St Anne's Church, Kew

St Anne's Church, Kew
The Parish Church of St Anne, Kew
St Anne's and Kew War Memorial in spring
51°29′02″N0°17′16″W / 51.4838°N 0.2879°W / 51.4838; -0.2879
Location	Kew Green, Kew, Richmond TW9 3AA
Country	England, United Kingdom
Denomination	Church of England
Website	saintanne-kew.org.uk/kew-green
History
Founded	1714
Founder(s)	Queen Anne
Dedication	12 May 1714 [1]
Architecture
Years built	18/19/20c
Administration
Diocese	Southwark
Episcopal area	Kingston
Archdeaconry	Wandsworth
Deanery	Richmond & Barnes
Parish	St Anne, Kew
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Rt Revd Christopher Chessun
Vicar(s)	Revd Canon Dr Giles Fraser
Assistant	Revd Canon Nick Darby; Revd Canon Tim Marwood
Archdeacon	Ven. John Kiddle
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Julian Kelly
Churchwarden(s)	Cate Lyon, John Mortley
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name	Parish Church of St Anne
Designated	10 January 1950
Reference no.	1194022

Arms of Queen Anne

St Anne's Church, Kew is a parish church located in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, adjacent to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The neo-classical building historically in Surrey, which dates from 1714 and is Grade II* listed, ^[2] forms the central focus of Kew Green.

Its raised churchyard, which is on three sides of St Anne's Church, ^[3] has two Grade II* listed monuments – the tombs of the artists Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788) ^[4] and Johan Zoffany (1733–1810). ^[5] French Impressionist Camille Pissarro (1830–1903), a frequent visitor to England was resident at 10 Kew Green ^[6] when painting St Anne's as Church at Kew (1892). ^[7]

Services

On Sundays St Anne's Church holds a traditional Said Eucharist, a Sung Eucharist and (on the first Sunday of the month) Choral Evensong. ^[8]

Music

St Anne's Church houses a 19th-century pipe organ ^[9] and is a venue for concerts, ^[10] including those of the local orchestra, Kew Sinfonia. ^[11]

History

Founded in 1714 as a chapel within the parish of Kingston on ancient royal manorial land dedicated by Queen Anne, ^[3] St Anne's Church has been extended several times since. As the settlement of Kew grew attracting prosperous London merchants under royal patronage, St Anne's became a benefice in 1769 being united with St Peter's Petersham and in 1770, King George III undertook to pay for its first extension, designed by Joshua Kirby ^[3] who, four years later, was buried in the churchyard. ^[12] In 1805, a new south aisle, designed by Robert Browne, ^[13] was added, along with a gallery for the Royal Family's use. Under King William IV it was further extended in 1837 by Sir Jeffry Wyattville. ^[13] A parish in its own right from 1850, a mausoleum designed by the architect Benjamin Ferrey ^[13] was added in 1851, and an eastern extension, including a dome in 1882–84, to the design of Henry Stock. ^[14] Further extensions were made in 1902, 1979 and 1988. ^[1] The church ceiling was repainted in 2013 and, to mark St Anne's tercentenary, in 2014 a new baptismal font was installed. ^[15]

St Anne's present parish hall, at right angles to the church incorporating the previous choir vestry, was built in 1978. Its design echoes the materials and forms of the original church building. ^[3]

A collection of funerary hatchments honouring deceased royal or noble parishioners is on display in front of the church gallery, flanking a rare representation of Queen Anne's coat of arms. A hatchment commemorating George III's son, King Ernest Augustus of Hanover, was hung at St Anne's in 1851 and is now in the Museum of Richmond's collection. ^[16] Inside the church are fine memorials, including those to the families of Sir William Jackson Hooker ^[17] and Sir Richard Levett, beneath the tower which is inscribed: "Within this vault lie the remains of Sir Richard Levett, Knight, of Kew. Also of Lady Mary Levett, his wife, who died October 15th, 1722". ^[18]

Just outside the church walls on its south side, is the Kew War Memorial, in the form of a large stone cross, commemorating the local soldiers who fell in the First and Second World Wars. ^[19] Their names are listed not on the memorial but inside the church on a monument by William Sharpington. ^{[20] [19]}

Parish events

Baptisms

• Francis Perceval Eliot, 9 October 1755, de jure 3rd Count Eliot and elder surviving son of Major-General Granville Eliot, 1st Count Eliot by Elizabeth Duckett. ^[21]

Marriages

• Francis, Duke of Teck married Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge on 12 June 1866, ^[22] whose daughter "May" married George V becoming known as Queen Mary.

