In 1595 Thomas Dakin of Bailey Flatt, Green Fairfield and others petitioned Queen Elizabeth I for the provision of a minister to the Chapelry and for assistance with the church building which was in a poor state of repair. The Fairfield people made out a case in support and requested that an Almshouse be built for six poor men who lived in Fairfield.The resulting grant stated that there was to be one perpetual Chapelry in Fairfield and that it should be named the Perpetual Chapel of Fairfield and that "in future and forever there may be and shall be six discreet and honest men of Fairfield who shall be Governors of the Chapel and Almshouses". This established the Governors who are still involved with the appointment of incumbents today. In 1650, the Parliamentary Commissioners proposed, “that Fayrefield parochial chapelry of Hope, is fit to be made a parish church”, and “the following hamlets also being members of Hope, shall be included; Pigtor, Cowlow, Baylie Flatt and Lowfoot".

By 1815 there was a petition to build a new church. In 1837 Fairfield was made a separate parish from Hope, having full parochial rights from 1852. Little happened until 1838 when the Reverend George Mounsey, Curate of Fairfield who was also Schoolmaster of the Fairfield Free School along with Joseph William Swann, Schoolmaster, led an appeal for the total rebuilding of the church and within ten months demolition began. Fairfield Church retains its own Vicar, a Vicarage and its own ecclesiastical identity, ministering to a population of over 9,500

The scheme to add transepts, a chancel, organ chamber, new vestry and south door porch was launched in the 1880s at an estimated cost of £3,000. In 1893 a new organ was installed and the porch was built in 1897. On November 12th 1901 the foundation for the enlargements was laid, and on All Saints Day 1902 the extension was consecrated. It was at this time that a painting of a cherub was found hidden in the enclosed parts of the ceiling. This may have been part of a mediaeval Madonna scene and was probably concealed during the persecution under Queen Mary 1553-1558. It is on display in the church today. Many new internal fittings were provided at this time.

In 1959 serious defects, including dry rot and woodworm, were found in the south transept and the roof trusses. These had to be replaced and the new beams were carved with the date 1959 in gold. Scaffolding was in place for most of that year and 1960.

In 1978 the staircase to the belfry and balcony was altered and the ‘Chapel of the Holy Spirit’ was established in the North Transept. A number of pews were removed to provide a play area at the back of church and the font was moved from under the gallery to its present position. The font was sited in the original chapel and dates back to the 13th century.

Fairfield Vicarage was not officially a glebe house as it was owned by the Trustees of Fairfield Church until 1927 and has since been maintained by the Diocese of Derby. The roof was repaired in 1992, resolving a problem that was first referred to in 1956. Ornate iron railings were fitted to the perimeter walls in 1994 replacing the original ones that were removed in 1942 as part of the “War Effort”. During 2006 the Vicarage underwent substantial internal and external improvements leaving the Vicar with a home fit for the 21st Century.

St Peter's Church Hall was built in 1933/34 following the decision by the Parochial Church Council at their meeting on 17 February 1930 to replace the previous corrugated hall with a substantive building. Under the supervision of the Reverend Howell Saunders-Williams work began in September 1933 with the foundation stone being laid by His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, in the presence of 700 people on Saturday, 30 September 1933.

The church hall has been used for various purposes including the Church Centenary Celebrations in 1939 and the provision of hot midday meals for school children between 1942 and 1971. Recently there has been a renewed interest in the hall and in 1993 the scullery, kitchen and toilet areas were completely renovated. In 2006 the external facade was significantly improved with new windows and doors, new barge boards and a complete external re- decoration. A significant contribution towards the cost of this project was made by the people of Fairfield either by direct donations or by their support of fundraising events. Today the Church Hall is used for meetings, jumble sales, sales of work, craft fairs, Sunday school, play-group, dancing classes and is hired out to other organisations.

The Churchyard is the burial place not only of Fairfield residents but also of people from the wider locality including Burbage and Fernilee (these areas had no church of their own until 1861/1871) and Buxton visitors who came to take the spa waters. Some of the oldest gravestones date back to the late seventeenth century including two that are located on the left hand approach to the church which bear the dates 1677 and 1709. Many old tombstones have been removed but some interesting inscriptions remain including that of Ferdinando Dakin 1775 which makes reference to the practice of body snatching and reads: ’I chose this place to be my bed, let no vile hands dig up the ded’. The churchyard was extended in the early 1950s and again in the 1960/70s. The first placing of cremated remains took place in 1959 and a few years later a small garden of remembrance was created along the rear path. New gates were presented to the church in 1957. There is only one vault in Fairfield churchyard, to the memory of the Guyler family. The churchyard closed to new burials in 2007.