St Paul's Church | |
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St Paul's in the Grand Parade | |
44°38′51″N63°34′29″W / 44.64750°N 63.57472°W | |
Location | 1749 Argyle Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3K4 |
Country | Canada |
Denomination | Anglican |
Churchmanship | Anglican Church of Canada |
Website | stpaulshalifax |
History | |
Founded | 13 June 1750 |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | James Gibbs [1] |
Architectural type | Georgian |
Completed | 2 September 1750 |
Official name | St. Paul's Anglican Church National Historic Site of Canada |
Designated | 1981 |
Type | Provincially Registered Property |
Designated | 7 November 1983 |
Reference no. | 00PNS0006 |
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. [2] 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. [3] [4] 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. [1]
History of Halifax, Nova Scotia |
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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. [5] 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. [6] 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. [7] 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.
The service originally consisted of five pieces: four pieces have the mark of King George I (2 flagons, a Chalice and an alms receiver [10] ). Two of these pieces also have the mark of Queen Anne (a flagon and the alms receiver), which are dated 1713. The fifth piece – the paten – was damaged and melted down around 1819. [11] All the pieces are made from Britannia silver. In 1783, Governor Parr had the service given to St. Paul's. [12] [13]
The silversmith Francis Garthorne (1641–1729) marked all of the pieces with a "G" encircling a small Roman capital A. Garthorne's work is in the collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Royal Collection Trust. He created five of the ten Ceremonial maces now on display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
Some of the monuments in the church showcase sculptures by England's leading sculptors during the nineteenth century. All of whom exhibited their work at the Royal Academy of Arts and have their work in the National Portrait Gallery (London), the Tate, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts State House, Trafalgar Square, St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.
There are two stone carvings by Samuel Nixon, one of a shipwreck and the other of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Nixon was commissioned by the City of London to create a statue of King William IV (1844), which Gentleman's Magazine called "a masterpiece" and an example of "artistic genius." [14]
Another sculpture was created by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (for Amelia Ann Smyth). Chantrey's most notable works include the statues of King George IV (Trafalgar Square); King George III (Guildhall), and George Washington (Massachusetts State House). He also executed four monuments to military heroes for St Paul's Cathedral. (Chantrey's sculpture of Sir Walter Scott was commissioned for Victoria Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia.)
There is also a sculpture by Richard Westmacott III (for Sampson Salter Blowers). [15] [16] Westmacoott was the son of Sir Richard Westmacott. Among Westmacott III's most notable works is the pediment of the Royal Exchange (London); the monument commemorating Sir John Franklin (Greenwich Hospital). (Westmacott's uncle architect John Westmacott (d. 1816) is buried in the Old Burying Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia.)
There is a sculpture in St. Paul's Church by John Gibson (for Richard John Uniacke, Jr.) and a monument by William F. Woodington (Henry Hezekiah Cogswell's monument to his children). Woodington's work includes statues on Westminster Bridge, Nelson's Column (Trafalgar Square), St. Paul's Cathedral, and the House of Lords.
The crypt contains the remains of 20 congregants which are listed below. [28] Also indicated below are those that have been commemorated in the church through a plaque, a hatchment or a window.
The family of Richard John Uniacke dominates the plaques and monuments in St. Paul's Church. On separate occasions, two Uniacke family members stood trial for murder.[ citation needed ]
The memorials to the family of Dr. William James Almon also dominant the church. There were four generations of doctors in the family that had a significant impact on the field of medicine in the province.
The memorials to the family of Henry Hezekiah Cogswell also dominate the church. There are monuments placed to four of his children, three of which died while Henry was alive. His son Rev. William became a celebrated orator and author.
The memorials to the family of Hon. John William Ritchie also dominant the church. There are memorial windows placed for a son and five of his daughters. His twelve children donated money for the memorial window on the south side of the church.
St. Paul's Church played a significant role in the Halifax Explosion. Doctors used the church as an emergency hospital, using the two vestries to tend to the wounded, while the bodies of the dead were stacked on top of each other around the walls of the nave. [65] [66] Only one stained glass window was broken in the church; however, most of the other windows were smashed, and there were wide cracks in the roof. It was the only church in the city considered safe enough to conduct a service the following day. All the congregations used the church to conduct funerals.
There remains two artifacts in the church from this disaster: the "Explosion Window", which shattered to form a silhouette of a man's head and shoulders. The congregation concluded that the silhouette is the likeness of Abbe Moreau, who arrived with Cornwallis. There is also a piece of a steel window frame that remains embedded in the wall of the vestibule above the inside doors to the church.
Charles Inglis was an Irish Anglican clergyman and ardent Tory who was consecrated the first Anglican bishop in North America for the Diocese of Nova Scotia. He died at Kingston, Nova Scotia. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax).
Michael Francklin or Franklin served as Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor from 1766 to 1772. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax).
William Johnston Almon was a Nova Scotian physician and Canadian parliamentarian. He was the son of William Bruce Almon.
