[2] The church was a Benedictine monastery founded in 1089 as Micklegate Priory, York by Ralph Paynel, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

The site had previously been used for Christ Church, a house of secular canons.

The south aisle was rebuilt during a restoration between 1850 and 1851 by JB and W Atkinson of York.

Kempe, whose work features extensively, stands as one of the leading national figures in nineteenth and twentieth century decorative art.1 The church also contains windows by two of York's most significant exponents of the Gothic Revival, Barnett and Knowles.

Although seemingly insignificant, the Pace/Stammers window represents the collaboration between one of Britain's most influential modern architects and one of the UK's most important twentieth-century stained glass designers.