As the population grew quickly after 1800, a movement seeking to have an established church in the township developed.

It was paid for by money from the parliament of the United Kingdom raised by the Church Building Act 1818, and said to be a celebration of Britain's victory in the Battle of Waterloo.

As construction progressed, it was realised that the structure was too big for the site and that the plans had been inadvertently exchanged for the Church of St George in Chorley.

[7] Thomas Johnson's nephew, George Ormerod gave more land for the churchyard and £2,000 (equivalent to £210,000 as of 2023),[4] so that the church could be finished.

On the last day of 1833 the curate, the Reverend Jacob Robson, writing in the parish registers, signalled the change in the spelling of the township name from Tildesley to Tyldesley.

[9] The church was altered and refurbished in 1886 and 1887 when the east end was extended by 12 feet to form a new chancel.

At the same time the vestry and entrance porch were added to the north side and the west end of the church was remodelled by architects Preston and Vaughn and the work completed by contractors Cordingley and Stopford.

The nave and aisle roofs were panelled in pitch pine, the wooden floor was replaced and the windows were reglazed.

[11] St George's has survived two fires, the first in 1878 when the upper west galley housing the choir and organ was destroyed causing their removal to the chancel.

[5] The tower contains a peel eight bells, the original six were cast in 1825 by William Dobson at Downham Market in Norfolk.

The Lancashire Association of Change Ringers paid for the repairs and the bells were rung again in December 2012.

The stained-glass windows depicting saints in the north and south walls of the chancel date from the 19th century and were moved from Bishopscourt, the former palace of the Bishops of Manchester, in about 1958.

Monuments include one dated 1855 showing a "grieving woman slumped over an urn" and a bronze plaque from 1924.

[9] His successor was George Richards who was vicar from 1851 to 1884, during which time 14 of the 25 victims of the Yew Tree Colliery firedamp explosion in 1858 were buried in the churchyard.