It was built in 1869 and designed by Joseph Hansom in the Gothic Revival style.

It housed the nuns, while an orphanage, St Mary's Priory, was built on the site.

[4] In 1867, a Mr Potts Chatto, from the Daison estate, in thanksgiving for his son, Denis, recovering from a serious illness, paid for the construction of a church in the grounds of Southampton Villa.

Southampton Villa was later demolished and the tower and spire of the church were built in its place.

An organ and lady chapel were later added to the church, they were paid for by Mrs Potts-Chatto.