The population in Bingley had increased greatly during the 19th century due to the Industrial Revolution and the decision was taken to create a new parish when All Saints Church was too full to carry on.

[6] The church's Pre-Raphaelite influenced building caused John Ruskin, who was staying in Bingley in 1881, to comment that it was of 'severe simplicity and dignity.

'[7] Pevsner described the building as; "disappointing, dark in its desperately drab surroundings, and the school also built at the same time would scarcely be recognized as the work of an architect of genius".

[9] The church, designed by the Victorian architect Richard Norman Shaw,[10] was built without a tower, although one was added later which the foundations were not strong enough for.

Two weeks before its explosive demolition, workmen at the top said that they heard the tower and church audibly creak and groan prompting the mass evacuation of nearby houses.