What did White plaque № 40776 do at St Anne's Court?

The Story

# St Anne's Court: A Sanctuary for the Displaced Standing before Clarion House on St Anne's Court, you're positioned at one of London's most quietly transformative addresses—a site that sheltered political refugees for nearly two centuries, offering sanctuary to those fleeing persecution across Europe. From the 17th century onwards, when the Crown's holdings passed to the Duke of Portland, this intimate court became a haven where French and Swiss exiles found refuge during their nations' turbulent upheavals, and later where Eastern Europeans escaped the grip of Soviet oppression. Though the historic houses that witnessed these desperate arrivals and precarious new beginnings were demolished in 1967, the site's humanitarian legacy refused to fade; in the 1980s, the Soho Housing Association reclaimed the ground to create Clarion House, reopening the location as affordable housing for local residents when it was ceremonially opened in June 1987. This plaque marks not merely a building, but a physical reminder that St Anne's Court itself—the stones beneath your feet—has been a doorway to safety and new lives for generations of the displaced and dispossessed.