The Anglican Church came to Dominica as part of the British colonial administration in 1763 and in 1768 the original site of the church was the Newton Savannah. The wooden building however fell into ruin by 1790 and at the time the small Anglican community should little interest in repairing the old church or constructing a new one, church services were therefore held at the old courthouse which is now the Parliament building, eventually, rector’s held services at plantations as it was believed that building a new church would just as likely fall back into disrepair once more
In 1802 an act was passed for building a church but it wasn’t until 1818 that the committee was appointed to construct a new building, here at this site a square stone structure was Built-in 1820 with about 6500 pounds Sterling.
At the end of the 19th century, the Saint George’s Anglican church was extended southwards changing the original layouts of the building.
In 1979 the church building was almost completely destroyed by hurricane David along with a church hall and a marble memorial Built-in honour of doctor John Emery a layperson of the church. The Saint George’s Anglican church was rebuilt soon afterwards with local funding but had lost much of its architectural charm.
Again on September 22nd, 2017 the roof of the church was destroyed when Hurricane Maria hit Dominica, today the church stands unrepaired.
Jean Rhys was christened here, and her father’s tomb is in the Anglican cemetery (the grave was restored by Rhys’s biographer, Carole Angier and her publisher, Diana Athill). She described the church in her unfinished autobiography, Smile Please.
Phyllis Shand Allfrey used to worship here. She is buried in the Anglican cemetery behind the Newtown savannah.
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