In the 18th century most of the settlements in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became a British territory annexed from the Dutch. But it was only in 1815, following the collapse of the Kandyan Kingdom, that the entire island came under British suzerainty. The Diocese of Colombo came into existence in 1845 and James Chapman was the first Bishop of Colombo. The Anglican community wanted to establish a church in Negombo in the nineteenth century and action was initiated by choosing a suitable site for the purpose in 1876. The area in which the site was chosen had previously been known as "The Dutch Fort".[5] The Bishop of Colombo, Reverend Reginald Stephen Copleston, provided a Crown grant under order dated 23 September 1876 to build the church. The trustees of the church from Negombo were Henry Bell, Charles Karlenberg and Harry Maule F. Finch. The site measured two roods and 17 perches (One rood is equal to 10,890 square feet (1,012 m2) and 40 perches are equal to a rood). The church was constructed by the end of 1877, although church services were held before its formal consecration. The formal consecration ceremony was held on 31 July 1879.
