church started in 1712, completed in 1727 and consecrated in 1730. Part of the 1711 act of parliament to build 50 new churches in London. Twelve – known as the Queen Anne Churches – were built, with six designed by Hawksmoor.
The tower of St Anne’s Church was originally designed for a rebuilt St Alfege Church in Greenwich however, as a cost saving measure the original St Alfege church tower was retained, and the new tower design went to St Anne’s instead.
The approximately 50m high tower was designed to be visible from the Thames and protrudes well above the canopy of surrounding trees in the churchyard.
A large pyramid sits in the churchyard with the inscription “The Wisdom of Solomon”. A Hawksmoor elevation from the British Library shows a design with two pyramids on the east towers that were not built suggesting it could be one of two intended for there – though these are much larger than the one in the churchyard.
Further Reading / Sources