MERRICK, John (1756-1829) was born in Halifax, N.S., the son of a painter and glazier, and his interest in the building trades likely prompted him to start his own business in 1785. By 1800 he appears to have broadened his services to include interior decoration and painting, and he was hired to execute the interiors of Government House in that year. He joined the building committee of St. George's Anglican Church in Halifax, and may have contributed to the design of this unique round church which began construction in 1800. Merrick later served on the building committee of St. Matthew's Presbyterian Church, and likely advised on (or perhaps designed?) the additions and alterations to the building originally constructed in 1750.
His name as an architect can be connected with one major government commission, that of the refined Georgian design for Province House, Hollis Street, HALIFAX, N.S. 1811-18 (Nova Scotia, Journals of the House of Assembly, 1811, minutes for 21 March, 25 March and 26 March 1811; Founded Upon a Rock: Historic Buildings in Halifax & Vicinity, 1971, 22-5, illus. & descrip.; E. Pacey, Historic Halifax, 1988, 72-3, illus.; E Pacey & A. Comiter, Landmarks: Historic Buildings of Nova Scotia, 1994, 1994, 110-11, illus.; James W. Macnutt, Building for Democracy, 2010, 12-47, 124, illus. & descrip.). Constructed of native sandstone from nearby Cumberland Co., the design may rightly be considered as one of the finest Palladian compositions for a public building in Canada (Nathalie Clerk, Palladian Style in Canadian Architecture, 1984, 84, illus. & descrip.). A historical article on John Merrick and his work on Province House can be found in the Evening Herald [Halifax], 4 July 1881, p. 1, descrip.; with another historical article in the Evening Mail [Halifax], 14 Dec. 1904, 1).
Merrick died at Horton, N.S. on 4 June 1829 (death notice Nova Scotian [Halifax], 11 June 1829, 186; biog. Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vi, 1987, 500-01; biog. M. Rosinski, Architects of Nova Scotia: A Biographical Dictionary 1605-1950, 1994, 71-2). An original watercolour elevation signed by Merrick showing an elevational study for Province House has survived and is now held in the Drawings Coll. at the Provincial Archives of Nova Scotia (PANS, Acc. 1.2.10.3). An original painted oil portrait of Merrick, prepared during his lifetime, was presented to the Province by his descendants in 1927 (Evening Mail [Halifax], 5 July 1927, 11.