It is a Gothic Revival church founded by the Oblates of St Charles and particularly, Fr Henry Rawes who paid for it.

It is situated on Pottery Lane, southwest of Avondale Park in Notting Hill, and is a Grade II* listed building.

That mission soon grew and from it, was built St Mary of the Angels Church, Bayswater, which was designed by Henry Clutton and John Francis Bentley.

The building of the church was entirely paid for by Henry Rawes, a priest and local superior of the Oblates in Notting Hill.

In 1865, Bentley donated more furnishings to the church, such as the cover for the baptismal font, a monstrance, processional cross, candlesticks and vestments.

According to Historic England, on 16 April 1862, Bentley was "apparently the first person to be baptised in the font he designed," and "he took his middle name, Francis, from the dedication of the church.

On 4 October 1982, the hall was opened by David Konstant, then an auxiliary bishop of the Westminster archdiocese, who also blessed an Arthur Fleischmann–designed statue of St Francis of Assisi.