R.H. Brandling of Middleton Lodge gave land on Town Street on which to build a church and parsonage in 1845. St Mary's Church was built in 1846 to designs by R. D. Chantrell, who also designed Leeds Parish Church. The church and its lych gate are designated Grade II listed buildings. The church originally had a tall spire which was taken down because of mining subsidence in 1939. There is a tradition that local miners gave either a week's wages or a week's work towards the cost of its construction.