It exemplifies 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture adapted to colonial conditions and materials, and stands at 34 Mulgrave Street, Pipitea, close to Parliament Buildings.

[3] Agreement to build the church was reached by 1861[3] and the Reverend Frederick Thatcher, then vicar of St Paul's, Thorndon, was engaged as the architect.

After a significant battle to prevent its demolition, Old St Paul's was purchased by the New Zealand Government in 1967, and subsequently restored by the Ministry of Works under the guidance of Peter Sheppard.

Some of the walls and columns of Old St Paul's are decorated with memorial plaques, including many dedicated to those who fought and died in World War I.

There is a plaque in memory of Wellington historian John Beaglehole, most famous for his biography of explorer James Cook, but who also played a significant role in the fight to save Old St Paul's from demolition.