St.Paul's Church in Brierley was built in 1869 for George Savile-Foljambe, Lord of the Manor of Brierley, to the designs of John Wade in the Gothic Revival Style.  It was built as a chapel of ease to the medieval church of St.Peter in Felkirk, to house the growing population of Brierley and Grimethorpe.

Mr.Foljambe provided half the cost of the new church, and the rest was donated by other local principal people.  The land for the church and old church schol was given by Rev.John Hoyland, vicar of Felkirk.  The first curate was Rev.Godfrey Pigott Cordeux.

The church stands in a small churchyard, which is full, the last burial taking place in 1953.  The cemetery is located behind the church.

Having a middle pointed style, the church was built of local sandstone and the roofs covered in Burlington slate.  It is quite lavishly detailed, with carved corbels at the base of the roof trusses and carved label stops to the windows.

The church's recent history is one of neglect but a programme of repair works is re-invigorating the role and status of the building within the community of Brierley.  After the new Parish of Grimethorpe with Brierley was created in 2005, a small re-ordering scheme was carried out which included the removal of some pews and the choir stalls, to improve the flexibility of the building.

The Tower and Clock were restored in 2008; the sanctuary ceiling was restored in 2009 and the church re-carpeted in 2009. 

Click to view  Plan and Points of Interest