St. Paul's Church

About

St. Paul's Church is a historically evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at the south end of the Grand Parade, an open square in downtown Halifax with Halifax City Hall at the northern end. The church is modelled after Marybone Chapel in Westminster, London, which was designed by controversial architect James Gibbs, the architect of St Martin-in-the-Fields at Trafalgar Square. Built during Father Le Loutre's War, it is the oldest surviving Protestant church in Canada and the oldest building in Halifax. There is also a crypt below the church. Close to the church is the St. Paul's Church Cemetery. The official chapel of the church was the Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church. Saint Paul's was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981. In 1981, it was designated a Municipal Registered Heritage Property by the former City of Halifax, and in 1983 it was designated a Provincially Registered Heritage Property both under the provincial Heritage Property Act.

St. Paul's Church was founded in 1749 (the same year as the Halifax colony). The construction was begun in 1750 and is based on the ground plan of Gibbs' Marybone Chapel (later St. Peter's, Vere Street) in London, with later additions such as a larger tower. The Reverend William Tutty (1715–1754) opened the church on 2 September 1750. Rev. William Tutty was the first minister (1750–54); followed by Rev. John Breynton (1754–91) and Rev. Thomas Wood (1752–64), who served at the same time. The church also served as the site for the initial congregation of St. Matthew's United Church (Halifax) until this church was built.

During the French and Indian War (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War ), the church was the site of the burials of two prominent Nova Scotians: Governor Charles Lawrence (d.1760) and Catholic Priest Pierre Maillard (d.1762), the latter ceremony was attended by a large number of Mi'kmaq people. (Also during the war, the church was where Horatio Gates married Elizabeth Phillips in 1754.) Soon after the war, Vice-Admiral Philip Durell (d. 1766) was buried after having participated in the Siege of Louisbourg (1758) and the Siege of Quebec (1759).

During the American Revolution the church held funerals for Francis McLean (d. 1781) who defended New Ireland (Maine) during the war; Capt Henry Francis Evans (d.1781) who died in the Naval Battle off Cape Breton (1781) ; Baron Oberst Franz Carl Erdmann von Seitz Hatchment (d.1782) who was the commander of the Hessian soldiers that defended Lunenburg in the Raid on Lunenburg (1782) ; and Governor Michael Francklin (d. 1782), whose funeral was also attended by a large number of Mi'kmaq people.

After the American Revolution, with the creation of the Diocese of Nova Scotia in 1787, St. Paul's was given the Bishop's seat, making it the first Anglican cathedral outside of Great Britain. It served as the cathedral from 1787 to 1864. The diocese included Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, St. Johns (now Prince Edward Island), and across Quebec and Ontario to Windsor, and Bermuda. For many decades it was one of the few places of worship in Halifax, and other denominations would thus hold services in the building.

During the Halifax Explosion of 1917, a piece of wooden window frame from another building was lodged into the wall of St. Paul's Church, where it remains today.

Brigadier General Francis McLean – defended New Ireland (Maine) during American Revolution, died 1781 – oldest monument in church

Lt.-Col. Peter Waterhouse by Lancelot Edward Wood ( Chelsea, London), fought in the Battle of Corunna

Lt.-Col. John James Snodgrass, fought in Battle of Waterloo (1815)

First Anglican Bishop in North America Charles Inglis

Abolitionist Attorney General Richard John Uniacke

Chief Justice Sampson Salter Blowers, died 1842 – loyalist, instrumental in ending slavery in Nova Scotia

Chief Justice Brenton Halliburton, died 1860, presided over the Libel trial of Joseph Howe

Father of Confederation Hon. John William Ritchie, died 1890

Lt. Gov. Sir John Harvey, fought in Battle of Crysler's Farm

Lt. Gov. John Wentworth, Col of Royal Nova Scotia Regiment

Captain Sir Thomas Ussher 's wife Eliza Ussher, died 1835 (large tomb in St. Paul's cemetery)

Commander-in-Chief, North American Station Rear Admiral Herbert Sawyer 's daughter Sophia Sawyer, died 1788

Dr. David Rowlands' wife Esther Rowlands (gravestone in St. Paul's cemetery)

Suffragist Eliza Ritchie (d.1933) and Sisters windows