The church’s primary architect remains a mystery, but Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (and father of Queen Victoria) was highly influential & involved in the design process.

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.

In order to keep their minister, the only option the congregation was presented with was by fulfilling the conditions of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to gain their support.

Prince Edward, his elder brother Frederick and their father, George III supported preparations for the Round Church.

They insisted upon maintaining their German governing rules and that the church’s property remain in the hands of the elder and wardens, not the diocese.

Instead of honouring the written promises from the congregation to establish Anglican liturgy and clergy at St George’s, Bishop Charles Inglis worked against the Round Church.

Inglis re-routed funds, explicitly dissuaded donors from giving to the church, and proposed building a chapel of St Paul’s in the vicinity to choke out the struggling congregation.

In 1811, desperate and facing financial ruin, the congregation finally surrendered and submitted themselves fully to the authority of the Church of England – and of the bishop.

Despite the concessions made by the German congregation, Inglis suggested to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG) that St George’s be abandoned as an Anglican church.

Then, claiming he had no power or persuasion over either organization, Inglis refused St. George’s financial support and threatened the church with closure.

Inglis’s successor, Bishop Robert Stanser was willing to compromise, and in 1819 St George’s finally received the funds it had been promised in exchange for adopting Anglican liturgy and internal structure.

Included in one of these rescue and retrieval missions was Minia, whose commander, Captain deCarteret, asked that his own rector accompany the voyage to conduct memorial services at sea.

As thanks, Father Henry Ward Cunningham, was presented with a deck chair from Titanic, which he in turn donated to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

The fundraising effort received a donation from Prince Charles, who had also attended service at the church in 1983 with Diana, Princess of Wales.