Person    | Female  Born 1739  Died 5/10/1804

Lady Anne Agnes Erskine

Categories: Religion

Countries: Scotland

Born Edinbugh, eldest daughter of the Earl of Buchan. There is a story about her coming across an outdoor gathering at Moorfields at which Rowland Hill (see Surrey Chapel) was preaching and him picking on her and suggesting an auction of her soul. Friend/companion of Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon who through "Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion" established a number of non-conformist chapels.  Anne and the Countess lived together at the chapel house at Spa Fields, Clerkenwell.  On the Countess's death in 1791 Lady Anne was one of the four trustees responsible for managing the Connexion.  As such she continuied living at Spa Fields and took responsibility for providing itinerant ministers for the Connexion.

Died London. Buried in Bunhill burial ground. Ann or Anne - there seems to be no consensus.

In locating Spa Field Chapel we got rather carried away in our research.  It has no plaque so this, Lady Anne's, page is the best place for it.  And we couldn't find a picture of Lady Anne so, apologies, we have used the chapel to fill in that omission. You can see more pictures of it at the wonderful British History On-line where we learn: Spa Fields Pantheon was a pleasure pavilion built in the gardens of the Dog and Duck pub (now 26 Exmouth Market) in 1769 but, suffering financially, it closed in 1776.  It was then used for a couple of years as an Anglican chapel but, being unconsecrated, it was forced to close in 1779.  Hastings took it over and, as Spa Fields Chapel, it drew congregations up to 2,000.  She lived in the former pub and claimed the huge building next door was her private chapel but that did not overcome the unconsecrated problem so she (Henry VIII-like) seceded from the established church of England and founded the non-conformist “Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion” in 1783.  Over the years a number of changes were made to the building and then, when the lease expired (99 years we guess), the site was taken on by the established church who demolished the chapel and the former pub and on the respective sites erected the Holy Redeemer church and the Mission House, which are both there today.  

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Lady Anne Agnes Erskine

Commemorated ati

Bunhill burial ground - 5

In this ground are the vaults of {see the Subjects commemorated for the list ...

Read More

Other Subjects

James Stephen

James Stephen

Anti-slavery campaigner.  Born Dorset.  Trained in law and worked for a time in the Carribean where he saw the cruelty to slaves and became an abolitionist.  The death of his first wife deepened hi...

Person, Law, Politics & Administration, Race Issues, Religion, Caribbean Islands

1 memorial
St Benet Fink

St Benet Fink

Church destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, rebuilt by Wren and demolished 1844.

Building, Religion

1 memorial
St Pancras

St Pancras

Christian orphan beheaded aged 14. Patron Saint of children, cramps, headaches, oaths, treaties, against false witness and against perjury.

Person, Children, Religion

2 memorials
William Gilson Humphry

William Gilson Humphry

William Gilson Humphry was born on 30 January 1815 in Sudbury, Suffolk, the eldest of the six children of William Wood Humphry (1787-1865) and Betsy Ann Humphry née Gilson (1790-1862). He was bapti...

Person, Religion

1 memorial

Previously viewed

World War 2

World War 2

Sorry, we've done no research on WW2, it's just too big a subject. But do visit the picture source web site - it has a fascinating collection of maps.  And we enjoyed these photos of current WW2 ev...

Event, Armed Forces, Tragedy

379 memorials
Italo Svevo

Italo Svevo

Businessman and author. Born in Trieste (then part of Austria-Hungary) as Aron Ettore Schmitz. The pseudonym translates as 'Swabian Italian', but as the only definitions of Swabian relate to places...

Person, Commerce, Literature, Austria, Hungary, Italy

1 memorial
The Rose Theatre - Kingston upon Thames

The Rose Theatre - Kingston upon Thames

Its layout is based on the former Rose Theatre in Southwark. The front rows have no seats, but instead of standing space for 'groundlings', patrons bring their own cushions. A plaque at the entranc...

Building, Theatre

1 memorial
Bank of England

Bank of England

Londonist have an interesting post about animals at the Bank of England. The Guardian, 16 April 2022, reporting on an exhibition at the Bank of England, informed that the Bank once owned 599 slave...

Group, Commerce, Politics & Administration, Race Issues

1 memorial
Coalbrookdale Company

Coalbrookdale Company

An iron foundry set up by Abraham Darby in Shropshire. Can you guess what the Coalbrookdale war memorial is made of?

Group, Engineering

5 memorials