Reimagining the Story of St Anne's, Limehouse

St Anne’s, Limehouse is one of Nicholas Hawksmoor’s most remarkable London churches. Standing at the heart of Limehouse for almost 300 years, it is not only an architectural masterpiece but also a building shaped by generations of worship, maritime history and community life.

As part of the Hawksmoor300 programme, we developed interpretation proposals that explored how visitors might discover these many layers of history through a rich and immersive visitor experience. Rather than relying on traditional information panels, our ambition was to weave interpretation into the fabric of the church itself, creating moments of discovery that respected Hawksmoor's extraordinary architecture while making the building's stories accessible to contemporary audiences.

Collaboration sat at the heart of our approach, with community workshops, co-creation and consultation forming an integral part of our proposed approach. This ensured local voices became part of the interpretation alongside stories of faith, migration, maritime trade and social change that have shaped this remarkable corner of East London.

The project perfectly reflects the way we approach interpretation design: creating thoughtful, inclusive and sustainable visitor experiences that strengthen the relationship between historic places, their communities and the people who visit them.