Designed by Sir Charles Barry as the first Gothic Revival chapel for the British Unitarians, at the very beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria, the building was listed as Grade II* on the Buildings at Risk Register, rated as "very bad", on 3 October 1974.

The west end has a giant moulded archway, with an arched doorway at the ground floor with a window above.

The attached two-storey Sunday School is in the same style as the chapel, and has a triple-gabled north side, with large arched windows on the first floor.

It replaced the Mosley Street Chapel (built 1789,[4] demolished 1836[5]) upon its completion for baptisms, burials and marriages.

[14] Both the chapel and Sunday School were occupied by the Islamic Academy of Manchester between 1974 and 2006, when it was used as a mosque, teaching centre and for outreach work in the Asian community.

In 2001 and 2005 the City Council commissioned structural advice regarding the building, prior to removing most of the roof, with the agreement of English Heritage.

[18] In October 2010 Manchester City Council announced that it was in discussion with a developer to renovate the building and bring it back into use.

[20] From September 2017, the building has been operating as student accommodation, with a gym, cinema room, study areas and a lounge.