This was the fifth church on the site, built about 1757–1760. During the small hours of Sunday morning, 1st February 1857, the church was destroyed by fire. The alarm was raised by a parishioner who ran to the Rectory and roused Reverend Frederick Haggitt. The Fire Brigade had to be fetched from Birkenhead but the nave and chancel were completely destroyed, due to the delay in getting to the scene and the difficulty in finding a supply of water. The vicar saved the parish registers at the risk of his own life. It was said later that the fire was caused by the sexton who stoked up the boiler to an absurd extent because he was tired of complaints that the church was always cold for morning service. A local grocer, related to the sexton, was said to have used the furnace room for storage and the air in Wallasey was filled with the strong smell of cooked bacon for many days afterwards.