St Ann Blackfriars

St Ann Blackfriars
St Ann's Churchyard in 2008
Location	Ireland Yard, City of London
Country	England, United Kingdom
Denomination	Anglican
History
Founded	16th century
Architecture
Demolished	1666

St Ann Blackfriars was a church in the City of London, in what is now Ireland Yard in the ward of Farringdon Within. It was established in the 16th century to serve the inhabitants of the precincts of a former Dominican monastery, following its dissolution under King Henry VIII. It was near the Blackfriars Theatre, a fact which displeased its congregation. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666.

The church of St Ann was built on part of the site of the monastery of the Dominicans or "Black Friars". The monastery was dissolved by King Henry VIII, and in 1550 the precinct was granted to Sir Thomas Cawarden, the Master of the Revels, who largely demolished the buildings on the site. During the reign of Queen Mary I and King Philip, Cawarden was required to provide a parish church for the residents of the precinct. The interior of the old church having been converted into tennis courts, Cawarden allowed them what John Stow described as "a lodging chamber above a stair". This building fell down in 1597, and the parishioners purchased an additional piece of ground to the west from Sir George Moore, and rebuilt the church on a larger scale. A warehouse was constructed beneath the new part of the church, at the cost of the parishioners, for the use of Sir Jerome Bowes, who held the land under lease.The rebuilt church was consecrated on 11 December 1597 and named "The Church or Chapel of St. Ann, within the Precinct of Blackfriars".

In 1613 a further piece of ground was purchased. An aisle was added, and a burial vault constructed underneath; the additions being consecrated on 29 July 1617. In 1642, the building was repaired at a cost of £500.

St Ann's became a Puritan stronghold; for 46 years the minister was William Gouge, who died in 1653, and was buried in the church.