[3] St Paul's was designed by Edmund Sharpe, an architect who established a practice in Lancaster in 1835.

The church was almost finished by the end of 1875, and it was consecrated on 18 February 1876 by Rt Revd James Fraser, Bishop of Manchester.

[13] The church is in a style which Sharpe described as late Transitional of about 1170,[14] incorporating elements of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture.

[3] The church is built in brick, faced on the outside with local gritstone, and with yellow terracotta dressings.

The roof is hipped with steep gables on the east and west faces, each containing a vesica piscis opening.

The chancel has a quadripartite rib vaulted ceiling and blank arcading on the north and south walls.

[1] The stained glass at the west end is by Barrowclough & Sanders, dates from about 1897, and depicts the Works of Mercy.