The first church on the site was a small timber-framed building erected in the second half of the 16th century. The first recorded service took place in 1588. In 1803 the building was in a ruinous condition and it was decided that a new church should be built. In 1808 Robert Goldsmith was appointed as architect and the church was completed in 1811 at a cost of £4,000. A major financial contributor to the building of the church was Samuel Oldknow, a local cotton manufacturer. In 1816 a peal of bells arrived and in 1826 an organ was installed. By the 1870s the church was too small for the congregation and the building was unsuitable for expansion so it was decided that a new church should be built. The new church was built to the south of the old church. J. Medland Taylor and Henry Taylor were appointed as architects and the church cost £6,056. It was consecrated on 30 June 1880. In the following years some services were still held in the old church but its condition deteriorated and by 1964 it was considered to be dangerous and it was demolished. The tower was strengthened and the bells re-hung in it, making it a free-standing bell-tower.
Architecture
Tower
The separate tower is in four stages with string courses between the stages. At the west is a door with a rusticated surround and a two-light window. In the third stage is a clock face. Above this are lancet bell openings. The parapet has plain pilasters and square pinnacles. Inside the tower are memorials. Pevsner considers that the best is a tablet by John Flaxman in memory of Rev. Kelsall Prescot, who died in 1823, showing him standing and instructing boys. The monument to Samuel Oldknow, who died in 1828, is by Francis Legatt Chantrey, but Pevsner considers it to be disappointing. A monument to Elizabeth Isherwood, who died in 1835, is by Manning and shows a woman kneeling by an urn. Other monuments are to Nathaniel Wright who died in 1818, showing a cherub with an extinguished torch, and to John Clayton who died in 1848 and shows a standing woman with a lamp and a torch. There is a ring of eight bells. Six of these, which came from Stockport parish church in 1816, were cast by Rudhall of Gloucester in 1731. The other two bells are by John Taylor and Company and are dated 1963.
Church
The church is built in stone with a patterned tiled roof. Its plan consists of a three-bay nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles, and a two-bay chancel. At the east end is a five-light window and at the west end is a rose window. In the church the chandelier and font were removed from the old church. Also in the church are memorials to the Bradshaw-Isherwood family. The organ was built by Conacher and Wadsworth and extended by Walker in 1972. The parish registers date from 1655.
External features
The lych gate dated 1893 is listed at Grade II. Also listed at Grade II are a stable and coach house from the early 19th century erected for the use of the owner of Marple Hall when visiting the church, and the adjacent hearse house, also dating from the early 19th century. The churchyard contains the war graves of nine soldiers of World War I and two soldiers and two airmen of World War II.
