The church, which is a Grade II listed building[4] is on a ridge of land between Meanwood Beck and the Aire Valley, on the north-west side of the city.

Its architect, James Barlow Fraser (1835–1922), took advantage of this prominent location by including a three-stage pointed steeple; its blackened stone is a local landmark.

Wrangthorn is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Leeds, arranging services on Sundays, in addition to baptisms, weddings, and funerals.

It is the venue for a variety of community events including music performances and practice, hospitality for the weekly Woodhouse Moor parkrun, and the annual June Project of volunteering within Hyde Park.

Prior to its development as an area of dense housing in the mid 19th century, Hyde Park did not have an identity of its own and was part of the wider parish of Woodhouse and Wrangthorn.

[5] The Society provided temporary and movable iron churches, each with a capacity of 300, for communities to meet in while funds were raised for a permanent structure; this was open on the site by February 1867, with a Sunday school operating by August.

[6] When no longer required, the iron churches were usually resold for a similar use on another site where they housed another congregation saving and raising money to build a more lasting structure.

It was mostly constructed during 1870-71 - the general contractor was Thomas Whiteley and a number of smaller firms such as Messrs. Heaps and Robinson sub-contracted to provide ironmongery and other similar items - and was ready to be consecrated by 8 November 1871, having cost about £8,500 (equivalent to £1,000,000 in 2023).

[4] The elegant Victorian interior is a five-bay nave with a floor of red and black tiles, polished marble columns, foliate capitals and chamfered pointed arches.

[4] The pulpit is constructed of inlaid marble on square and cylindrical squat columns, decorated with elaborate mosaics on three sides, including one of a comparatively rare image of a pelican.

[8] The chancel arch is supported by short black marble shafts and has a painted vaulted wooden ceiling, most notably but subtly decorated with a crown of thorns.

The reredos is of pink-veined marble in the Gothic Revival style and has a central mosaic depicting the Last Supper, in memory of members of Fraser's family.