Burials

• William Aiton (d. 1793), first Keeper of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ^{[23] [24] [25]}
  • William Townsend Aiton (d. 1849) son of above, English botanist, royal gardener ^{[26] [27]}
• Franz Bauer (d. 1840), Austrian microscopist and botanical artist, ^[23] whose epitaph also pays tribute to his brother the botanical illustrator Ferdinand Bauer (d. 1826): "In the delineation of plants he [Franz] united the accuracy of a profound naturalist with the skill of the accomplished artist, to a degree which has been only equalled by his brother Ferdinand"
• Prof. Patrick Brenan (d. 1985), British botanist, and director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ^[28]
• Elizabeth, Countess of Derby (d. 1717), Mistress of the Robes
• Dorothy, Lady Capell of Tewkesbury (d. 1721), benefactor of Kew Gardens ^[29]
• Sir John Day (d. 1808), Advocate-General of Bengal
• Brigadier-General William Douglas (d. 1747), Member of Parliament
• George Engleheart (d. 1829), Anglo-German miniature painter to the Court of King George III and his nephew John Engleheart (d. 1862)
  • Sir Gardner Engleheart (d. 1923) son of above, barrister and travel writer
• Thomas Gainsborough (d. 1788), English portrait and landscape painter
• John Haverfield (d. 1820), English gardener and landscape architect, whose father John Haverfield (d. 1784), was Head Gardener at Kew to Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales
  • Revd Thomas Haverfield (d. 1866), Rector of Godington and Chaplain to Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex ^[30]
• Sir William Hooker (d. 1865), director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, and his son, botanist and explorer Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (d. 1911) ^[23]
• Joshua Kirby (d. 1774), 18th-century painter known for his work on linear perspective ^[31]
• Sir Richard Levett (d. 1711), Master Haberdasher and Lord Mayor of London, his family members including grandsons, Revd Abraham Blackburne (d. 1797) ^[32] and Lincoln's Inn bencher Levett Blackburne (d. 1781), who sold Kew Palace to the Royal Family ^{[33] [34]}
• Jeremiah Meyer (d. 1789), English miniature painter ^[23]
• John Smith (d. 1888), botanist and the first curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ^[35]
• Timothy Tyrell (d. 1832), City Remembrancer
• Johan Zoffany (d. 1810), German neoclassical painter active in England. ^[5]

Formerly buried at St Anne's

• Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel were buried at St Anne's Church in 1850 and 1889 respectively, before being exhumed and their remains removed in 1930 to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. ^{[23] [36]}

Notable clergy and officers

Since 2022, Canon Giles Fraser serves as Vicar of St Anne's, Kew, ^{[37] [38]} where Anthony Saxton (1934–2015) was formerly churchwarden.

Gallery

Church exterior

• 
  St Anne's Church in the snow
• 
  TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s small-domed cenotaph at St Anne’s, Kew
• 
  Kew Green
  War Memorial

Church interior

• 
  St Anne's nave
• 
  Engleheart memorial tablet

Tombs and gravestones

• 
  Aiton family tomb
• 
  Tomb of Thomas Gainsborough
• 
  Hooker family gravestone
• 
  Tomb of Joshua Kirby
• 
  Botanist John Smith family gravestone
• 
  Tomb of Johan Zoffany

See also

• Dr Giles Fraser
• Kew Gardens
• Kew Cricket Club
• St Peter's Church, Petersham

