The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest.

The main body of the present building (at least the third on the site) dates from the end of the reign of Edward III (1377) to that of Henry VII (1485–1509).

In the Foundation Deed, Mellers provided that a Commemoration Service should be held in the church "on the Feast of The Translation of St Richard of Chichester".

The workhouse was demolished in 1895 to clear part of the site needed for the construction of the Nottingham Victoria railway station.

Source:[22][additional citation(s) needed] It was at St Mary's that the practice of laying on of hands by the Bishop during a confirmation service was first observed ca.

The intention of the design of the doors is to illustrate the Life of Our Lord in its relation with the Holy Mother to whom the church is dedicated and by the general treatment to suggest the idea of pity.

In the tympanum enclosed within a vesica the Holy Mother supports and cherishes the body of Christ, while in the spandrels, on either side, the gates of Death and Life are suggested: the Dove, typifying the spirit, enters weary into the one and issues strong-winged from the other, thus symbolising the unending round of Death and Life.

The dedicatory inscription "In loving memory of Francis Morse, 1818–1886, Father, Pastor, Friend" in the form of a pierced cresting, divides the tympanum from the doors themselves.

Below these come "The Nativity", followed by "The Epiphany", and the lowest panel shows the Salvator Mundi on a Cross of branching vine.

At the foot of the Cross stand Adam and Eve, conscious of the fall, while the doves of peace and pardon hover overhead.

The subjects of the panels on the right door of the leaf are "The flight into Egypt"; "The Baptism in the Jordan"; "The entry into Jerusalem"; The three Maries at the Sepulchre"; and "The Resurrection".

In this panel the Saviour is shown emerging from the tomb and while still bound with the grave clothes, the Spirit of Life, in the form of a Dove, flies to His breast, and overhead the birds sing at the coming of a new Dawn.

The church has a fine collection of late Victorian stained glass windows by many famous makers, including Kempe, Burlison and Grylls and Hardman & Co.[38] The reredos above the altar is by the artist Charles Edgar Buckeridge.

It is also known for its octagonal mediaeval font with a palindromic Greek inscription ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ (Wash my transgressions, not only my face),[39] and a rather battered alabaster tomb fragment which portrays a lily crucifix[40] and a Nottingham alabaster panel depicting Archbishop Thomas Becket.

In recent years, in addition to its function as a place of worship, St Mary's is the venue for a wide range of concerts and public performances.

The church retains the traditional liturgical colours and the principal services are sung by a robed choir.

The vicarage of St Mary's was formerly at Washington House on High Pavement, but with the increasing industrialisation of the Lace Market at the end of the 19th century, the church purchased a new residence opposite the castle gatehouse.

The funding had been raised and the bells were expected to peal specially for the coronation of King Charles III, albeit with scaffolding supporting the masonry.