St Andrew’s Church, Tangier

The Church of Saint Andrew is an Anglican church in Tangier, Morocco. Consecrated in 1905, the church is within the Archdeaconry of Gibraltar. The building is constructed in a Moorish architectural style.

Church of St. Andrew
Church of St. Andrew
Religion
Affiliation	Anglicanism
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Church
Year consecrated	1905
Status	Active
Location
Location	Tangier, Morocco
Geographic coordinates
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Moorish

History

In 1880, Hassan I of Morocco donated land to the British community in order to build a small Anglican church in Tangier. The resulting church was soon found to have insufficient capacity for the increasing number of worshippers, and a new building was constructed in 1894 which became the Church of Saint Andrew.[1] It was consecrated in 1905.[2] The interior is designed as a fusion of numerous styles, notably Moorish. The belltower, shaped like a minaret, overlooks the adjacent cemetery.[3] Henri Matisse's painting of 1913, Landscape Viewed from a Window, depicts the church.[4] The church has a number of memorial plaques, including one to commemorate Emily Keene, (1849-1944), Sherifa of Wazzan, who introduced the cholera vaccine to Morocco. She was a British humanitarian who married the Shareef of Ouazzane, a local religious leader. She died in Tangier and there is a plaque in the western side of the church to commemorate her - her actual grave is in the Wazzan family burial ground in the Marshan district of Tangier overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. Another memorial commemorates Thomas Kirby-Green, one of the members of the Great Escape who was executed on recapture.[5] The church is in the Archdeaconry of Gibralter.[6]

Notable burials

The churchyard holds the graves of a number of notable people:

• Sir Harry MacLean, (1848–1920), soldier and commander of the Moroccan Army;[7]
• Paul Lund, (1915–1966), British gangster and friend of William Burroughs;[8]
• Walter Burton Harris, (1866–1933), a British diplomat, journalist and author;[5]
• Claire de Menasce and her second husband Commander Roy Howell RN. Claude-Marie Vincendon, her daughter by her first marriage, was the third wife of Lawrence Durrell;[9]
• Christopher Gibbs, (1938-2018), antique dealer and collector, credited with inventing Swinging London.[10]

References

1. "St Andrew's Church, Tangier". London Metropolitan Archives. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
2. Humphrys, Darren (2008). Frommer's Morocco. John Wiley & Sons. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-470-18403-5.
3. "Tangier: A delight for your senses". Iberia.com. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
4. Grenney, Veere (10 April 2017). "My favourite painting". Country Life.
5. "St Andrew's Church, Tangier, Morocco". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
6. "Church Locations". Diocese of Europe. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
7. Cook, William (16 November 2013). "Tangier-Hidden Treasure". The Spectator.
8. Lockley, Mike (6 November 2016). "The infamous gangster and tabloid favourite who hailed from Brum". Birmingham Mail.
9. "Review of Lawrence Durrell's novel Balthazar" (PDF). Blackwells. p. 21. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
10. Owens, Mitchell (13 July 2018). "Remembering Christopher Gibbs". Architectural Digest.

External links

• Flickr images