Church of the Annunciation

The Church of the Annunciation stands in the Marble Arch district of London, a Gothic revival building designed by Sir Walter Tapper and completed in 1913. It occupies a site near Bryanston Square and Montagu Square, part of the Portman Estate developed in the 18th century. The church replaced an earlier chapel of ease called the Quebec Chapel, founded in 1787 to mark the Battle of Quebec. Before that, the land held a riding school for the Portman Barracks. The present building is Grade II* listed and reflects the Anglo-Catholic tradition with strong choral worship. The church’s history includes figures like Henry Alford, a theologian who wrote the hymn ‘Come, ye thankful people, come’ while serving here. In 1951 it became the centre of a protest led by Rev. Hugh Ross Williamson against ecumenical events in nearby Hyde Park. The protest drew support from writers including John Betjeman and Rose Macaulay, who criticised the inclusion of non-Anglican churches. Nikolaus Pevsner later described the church as ‘a fragment of a major medieval church’ in his Buildings of England series. Inside, the church features a rood screen with a crucifix by Robert Bridgeman and a high altar reredos designed by Tapper. The Stations of the Cross are plaster casts by Aloïs de Beule, and the Lady Chapel arch comes from St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham. The organ, built in 1915 by Sir Frederick Rothwell, was restored in 1989. The single bell, cast in 1913 by John Warner & Sons, hangs in a gabled tower above red brick walls with stone dressings.