The church was founded in the late 19th century, and prospered during the colonial and post-colonial periods.

[1] The foundation stone was laid on 26 February 1841 by the then Governor James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie[2] and the first church service was held on 21 August 1842.

As the congregation diminished and the Colombo fort area became more commercialised, a decision was made to relocate the church to a site in Colpetty.

The foundation stone was laid by Governor Sir Henry Arthur Blake on 16 August 1906.

[4] The church was designed by Edward Skinner, a Scottish born architect, and constructed by Walker Sons and Company.

[4] In 1948, Sri Lanka won independence from the British rule and in the following decades, most of the British and Scottish community in the country returned home to the United Kingdom, which drastically reduced the church's traditional European congregation.

[1][3] The congregation is now a mixture of Sri Lankans, expatriates and international visitors, and maintains an English-speaking Protestant form of worship and a keen interest in Christian social service in the midst of a largely non-Christian society.