Our History
We are so blessed to have a keen historian among our church congregation. Lynne worked tirelessly to compile the amazing snapshots of the St Anne's Bagshot history. Please click on either of the booklets below to read through them online. Being an Eco Church, we always aim to save paper and print, however, if you would like a printed version, please contact the office, we will be happy to arrange that for you.
Gathering the information for these booklets was no small feat, so if you have read and enjoyed them, and would like to make a donation, please click here:
St Anne's Church History:
"This updated guide to St Anne’s parish Church, Bagshot has been compiled using the 1992 guide, with the assistance of the 1970 Guide, and the Duke of Connaught’s Bagshot, along with new material given to me by Miss Janet Lory, a relative of the first vicar and my own private research."
Queen Victoria & her Children:
"Here you will find a fascinating history and a long association with the Royal Family, starting with Queen Victoria. If you have a look at the family tree (below) you will see that of her nine children five of them are mentioned in the memorials around the church. And Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught’s family, especially his younger daughter, Princess Patricia, has left a fascinating legacy both in Bagshot and around the world."
A little glimpse at our past...
St Anne's Church is almost 150 years old, built in the hey-day of Victorian church building to a neo-gothic style. Bagshot had separated from Windlesham village to become its own ecclesiastical parish in 1874 and the Church was built ten years later, largely with the patronage of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, who lived near-by in Bagshot Park. It was consecrated in April 1884.
The attractive building is red brick with stone detail under a slate roof. There is a bell tower with a peal of 8 bells. It is grade II listed and situated in a conservation area. In addition to the main altar, there is a second altar forming what is known as the 'Stuart Chapel' in memory of an early vicar of the parish.
A new Church Centre was built behind the church in 2005/6 and formally opened by the Bishop of Guildford in June 2006. It provides meeting space, facilities for the Sunday School, toilets, kitchen and office. The building has been designed to reflect the style of the church construction and its facilities are fully accessible. It is joined to the main church by a glazed lobby.
No one knows why our church has St Anne as its Patron Saint. The village had a chapel dedicated to St Anne before the present church was built, and it is assumed that the name was carried over to the new building on its new site.
Bagshot Village:
You can find a lot more about the role played in the historic life of this village on the pages of the Bagshot Village website.
The church grounds also house the Bagshot village war memorial which you can see in the foreground of the colour photo. More information about it and the men of Bagshot memorialised on it can be found here.
Family History research:
Our old Parish Records are held by the Surrey History Centre and are available online. There are no burials in the church grounds, Bagshot's cemetery (now closed to new internments) is in Chapel Lane and is managed by the local council. For more information please see here.
