Alderney marks 175 years of the Church of St Anne

The church was used for storage during the Nazi German occupation in World War Two

Alderney is marking 175 years since the consecration of the island's Church of St Anne.

Built in 1850, the milestone is being marked with services, daily bell ringing and an evensong and sermon from the Dean of Guernsey, the Very Reverend Tim Barker.

Known as the cathedral of the Channel Islands, it was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect behind London's Foreign Office and St Pancras Station Hotel.

Vicar of St Anne's Reverend Samantha Martell said the church was a "gracious sanctuary" that acts as "the heartbeat of this island". The evensong service, marking the anniversary, is set to take place at 16:00 BST on Sunday.

The church has a capacity of 650 people

The large building was built to serve as parish church for the island but also as the garrison church for the military stationed in Alderney in the mid 19th Century.

In the 1850s, the island was being heavily fortified against any potential threat of invasion by France during the Napoleonic Wars.

During World War Two, the church was cleared and used as a general store by the occupying Nazi German forces.

A machine gun was mounted in the belfry and some of the walls still display Nazi German graffiti carved into the stonework.

Former pig farmer Samantha Martell became Vicar of Alderney in 2024

The official anniversary is on 21 August but Mrs Martell said she wanted to host events in July as the island was beginning to "buzz for the summer".

"It's gracious, it's a sanctuary, you can feel the prayers and the love and the hope that has seeped into the fabric of the building, it is the heartbeat of this island," she said.

The island's priest has already held a special candlelit anniversary service with music and storytelling.

"Eleven voices told 11 moments in its history from ancient times to today, routed in faith, place and people," said Mrs Martell.