The church is a Grade I listed building.

[1] The Holy Cross church is the oldest building in Ryton and dates back to 1220.

The most striking feature of the church is its 13th-century broach spire which is 36 m tall.

Other well known artefacts include a 13th-century Frosterley Marble effigy of a deacon holding a book.

These include: Thomas Secker (1727), later the Archbishop of Canterbury; Charles Thorp (1807) virtual founder and first warden of the University of Durham; and The Hon.