Built by the Gothic Revival architect William Burges in 1867 to serve the village, it declined in importance as Lowfield Heath was gradually appropriated for the expansion of London Gatwick Airport and of its related development.

[2] It is also the only building remaining in the former village from the era before the airport existed: every other structure was demolished, and the church now stands among warehouses, depots and light industrial units.

[7] Architect William Burges, who had worked on The Great Exhibition in London and St Finbarre's Cathedral in Cork and who later built Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch in Wales, was employed to build a church on the site.

A plaque was unveiled by the entrance door: In commemoration of a service held in this church at Lowfield Heath on the 30th September 1989 for the occasion of a reunion of those who formed the village community at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and whose homes and village were subsequently displaced by the development of Gatwick International AirportWilliam Burges adopted a French Gothic style, similar to that popular in the 13th century, for his design for St Michael and All Angels.

[1][8] The exterior is of small, regular blocks of mostly undressed yellow sandstone quarried from the nearby St Leonard's Forest.

[1] The building has a tower at the southwest corner with a shingled timber spire, a narthex at the western end (with a large rose window in the west face),[7] a vestry on the north side and a chancel and nave.

[1][7][8] The roofs of the main body of the church are quite steep, and internally are built of pine in an arch formation with tie-beams and supported by king posts.