References

1. Cummings, Rosie (August 2007). "St Anne's Church. Kew Green, Kew. London Borough of Richmond: an archaeological watching brief" (PDF). Compass Archaeology. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
2. Historic England (10 January 1950). "Parish Church of St Anne (1194022)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 24 September 2016.
3. "The History <of St Anne's Church, Kew". St Anne's Church, Kew. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
4. Historic England (10 January 1950). "Churchyard of Church of St Anne, to South of Church (1065407)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 24 August 2020.
5. Historic England (25 June 1983). "Churchyard of Church of St Anne, to East of Church (1357735)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 24 September 2016.
6. Richardson, David. "Pissarro's home on Kew Green". London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
7. "Church at Kew". Camille Pissarro. WikiArt . Retrieved 29 March 2015.
8. "Worship". St Anne's Church, Kew. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
9. www.npor.org.uk
10. "Concerts and Events at St. Anne's". St Anne's Church, Kew. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
11. "Kew Sinfonia" . Retrieved 14 July 2017.
12. www.surreygraveyards.org.uk
13. Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1983). The Buildings of England – London 2: South. London: Penguin Books. p. 503. ISBN   0-14-0710-47-7.
14. Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2002). London 2: South. The Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. p. 503. ISBN   978-0-300-09651-4.
15. "The Font". St Anne's Church, Kew. March 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
16. "Hatchment from St Anne's Church, Kew, 1821". Highlights of the Collection. Museum of Richmond . Retrieved 29 February 2024.
17. "Kew Church Monuments". The Second Website of Bob Speel. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
18. Memoriae Flagranti, A Funeral Poem to the Memory of the Honourable Sir Richard Levett, Kt., by E. Settle, City Poet, 1711, Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, John Nichols, Nichols Son & Bentley, London, 1814
19. Mollett, Marian (2015). "Remembering the Men of Kew" (PDF). Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 36: 10–23. ISSN   0263-0958 . Retrieved 4 November 2023.
20. Craven, Stephen (29 November 2012). "War Memorial on Kew Green". Geograph Britain and Ireland . Retrieved 5 June 2015.
21. www.burkespeerage.com
22. Weir, Alison (1996). Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (revised edition). Pimlico, London: Random House. ISBN   978-071267448-5.
23. "St Anne's Church, Kew Green" (PDF). Local History Notes from Richmond Libraries' Local Studies Collection. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . Retrieved 1 July 2015.
24. Pagnamenta, Frank. "Royal Gardeners at Kew – The Aitons". Richmond Local History Society .
25. "Aiton, William (1731–1793), horticulturist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/260 . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
26. "Aiton, William Townsend (1766–1849), horticulturist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/262 . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
27. "Aiton, William (1731–1793), horticulturist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/260 . Retrieved 12 May 2023.
28. Verdcourt, Bernard (1987). "John Patrick Micklethwait Brenan". Kew Bulletin . 42 (2): 286–29. JSTOR   4109685.
29. www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk
30. www.rct.uk
31. www.royalacademy.org.uk
32. Howard, Joseph Jackson. Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, Vol. II, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., London, 1876, p. 13.
33. Lysons, Daniel (1796). "Appendix: Corrections to volume 1, Burials in the Kew Church". The Environs of London: Counties of Herts, Essex & Kent. London: Institute of Historical Research. p. 459. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
34. "Biography of Sir Richard Levett (1629−1711), and his family". Manuscripts and Special Collections. University of Nottingham . Retrieved 8 December 2013.
35. www.kew.org
36. Knowles, Rachel (8 April 2013). "Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge". Regency History. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
37. www.gov.uk
38. www.richmondandbarnesdeanery.org

Further reading

• Blomfield, David (2014). St Anne's Kew, 1714–2014. R J L Smith and Associates. ISBN   978-0-9573492-8-5.
• Blomfield, David (2014). "Queen Anne's Little Church". Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 35: 18–24. ISSN   0263-0958.
• Cassidy, G E (1981). "The eccentric Vicar of Kew, the Revd Caleb Colton, 1780–1832". Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 2: 13–16. ISSN   0263-0958.
• Cassidy, G E (1984). "Extracts from the Kew Church Archives". Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 5: 14–21. ISSN   0263-0958.
• Cassidy, G E (1985). "The first Organ at St Anne's Church, Kew Green". Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 6: 39–41. ISSN   0263-0958.
• Cassidy, G E (1987). "The Pew cushions in St Anne's Church, Kew". Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 8: 33–41. ISSN   0263-0958.
• Mollett, Marian (2015). "Remembering the Men of Kew" (PDF). Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 36: 10–23. ISSN   0263-0958 . Retrieved 4 November 2023.
• Moses, John (2020). "St Anne's Church, Kew and its architectural attributions". Richmond History: Journal of the Richmond Local History Society . 41: 53–58. ISSN   0263-0958.

External links

• Official website
• "St Anne's Church, Kew Green" (PDF). Local History Notes from Richmond Libraries' Local Studies Collection. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
• The Friends of St Anne's Church, Kew
• Speel, Bob: Kew Church Monuments (Monuments at St Anne's)