The church was founded by John Henry Newman, later Cardinal Newman of the Roman Catholic Church, and it became a centre of Anglo-Catholicism.

[1] The foundation stone was laid in 1835 by Jemima, mother of Newman, and the church was consecrated on 22 September 1836.

The stained glass had been designed by Louis Davis and was in memory of Vernon Green, a former vicar.

[5] The American poet Louise Imogen Guiney gave a crucifix sculpture to the church to mark the centenary of Cardinal Newman's birth in 1901.

[6] On 18 July 1963, the church was designated a grade II* listed building.