The building stood on the site of the present church hall and the diarist, Thomas Hearne, described it in 1724 as a ‘very small, mean building’ which ‘cannot, by the make of the building, be very ancient’. Whatever its age its condition must, by then, have been deteriorating, through lack of maintenance. By the middle of the 18th century it was probably nearing its end and in 1783 the Rector of Sunningwell reported to the Bishop that no trace of it remained. In 1828 a new church was built on the old site by Henry Bowyer, rector of Sunningwell and brother of the Lord of the Manor, Sir George Bowyer. The curate of Sunningwell was placed in charge and its arrangement remained in being until 1866 when Kennington became an ecclesiastical parish in its own right.

The 1828 building with seats for 80 people was large enough to cater for a purely farming community but as Kennington began to grow in size after the first war, the need for a larger church became obvious, but it was not until after the second world war that it became possible to start building it. Land next to the existing church had been donated for the purpose in 1936 and 20 years later the foundation stone of the present church was laid

The official opening and blessing of the church took place on June 17, 1934. The building was designed by Harrison and Company (Birmingham) and Grove Brothers of MiIton-under-Wychwood constructed the design using stone from Chadlington near Woodstock.