With the assistance of local parishioners and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Reverend Richard Pollard began construction of St. Paul's Church in 1819. Located one kilometre from here on Stanley Street, St. Paul's was the first church in Chatham and the first Anglican church in Kent County, serving the local population which included members of the Black community and the British garrison. By the 1840s, the congregation had outgrown St. Paul's Church and purchased this site across from the town market in 1860. Christ Church was completed the following year and consecrated by Bishop Benjamin Cronyn. The congregation used St. Paul's as a mortuary chapel until 1869 when it was destroyed by fire. Christ Church remains an important part of the spiritual and cultural life of the community.

Location

At Christ Church, 80 Wellington Street West, Chatham-Kent

Themes

• Black heritage
• Buildings and structures
• Religion
• War and conflict