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.It was the second protestant church ever established in Canada. The first was Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (St. John's), Newfoundland (1699). 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.

History 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.Breynton was absent from 1785 to 1791. 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.

Prominent monuments Men

Women

Silver communion service

The service originally consisted of five pieces: four pieces have the mark of King George I (2 flagons, a Chalice and an alms receiver). 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. All the pieces are made from Britannia silver. In 1783, Governor Parr had the service given to St. Paul's.Tinker McKay. Francis Garthorne. Lent 2014. St. Paul's Journal, pp. 5–6"Chapel Plate for Nova Scotia" by Lauretta Harris and Tinker McKay is in the British magazine "Silver Studies" No. 28 published in 2012.

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.

Sculptures 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."Samuel Nixon. Obituary. Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 42, p. 406

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).A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660–1851Harris, V, The Church of St Paul, Halifax, Nova Scotia 1749–1949 (Toronto: 1949) 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.

Ministers (1749–1824) Rev. William Tutty (1749–1752) and his assistant, Rev. William Anwyl (1749–1750), Rev. Jean-Baptiste Moreau (clergyman) (1750–1753) took on the role of Tutty's assistant; later became the 1st minister of St. John's Anglican Church (Lunenburg) p. 81 Rev. Thomas Wood (1752–1764) (assistant); 1st minister at Annapolis; buried at Garrison Cemetery (Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) Rev. John Breynton (1753–1791), first Rector Charles Inglis, 1st Bishop of Nova Scotia, (1781), only minister buried in crypt Rev. Joshua Wingate Weeks (1785–1791), brother-in-law of Rev. Jacob BaileyA sermonLoyalist from Salem The Church of England in Nova Scotia and the Tory Clergy of the Revolution by Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton, p. 184 Rev. Robert Stanser (1791–1816), 2nd Bishop – his wife Mary Stanser, died 1815, is buried in the crypt Rev. John Inglis (1816–1824), 3rd Bishop (appointed 1825, father of John Eardley Inglis). Rev. John Thomas Twining (curate) (1817) Rev. William Cogswell (minister) (Henry Hezekiah Cogswell's son) (curate), (1833–1847)"A sermon, preached in St. Paul's Church, Halifax: on the occasion of the death of the Revd. William Cogswell, A.M., curate of said parish, on Sunday, 13th June, 1847" / by Robert Willis. Rev. Robert Willis (minister) (1824–1865)

The crypt and commemorations The crypt contains the remains of 20 congregants which are listed below.For the list see J. Philip McAleer. A pictorial history of St. Paul's Anglican Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia 1 edition Appendix 2, 1993. pp.142–143 Also indicated below are those that have been commemorated in the church through a plaque, a hatchment or a window.

Founders of Halifax

American Revolution

Lieutenant General William Neville Gardiner, died 1806, (crypt, no plaque) fought alongside Sir William Howe in the Philadelphia campaign (1777) and was wounded in the Battle of Monmouth.Harris, V, The Church of St Paul, Halifax, Nova Scotia 1749–1949 (Toronto: 1949), p. 288, 291

French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802)

Lieutenant Colonel David Meredith, died 1809

Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)

Lt. Col. Peter Waterhouse (military officer), c. 1823 81st Regiment of Foot (plaque; tomb in Old Burying Ground) Lieutenant-Colonel John James Snodgrass (1796–1841), a British military officer, fought in the Battle of Waterloo (1815) and was an aide-de-camp to Sir Archibald Campbell, 1st Baronet and author. (plaque; tomb in Old Burying Ground) John George Deware (Dewar), HMS Rose, died 1830 (plaque; also gravestone in St. Paul's cemetery, and commemorative headstone in Borthwick Churchyard, Borthwick, Midlothian.)A Sort of Conscience: The Wakefields By Philip Temple

Second Boer War

Stanley Banfield, d., 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles (plaque) Capt. John Halliburton Laurie, died 1901, son of John Wimburn Laurie (plaque)

WW1

Other

Lt. Gov. of Nova Scotia Peregrine Maitland's infant son George Bertie Maitland, (crypt) died 1831 Rear admiral Leonard W. Murray, died 1971 – ashes in the Naval Columbarium (Naval Vault) Alfred Gilpin Jones Charles Francis Norton, died 1835, 52nd Light Infantry (monument) Capt. Douglas, HMS Sylph, died 18135 Mar 1813, Halifax, arrived the Sylph, Capt. Douglas, from Bermuda, having lost her boats and anchors in bad weather after parting from the Childers, and reports the Britannia, with whom she separated on 20 Feb, now arrived Halifax 11 Mar. Sarah Mudge, died 1818 (crypt)Captain John Mudge b. 1792 d. 1872 m. Sarah Jessie Henrietta Colton b. 1796 d. 1818. Dolphin, about October 1777, captured the 100-ton brigantine Salisbury (John Mudge). Dolphin was sent into Massachusetts, where she was libeled in the Massachusetts Court of the Middle District on 6 November 1777, with trial set for 27 November.46 Captain John Oakes Hardy (Okes)'s, of , wife Susan (Woodcock) Hardy, daughter of Dr. Edward Woodcock rector at Watford (member of Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge);Could also be wife of Captain Thomas Hardy of HMS Quirrel and HMS Greyhound (St. Paul's History, 1949, p. 295Will of Reverend, Doctor Edward Woodcock, Doctor of Laws, Vicar of Watford, Rector of the United Parishes of Saint Michael Wood Street and Saint Mary Steyning in the City of London of Watford, Hertfordshirep. 45p.117 married at Edmonton, Middlesex, England, m. 1794, died 1799; Hardy commanding HMS St. Albans was part of the capture of l'Elizabeth French frigate, under Vice-Admiral George Murray, Aug, 28, 1796; Hardy commanding HMS Courageux for reduction of St. Lucia, 22 June 1803.[Capt. John Okes Hardy halifax saint albans p.1075]p.146p.212p.145Susan Woodcock, p. 399marriage to Susan Woodcock, p.404p.383 Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres – Governor of Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton is buried at St. George's Church Window for Jane Tremaine, Sunday school Teacher for 65 years; only memorial Window destroyed in the explosion

Prominent families Uniacke Family

The family of Richard John Uniacke is featured on many plaques and monuments in St. Paul's Church. On separate occasions, two Uniacke family members stood trial for murder.

Almon Family