The rest of the church was demolished in 1870. After all, restoring the centuries-old church was too expensive, so the parish packed its bags and moved to a new church in nearby Stuivekenskerke.
Observation post
The church tower itself was severely damaged by artillery shelling during the Battle of the Yser in 1914. The flooded Oud-Stuivekenskerke was part of an advanced Belgian observation post right on the Yser.
From the church tower, Belgian soldiers kept an eye on German troop movements a few hundred meters away.