St Ann's Church, HMNB Portsmouth

St Ann's Church is an Anglican chapel within Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth. It is regarded as the spiritual home of the Royal Navy, [1] and contains numerous memorials to men lost at sea.[2]

St. Ann's Church
St Ann's Church within Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth
OS grid referenceSU6317100567
LocationSunny Walk
Portsmouth
PO1 3PX
CountryUnited Kingdom
DenominationAnglican
Websitewww.royalnavy.mod.uk
History
StatusChurch
Dedicated1786
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationGrade II listed
Designated25 September 1972
StyleGeorgian
Specifications
MaterialsRed brick
Administration
ArchdeaconryArchdeaconry of the Royal Navy
DiocesePortsmouth
Clergy
Chaplain(s)The Rev'd James Francis RN

The original church was built in 1704, on the site of what is now Admiralty House. The present church was opened in 1786,[3] and is built in red brick in Flemish bond. It was possibly designed by Marquand, a Navy Board surveyor, working under Samuel Wyatt at Admiralty House. The contractors were Thomas Parlby & Sons. The church suffered some bomb damage in May 1941, and was restored in 1955–6.

As the oldest surviving chapel in a navy yard, it was Grade II listed on 25 September 1972.[4]

In October 2012, the church held ceremonies marking the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, attended by Princess Anne. [5] As of 2015 the current chaplain is Revd. James Francis, RN.

The HMS Royal Oak Association holds an Act of Remembrance annually at the church on the Saturday nearest to 13 October, the date of the sinking of the battleship HMS Royal Oak (08) at Scapa Flow in 1939. At the service on 9 October 2019, eighty years after the ship was torpedoed, a memorial stone was unveiled in the church by Anne, Princess Royal. Although the last survivor died in 2016, some one hundred and fifty relatives and descendants of the crew attended.[6]

  • The pulpit within St Ann's
  • Concert within St Ann's Church, 2008
  • Memorial tablet

References
  1. "HM Naval Base : Information Sheet" (PDF). Portsmouth City Council. 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  2. "Memorials and Monuments in St Ann's Church, Portsmouth". memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk. 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  3. "Portsmouth Now and Then". nowportsmouth.co.uk. 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  4. "Church of Saint Ann (building Number 1/65)". British Listed Buildings. 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  5. "Princess Anne at Falklands service in Portsmouth". BBC News. 19 October 2012.
  6. "Princess Royal unveils WW2 memorial in Portsmouth". www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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