St. Anne's Chapel (Fredericton)

St. Anne's Chapel was built at the direction of John Medley soon after his arrival in Canada in 1845 as the first Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton.

Its architect, Frank Wills, was brought to Canada by Bishop Medley from Exeter, England in 1846 to work on Christ Church Cathedral.

[1] Located at the corner of Westmorland and George Streets in the west end of the city, St. Anne's was intended as a chapel of ease in which services could be held until construction of the Cathedral was completed.

[5] St. Anne's Chapel was the first church in North America constructed according to the principles of the Ecclesiological Society, with which both Bishop Medley and the architect, Frank Wills, had been associated before coming to Canada.

[7][8] The new chapel's innovative design was controversial at the time, with some parishioners objecting to the inclusion of a chancel with a screen, which symbolically separated the priest from the laity.