The church became collegiate when Richard Whitton was appointed by the Bishop of Durham Rt Revd Robert Neville as the first Dean of Darlington in 1439.

A major restoration took place in 1864-65 by the architects George Gilbert Scott of London and James Pigott Pritchett of Darlington.

[5] The work involved removal of the galleries and ceilings, the opening out of the gable windows in the nave and transepts, the rearranging of the pews, and the replacing of several stalls which had been destroyed.

A lectern by Messrs King and Collie of Durham was presented by Miss Topham.

Later work by Binns Fitton & Haley and Bishop & Son in 1987 has resulted in a 38 stop 3 manual and pedal organ.