Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as "one of the largest and stateliest churches in Yorkshire", Simon Jenkins states it is "the best work in the county", and Alec Clifton-Taylor calls it the "glory of Rotherham".

The Domesday Book of 1086 records a church on the site, despite the future town only having a population of twelve households.

[6] This small Saxon church was replaced by a much larger Norman edifice during the 12th century, similar in plan to today's Minster.

This Norman church was built using Rotherham Red sandstone and decorated using Magnesium Limestone from Conisborough.

The chancel was rebuilt in the Decorated Gothic style in the early part of the 14th century, initially as a single storey.

John Shaw, the English puritan minister, took refuge in the tower at Rotherham Minster during an attack by Royalist forces in January 1643 when his sermon was interrupted.

Bullet holes in the roof found two hundred years later suggest they tried to flush him out, but he fled to Kingston upon Hull.

[7][10] Major restoration of the entire building took place from 1873 to 1875, led by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

Under his direction, the galleries and box pews were removed, the stonework cleaned and restored, and the roofs renovated.

The south transept ceiling and roof required more attention, and repairs were conducted using pine, rather than oak, as the natural resin found within it makes it resistant to insect damage.

The large Great East Window was given during this restoration by the Earl and Countess of Effingham, designed by Scott.

The Minster received £25,000 from the Cultural Recovery Fund in 2021, which meant the first stage of works to the window could begin.

[4] The Minster has a four-bay aisled nave some 105 feet (32 m) long, interrupted on the south side by the gabled porch.

The belfry stage is highly decorative, each opening flanked by pinnacled angle buttresses, transoms, and king mullions.

[4] The tower is crowned by a tall, recessed octagonal spire with crocheted ribs and pinnacled shafts that rise from the corners.

The arcade, which makes up the majority of the height of the nave, is separated from the clerestory above it by a narrow row of carved foliage.

Both of these misericords have a carved head of a man beneath a corbel shaped bracket, one with curled hair and one with horns.

There is a brass memorial to the victims of the First World War in Rotherham, located in the south wall, above which is a statue of George slaying the dragon.

Other notable memorials and burials include to Robert Dyson and to the members of the York and Lancaster Regiment in the First World War.

The older and more prominent organ dates back to 1777 and was manufactured by Johann Snetzler, funded by public subscription.

It was originally installed on a gallery on the chancel arch but was moved in 1843 to the north transept, with a small number of additions.

The organ received further work and enlargements in 1902 after water damage, 1905 by Gray & Davison and 1950 by an unidentified company.

The organ had a further rebuild in 1972 and was enlarged using pipework from the redundant Tiviot Dale Methodist Church in Stockport, completed with a new console.

By 1752, information in the present ringing room suggests there were six bells since a half peal was rung in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

At a meeting of the Church Bell Committee in April 1821, plans were laid out for the opening of this new ring of ten.

The opening continued over Tuesday too, and during the two days, the town was host to visitors from all over the country, so the Sheffield Iris newspaper reported.

The bells were increased in weight slightly after recasting, the new tenor coming out after tuning as 34.75 long cwt (1,765 kg).

The new treble bell was rung up during the service and reports describe it as a “sweet, velvety note, reminding one of the pure, clear and poetic beauty of a silvery-voiced choir-boy”.

Massive steel girders now brace and bond the walls, forming at the same time a foundation for the future augmentation to twelve, which took place in 1986 (see below).

[24][25][26][27][28] In the late 1950s, the then Ringing Master, Norman Chaddock, acted on advice he received from Fred Sharpe and had a sound control system installed.