Sir Edward Kenny, was a Canadian politician and businessman. He co-founded the Union and Merchants' banks and served as Mayor of Halifax. He was a Conservative senator from 1867 to 1876.
Richard Westmacott (the younger) RA (14 April 1799 – 19 April 1872) – also sometimes described as Richard Westmacott III (to distinguish him from his father and grandfather – both sculptors bearing the same name) – was a prominent English sculptor of the early and mid-19th century.
The Old Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax.
Richard John Uniacke was an abolitionist, lawyer, politician, member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and Attorney General of Nova Scotia. According to historian Brian Cutherburton, Uniacke was "the most influential Nova Scotian of his day.... His faith in Nova Scotia's destiny as a partner in a great empire was only to be equalled by Joseph Howe." He devoted 49 years to public service in Nova Scotia. He fought in the American Revolution and later sought to emancipate Catholics and Black Nova Scotians who were slaves in Nova Scotia. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church. His substantial estate is preserved as the Uniacke Estate Museum Park at Mount Uniacke.
John Breynton was a minister in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Richard Bulkeley was an influential administrator in Nova Scotia from 1749 to 1800. Historian Phyllis Blakeley writes that Bulkeley, "assisted 13 governors and lieutenant governors from Cornwallis to Wentworth. In half a century of service he took part in the founding of Halifax, the immigration of New Englanders and loyalists, and the prosperity of the French revolutionary wars." During his lifetime, known for hosting dignitaries and grand parties, he was known as "the Father of the Province." When he died, he was the last surviving settler who arrived with Cornwallis.
Henry Hezekiah Cogswell was a lawyer, political figure and philanthropist in Nova Scotia. He represented the town of Halifax in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1818 to 1820. He was president of the Royal Acadian School.
St. George's (Anglican) Round Church is a wooden round church in the neo-Classical Palladian style located in Halifax Regional Municipality in Downtown Halifax. Construction on the church began in 1800 thanks in large part to the financial backing of the British royal family. The church’s primary architect remains a mystery, but Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was highly influential & involved in the design process. It is located at the corner of Brunswick and Cornwallis Streets in the North End district. The church was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1983 given its associations with the early history of Halifax and its Palladian architecture.
Reverend William Tutty was an English-Canadian clergyman. Ordained in the Church of England, he moved to Canada in 1749 as a missionary for Nova Scotia.
The Halifax Club is a private club in Halifax, Nova Scotia that was established in 1862. The club serves as a meeting place for business-minded men and women. It is a place where they can "meet, toast the day's successes, dine or simply relax in a warm atmosphere of history and tradition." The Club has a substantial art collection including a self-portrait of Benjamin West and a painting by Robert Field. The Club was built by George Lang.
Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Council and the Halifax Council. After 1749, when the judicial courts were established, the Nova Scotia Council was limited to administrative and legislative powers.
Dr. Eliza Ritchie was a prominent suffragist in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church is the second-oldest building in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, after St. Paul's Church. It was built for the Foreign Protestants, and is the oldest site in Canada associated with Lutheranism. It is a National Historic Site of Canada.
The Carleton is a building on Argyle Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, built in 1760 as the home of Richard Bulkeley. Apart from two churches, Bulkeley's home is the oldest building in Halifax, Nova Scotia (1760). It was reported to have been made from the ruins of Fortress Louisbourg. Since 1786 his residence has been known as "The Carleton".
St. John's Anglican Church was the first church established in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada (1753). It is the second Church of England built in Nova Scotia, and is the second oldest continuous Protestant church in present-day Canada. Early on 1 November 2001, St. John's church suffered significant damage by fire. It was restored and re-dedicated June 12, 2005.
Jean-Baptiste Moreau was first minister at St. John's Anglican Church (Lunenburg) (1753-1770) and one of the founding fathers of the community. He was one of two missionaries who first arrived in Halifax with Edward Cornwallis (1749) and served at St. Paul's Church (Halifax). His wife had the first child born in Halifax and was named Cornwallis after the Governor. Then in 1753 he was sent to help establish Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Rev Moreau served the community throughout the French and Indian War. He reported to Society for Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) in London, "…the number massacred by Indians in Lunenburg District during the War was 32." He learned the Mi'kmaw language and is reported to have baptised a number of Mi'kmaq children. He is buried in the crypt of St. John's Anglican Church
William James Almon was a doctor and loyalist who left New York City for Nova Scotia during the American Revolution (1776). He is reported to have attended to the wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He later served at the capture of New York City. He was the surgeon mate of the 4th battalion, Royal Artillery, which served in the Battle of Monmouth. In 1780, he returned to Halifax. He became the surgeon general of the Nova Scotia militia. His last year of practice he joined his son Dr. William Bruce Almon. Along with Duncan Clark and John Halliburton, Almon served as physician to Edward Augustus and were part of the royal social circle in Halifax.
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Endnotes
rev. wingate weeks. St. Michael's church, marblehead, mass.