"... the Government House in which Sir John resided, and which stood in the square now occupied by the Province Building, had got into great disrepair. It had been built of green wood. The frame stood on the original rock, no cellar had been dug, and the site had never been drained. The house was damp and wet and was very unwholesome. Sir John's health was suffering. He had at that time it is true a house of his own some six miles from Halifax, situated on the western shore of Bedford Basin, but the distance made it inconvenient, and besides the house was then in possession of Prince Edward, who had built an extensive establishment on the spot. Under any circumstances the house was private property and what was required was an official residence for the use of the Governor of the day."35

Construction on Government House began in 1798. On the 11th of September, 1800, the cornerstone of Government House was laid by Sir John Wentworth. Wentworth is to be given the credit for the building of Government House, though as Cuthbertson observed38 the credit must be shared "with Isaac Hildreth, the architect, Michael Wallace, the commissioner who supervised its construction, and a reluctant assembly, which kept voting funds year after year, even though the cost rose to three times the original estimate."39 The country members were not keen to see money being spent on the palace at Halifax. It was necessary to pay them off, so to speak, by spending money on rural roads.40 A master painter, John Merrick, employed at the dockyard, was given the job as the interior decorator. Later it is seen41 that Merrick was to become the "architect for the building of Province House." A lot of time was to pass before the building was ready for the Wentworths to move in. They did so in 1805.42