Building the Church Towards the end of March 1867 a group of men could be seen looking at various pieces of land in Tow Law. They were well known personalities. There was Charles Attwood, the resident manager of the Iron Company and virtual "founder" of Tow Law. With him was the Rev. G.P. Wilkinson, who was Vicar of Thornley (which then included Tow Law) from 1857 to 1891, and who lived at Harpley Park. Also in the party was the Rev. M.H. Simpson, who was Curate of Thornley and who had ministered in Tow Law since 1862.

They were examining possible sites for a new Church. One site had already been chosen, but the Bishop had thought it too far away from the village. The whereabouts of this original choice is not known for certain, but may have been in the Dan's Castle

Charles Attwood favoured land near Thornley vicarage, but at that time there was no bridge across the railway. They also considered a site "at the side of the Cornsay Road", but this too was at a distance from the population. Finally, they let their original plan stand.

Meanwhile the Durham architect, C. Hodgson Fowler, had designed a church in the Early English style, and was considering tenders for its construction. The lowest tender was from a Tow Law builder, William Ridley, with William Temperley as his joiner. After a meeting with the architect and after some revision of the figures they were awarded the contract at £1,952. 1s. 6d.

With a target to aim for, Mr. Wilkinson set about raising the money. Soon he was able to write down these figures: Weardale Iron Company £800; Bishop's Fund £300; Vicountess Boyne £200; Ecclesiastical Commissioners £100; Church Building Society £65; Bishop £25; G.P Willkinson £50, and a number of other donations to a grand total of £1,637. In August 1867, a group of villagers, led by William Smith, a local grocer, held a meeting. They wanted a more convenient site for the church, and agreed to raise the money to buy half an acre of land from a Mr. William Burrell. They wrote to the Bishop about their intentions and he readily agreed to the plan. However, the mining rights for the land had been retained by Lord and Lady Boyne and leased to the Weardale Iron Company. This led to legal complications and delays which were resolved only when all sides agreed that there was no coal underneath the site! Further, the new location was in a field behind land belonging to the North Eastern Railway Co., and access to it was difficult. When the church was completed, a small piece of this land had to bought to provide an entrance into what is now Church Lane.

With the site finally chosen, work on construction began in the autumn and continued steadily through the winter. But early in 1868 there were troubles. There were no more subscriptions and the fund was £300 short of the contract price. Worse, the change of site had involved extra work, raising the price to £2,067. Worse still, some of the money promised had not yet been paid. The vicar wrote to another director of the Weardale Iron Company, a Mr. Baring, who was also the Bishop's brother, for an extra subscription, and a stiff correspondence ensued, but no cheque.

The plans had to be modified. The tower and spire were omitted. A fence was substituted for a stone wall round the churchyard. The price was now £1,892. William Smith was most upset at these modifications. He thought the vicar had failed in his duties by not attracting the necessary funds. "Let it never be said we cannot build a church at Tow Law" he wrote.

By July, 1868, William Ridley had completed the fabric in its modified form, but he was owed some £600. With such a debt the church could not be consecrated. In any case the legal difficulties over the site were still unresolved. To add to his worries, the vicar himself was not well at the time.

During the winter, some of the debt was cleared but there was still sum outstanding when the Weardale Iron Company directors met in April, 1869, to receive the architect's report on the situation. Eventually they agreed to raise their subscription to £1,100. At last the bills could be paid.

In June the lawyers completed the conveyance of the site, and on Saturday, July 24th, 1869, Bishop Charles Baring consecrated the new church.

The churchyard walls were finished in 1885 by William Ridley (for £61) and the gate pillars were put up by Joseph Ridley in 1889. The Churchyard was closed for burials (with certain exceptions) in 1884.

The spire and tubular bells were added in 1902. The bells were restored in 1967.