The north side of the church has a small section dedicated to the Royal Air Force Regiment who had their home depot at the nearby RAF Catterick between 1946 and 1994.

St Paulinus was believed to have baptised converts to Christianity in the River Swale near to Catterick Bridge in the 7th century.

[6] At the time of the Anglo-Saxons, many Christian religious sites did not have permanent buildings, but a cross to designate the holy site; part of a shaft from an Anglo-Saxon cross is in the west wall of the north aisle and other pieces unearthed during an archaeological investigation in the 1920s, now reside in the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge.

[11] The contract has attracted scholars because it is written in a northern dialect of English, which makes it of "exceptional interest to the building historian.

[14] Whilst the contract allowed Richard of Cracall some free rein, in other places it stipulated building works that must be undertaken; the north window from the previous church was to installed at the new east window in the north aisle,[15] and stones were to be positioned at the western end to allow for the erection of a tower.

[16] The contract is dated 18 April 1412 and placed a demand upon Richard of Cracall to have the church completed by the time of the Feast of St John The Baptist in 1415, "unless sudden war or pestilence should afford sufficient excuse for delay".

[19] The tower measures 57 feet (17 m) from ground to the top and whilst it was not part of the original contract, provision was made at that time for the addition "of a steeple".

[10] Whilst the church has remained largely unaltered, the two chantry chapels were added during the latter part of the fifteenth century to accommodate burials from the de Burgh family.

It's octagonal bowl is inscribed with the coats of arms of many local noble families (de Burgh, Scroop, Neville, Fitzhugh and Lascelles).

[23][24] The interior of the church contains many plaques, brasses and monuments to the dead, including an effigy of Sir Walter Urswick who fought on the side of the Black Prince at the Battle of Nájera and who was later the Constable of Richmond Castle in 1371.

[35] The church has undergone two periods of restoration and refurbishment; firstly in 1851 under Atkinsons of York when the pews were made into a uniform standard and the doors were replaced.

[37] The stained glass window at the east end of the church depicts The Last Supper and is by William Wailes, being installed in 1862.