There has been a church on the site since 1358, when Henry Duke of Lancaster granted the custody of the Chapel of “St Mary’ to John de Est Witton, a hermit. First dedicated to St. Anne in 1650, the church went through several builds and rebuilds.
The present building was dedicated in 1860, having been built at a cost of £4,000, mainly provided by the then Lord of the Manor, Alderman Thomas Miller of Preston.
The Miller family continued their association with the church and several plaques around the building carry their name.
The unusual and ornate decoration of the nave walls and roof was undertaken recently to recapture how the church might have looked in days gone by.