St. Anne's Church, Wandsworth

Image: © Derek Harper Taken: 25 Oct 2008

A further view of Image (see also Image). "After the Napoleonic Wars ... moves to have some kind of national monument of thanksgiving evolved into a scheme to build churches to serve the rapidly expanding urban population. St Anne’s Wandsworth, built in 1822, was one of the first "Waterloo churches" as they came to be known. Its architect was Robert Smirke, who later designed the British Museum. It is built in Greek Revival style with a portico and a circular tower, which has the nickname "the pepperpot". The tower is much higher than was considered proportionate for the building at the time; this enables the church, which is located on the crest of St Ann’s Hill, to be visible as a landmark for miles around. The churchyard was originally meant to have been a burial ground, but this never happened because the bishop and the congregation never agreed on whether it should be enclosed by a stone wall or wooden fence! Their nineteenth century dispute is our twenty-first century gain, as we have attractive open grounds." This and more history at http://www.stanneswandsworth.org.uk/history.aspx

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