Mine is in a corner and south facing and does well but I live in the south near Heathrow and we have lots of sun. Someone should know.

I wouldn't think that it will be a problem. I was surprised when visiting a large garden to find Hydrangeas thriving even in a shaded area. The only problem with the standard Annabelle is that they produce so large blooms that their stems are unable to support so they tend to flop. There is a version called Strong Annabelle with will overcome this.

Thank you both for your replies.
I'm happy that I asked the question because I wasn't aware that the blooms would be so large and heavy causing the stems to flop. I'll have a look for Strong Annabelle, so thank you Jimmytheone for your advice.

I would say having owned some that full or partial sun is best i think you need to look at pruning and soil as well. Mine were on clay and full sun i had them for a long time and some years were better than others i didn't feel the need to prune mine particularly and the heads remaining normal hydrangea size. Rain usually causes some problems weighing down the heads so staking is a good idea later on. Heads remain small also if planted in a container. The plant outgrows it's own space but will give you 5 years before food/space requirements become more extreme. Why don't you try it in a container first and you can move that around easily to where it likes it best they like quite a bit of water in summer and transplant when needs be. They split very easily when dug up giving you the oppertunity to give it away to friends.

mine doesn't even get direct sun as it is next to an apple and a crab apple tree with a 6ft fence behind it. it grows strongly every year.

Pop it in the ground it will be much happier there any way. So far mine hasn't flopped but you could grow it through one of the metal support rings if you are worried. See what it is like this year and then next spring use a support if it needs it.

Mine is in full sun for most of the day. It flowers really well but flops. I prune it harder than other hydrangeas and the old wood seems to support the stems better. But I wish I had waited for the Strong Annabelle...