The church is dedicated to St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered in 1170 by a group of four English knights acting – so they mistakenly believed – on the orders of Henry II.

The four murderers were instructed, in order to atone for their sins, to serve a period as confreres (associate brothers) of the Knights Templar, but it is believed that one of them, Hugh de Morville, also elected to found a chapel dedicated to the saint as a private penance.

The Hospital of St Mary Magdalene was founded just outside Newcastle by Henry I to cater for those afflicted with leprosy, a disease brought to the Country by returning Crusaders.

James I incorporated the hospital and the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr into a single institution under the government of a Master, the first of these being a Mr Jennison.

The Newcastle architect John Dobson was hired to design the new church, and he produced an elegant Gothic-style building at a cost of £6000.

1856 saw the untimely death of Rev Richard Clayton, Master of St Thomas's, and a local evangelical light.

In his place the city authorities decided to appoint Clement Moody, vicar of Newcastle and a high churchman opposed to evangelicalism.

The modern St Thomas the Martyr has no parish, but neither is it a Peculiar (ecclesiastical enclave), making it unique in the Church of England.

It was formally separated from the Hospital of St Mary Magdalene in 1978, but the senior priest of the church is still referred to as the Master.

Its proximity to the City Hall and to both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities mean it acts as semi-official church to these institutions, but it also provides regular services for the Royal British Legion, various Regimental Associations and the Mothers’ Union, amongst other groups.

In recent years, conductor and organist Miles Cragg has presided at the organ for a number of carol services.

St Thomas's has a reputation for involvement in social issues, most notably trade justice, developing countries' debt and related subjects.