Nicholson, a committed Anglican as a member of the Church of England, sought to reduce Roman Catholic influence in the Maryland government, and moved the old colonial capital from the Catholic stronghold of St. Mary's City in southern Maryland's St. Mary's County along the Potomac River to what was then called "Anne Arundel's Town" (also known briefly as "Providence"), which was later renamed "Annapolis" in honour of the future monarch, Princess Anne. He chose its site and laid out the plan for the town, placing the Anglican (later Episcopal church and the state house in well-designed public spaces (known later as "State Circle" and "Church Circle") and the use of diagonal avenues to connect various parts of the town (foreseeing details of Pierre L'Enfant's, (1754-1825), plan for the National Capital or "Federal City" in Washington and the District of Columbia, a century later. Architectural historian Mark Childs describes Annapolis, along with Williamsburg, Virginia, which Nicholson also laid out during his later tenure there, as some of the best-designed towns in the British Empire.