Saint George's Church, Halifax

Saint George’s (Anglican) Round Church is an architectural gem in Downtown Halifax, standing as a rare neo-Classical Palladian structure with a unique cylindrical wooden design. Located at the corner of Brunswick and Cornwallis Streets in the North End, the church was established in 1800 and largely financed by the British royal family. Though the identity of its primary architect remains uncertain, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Strathearn—father of Queen Victoria—played a significant role in its design.

The Round Church’s origins trace back to the Little Dutch (Deutsch) Church, a smaller congregation founded by German Lutheran settlers in 1756. These “Foreign Protestants” were brought to Halifax under the command of Edward Cornwallis and initially worshipped in a simple, one-room saalkirche. Despite financial struggles, they sought a German Lutheran minister and finally secured Bernard Michael Houseal in 1784, under the condition that the church aligned with Anglicanism while maintaining some Lutheran traditions. By the early 19th century, the congregation had outgrown its modest chapel, leading to the construction of Saint George’s Round Church.

The Round Church is recognized as Canada’s only 19th-century example of a round ecclesiastical structure, showcasing a level of architectural refinement previously unseen in the colony. The design has been attributed to master shipwright William Hughes, with influences from the Duke of Kent, who served as military commander of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Over the years, Saint George’s has faced multiple challenges, including damage from the Halifax Explosion of 1917 and a destructive fire in 1994, but has been meticulously restored while preserving its classical symmetry and elegant Palladian details. In 1983, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada for its architectural significance and historical associations with Halifax’s early development.