At the end of the war with France and after the Battle of Waterloo, the country of Austria was made to pay a large amount of money to this country as war indemnity. Out of this a sum of one million pounds was devoted to providing churches in areas which needed them. Three were provided for the Wakefield area at Thornes, Alverthorpe and Stanley. The Church at Stanley was the first to be built. The foundation stone was laid on l3th September, 1822 by Francis Maude of Hatfield Hall who was a barrister in Wakefield. The Church was opened nearly two years later on 6th September, 1824.
On February 18th, 1911 a terrible fire occurred. The building was completely gutted and only the outer walls remained. The fire was noticed at about three o'clock and the fire brigade was sent for. Unfortunately the local fire-fighting facilities were very poor and it was some time before a suitable engine was sent for from Wakefield. By this time the Church was beyond hope and as the steam fire engine arrived the roof collapsed and an impressive burst of flame leapt upwards. Fortunately brave church workers had been very busy trying to rescue as much as possible from the interior of the church -vestments, documents, church plate, especially the brass lectern, costing almost £100, which the congregation had presented to the Church as a memorial to Rev. Richard Burrell. It appears that the fire was caused by the pitch pine roof being ignited by heat from the boiler which was situated at the east end of the church in the vaults. [This heating system had replaced the open fireplaces which had been built with the church]. An iron pipe carried smoke from the boiler up through the timbered roof.
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