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.

St Andrew's Church
Church of Saint Andrew
Church of St. Andrew
Map
35°47′05″N 5°49′23″W / 35.78472°N 5.82306°W / 35.78472; -5.82306
AddressTangier
CountryMorocco
DenominationAnglicanism
History
StatusChurch
DedicationAndrew the Apostle
Consecrated1905
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeChurch
StyleMoorish
Completed1894
Administration
ArchdeaconryGibraltar

History

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Moroccan Christians from Tangier.

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]

Administratively, the church is in the Archdeaconry of Gibraltar.[6]

Notable burials

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

References

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  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. ^ a b "St Andrew's Church, Tangier, Morocco". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Church Locations". Diocese of Europe. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  7. ^ Owens, Mitchell (13 July 2018). "Remembering Christopher Gibbs". Architectural Digest.
  8. ^ "Review of Lawrence Durrell's novel Balthazar" (PDF). Blackwells. p. 21. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  9. ^ Lockley, Mike (6 November 2016). "The infamous gangster and tabloid favourite who hailed from Brum". Birmingham Mail.
  10. ^ Cook, William (16 November 2013). "Tangier-Hidden Treasure". The Spectator.
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