The church contains much cast iron in its structure, and its citation in the National Heritage List for England states it has "one of the earliest and most thorough uses of industrial materials in a major building".

The church was built by John Cragg, the owner of the Mersey Iron Foundry, Tithebarn Street, Liverpool.

[3] Cragg bought the land from the Earl of Sefton,[4] and built the church at his own expense, its final cost being £7,865 (equivalent to £740,000 in 2023).

[7] He had already starting building St George's Church, Everton, using cast iron in its structure.

The cast iron in the walls formed a skeleton, the base of which was filled with slate, and the remainder with brick.

The oak reredos was removed from the sanctuary and the lower tier of stained glass was replaced in the east window.

[18] The church is built in brick with many cast iron components; these include the parapets, battlements and pinnacles.

[8] The lower (dado) level of the external wall is clad in slate panels finished with iron, which were originally sanded and painted with limewash mixed with animal blood to resemble Woolton sandstone.

The tower also has paired three-light bell-openings, diagonal buttresses, an arcaded, embattled parapet and pinnacles.