[1] It was designed by gentleman architect Thomas Archer and built between 1712 and 1730 in Deptford, which was then a settlement in Kent but is now part of South East London.

He began almost immediately, designing it in his usual Roman Baroque style[4] and completing the fabric and most of the decoration by 1720 (though work continued until its consecration in 1730).

The structural damage was confined to the east end, where much of the stained glass was lost and the joinery and decorative finishes were badly charred.

The most unusual feature of the building is the cylindrical tower with a steeple, around which is wrapped a semi-circular portico of four giant Tuscan columns; colossal pilasters articulate the body of the church facades.

[13] The body of the church is approximately square in plan, with its pedimented roof set transversely.

Two additional, liturgically and practically unnecessary[14] side entrances in the middle of the walls, each approached by a grand divided symmetrical staircase, suited to a Palladian villa.