English: Limehouse: Church of St Anne A 1711 Act of Parliament authorized the construction of twelve new churches in London. This is one of those churches and it was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, a pupil of Wren. The foundation stone was laid in 1712, and the edifice was completed in 1724, but the church was not consecrated until 1730. A disastrous fire broke out in the church on the morning of Good Friday 1850, rapidly destroying all of the church bar the tower. It was thought that the fire was started when the regular fire of wood shavings used to control damp got out of control. Up until January 1850 the church was not insured, but one new churchwarden warned his colleagues of the prudence and necessity of the parish insuring itself against loss. By the time of the fire one premium of about £13 had been paid by the church, and the insurers had to pay out £5,000 as a consequence. The church was then rebuilt between 1851 and 1855.