Fairfield Moravian Church and its surrounding Moravian Settlement was founded in 1785 by the Revd Benjamin La Trobe (1725-1786) as a centre for the evangelistic work of the Moravian Church in the Manchester area. The self-contained village is of exceptional national importance, being the earliest and largest of its kind in Britain. It was designed around a square with the church on the south side overlooking an avenue of trees, gardens and a graveyard. It is now a Tameside Conservation Area with all of its buildings being of special historic and architectural interest. The church with its contiguous manse and house is listed Grade II*, List Entry No. 1067981.

The Revd Benjamin La Trobe was a leader of the Moravian Church in Britain and he was of Huguenot (French Protestant) ancestry. He was married to Anna Margaretta Antes and their son, Benjamin Henry La Trobe (or Latrobe, 1764-1820), became an eminent neoclassical architect in the United States of America. In America he is especially recognised for his design of the United States Capitol, the White House porticos and Baltimore Basilica.

Revd Benjamin La Trobe.