Anne Maddocks

Who was Anne Maddocks?

Anne Maddocks was born in Heyshott, West Sussex, on 23 October 1911. her parents were enthusiastic amateur musicians and by the age of 14 Anne was playing the organ for services at two village churches. In 1942 she was appointed Assistant Organist at Chichester Cathedral by Horace Hawkins who was the cathedral's Organist & Master of the Choristers. She was the first woman in Great Britain to hold such a post in the cathedral. She had perfect pitch and as Hawkins put it, she played Widor's music "with the master's interpretation". She gave the first British performance of Poulenc's Organ Concerto in Chichester Cathedral in 1943.

She was married to Morris Maddocks in Chichester Cathedral in 1955. In 1983, she and her husband started the Acorn Christian Healing Foundation. 11 years later, Anne and Morris retired to the Cathedral Close, Chichester where they frequently attended Evensong in the cathedral. Anne died in October 2006 and her funeral was in Chichester Cathedral, where Charles Widor's Mass was sung.