[2][3] Taking its name from a street in Employed to Serve's hometown of Woking,[4] the label was originally set up as a mail-order distributor, which Urwin used to sell "a carefully curated selection of records he liked personally, ranging from classic hardcore and death metal long-players through to fellow contemporary cutting-edge acts".

[6][7][8] Within a few days of its closure, Urwin and Justine Jones (also of Employed to Serve, and a former manager at Holy Roar) converted Church Road Records into a proper record label in order to release several albums that were imminently due for released through Holy Roar,[3] including Svalbard's When I Die, Will I Get Better?, Palm Reader's Sleepless and Respire's Black Line.

[9][10][11] As the record sleeves for these albums had already been printed, Jones ordered 3,000 stickers featuring a logo for Church Road Records that she and Urwin (with the assistance of Urwin's mum and sister as well as Svalbard members Serena Cherry and Liam Phelan) used to cover up the Holy Roar logo.

[1] On 6 August 2022, Church Road Records celebrated its 5th birthday with a showcase at The Black Heart in London, with performances from Candescent A.D., Burner, Graywave, Noctule and Tuskar.

[4] Church Road also runs a monthly subscription club for their releases (in both digital and physical formats), an idea that Jones previously established whilst working for Holy Roar.