St Andrew's Church Tangier

St Andrew's was consecrated in 1894 on land given by the sultan to the British community, and the design decision that makes it worth visiting was to build an Anglican church in Moorish form - horseshoe arches, carved plaster, a cedar ceiling, and behind the altar the Lord's Prayer carved in Arabic script, with Moroccan craftsmen doing the work. It reads as a mosque interior with pews in it, which was intentional and is not something the Victorians usually attempted. The graveyard is the other half: Walter Harris the Times correspondent, Emily Keene who married a sharif and became a local figure, Caid Maclean the Scottish soldier who served the sultan, and a range of others from the international-zone decades are buried here, and the caretaker will point them out. It is a working church with services and a very small congregation.

What you actually see

• A Moorish Anglican interior - horseshoe arches, carved plaster and a cedar ceiling.
• The Lord's Prayer in Arabic - carved in script behind the altar.
• An international-zone graveyard - correspondents, adventurers and residents of that era.
• A working church - services continuing for a very small congregation.

When to go

Spring and autumn. An hour, with the caretaker.

Honest expectations

It is opened by a caretaker and may be shut when you arrive. A donation is expected and pressed for. The building is small and the visit is short. Services take precedence.

Nearby

The Grand Socco is a short walk; the medina is downhill from it.