[2] From the 12th century, Kingston was a chapelry of nearby Corfe Castle, served by a chapel of ease in the east of the village.

[3] In 1833, John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, demolished the old chapel and rebuilt it, at his own expense, on the same site to become the parish church.

Due to its prominent and exposed position, located on a limestone escarpment in the Purbeck Hills some 135 metres (443 feet)[8] above sea level, the church suffered extensive weathering and significant erosion from storms.

Gavin Stamp suggested 13th-century French Gothic influences in the apse, and that Kingston's tower was based upon the church at Norrey-en-Bassin, located in Normandy, France.

[10][11] David Brownlee believed Kingston was based upon the Church of the Holy Angels at Hoar Cross in Staffordshire, which was designed by Street's friend George Frederick Bodley.

[10] Nikolaus Pevsner noted that the stair turret on Kingston's north transept was a replica of that at Christchurch Priory, at the time in Hampshire, now in Dorset.

[2]For such a small parish, having a population of only 166 residents (2011 estimate[12]), the present church is of substantial size, giving it the nickname of the "Cathedral of the Purbecks".

The main feature of the nave is the large rose window, reminiscent of that at Lausanne Cathedral, Switzerland,[14] which was designed by Street and executed by Clayton and Bell.

[4] Unlike the transepts, chancel and crossing, neither the nave nor aisles are vaulted in stone, instead, the wagon roof, featuring purlins, is open to the church.

The crossing features the original Victorian choir stalls, made of oak, and can seat ten choristers on each side.

The chancel is the most richly decorated part of the church, with Purbeck marble shafts lining the windows, and it is raised several steps above the level of the crossing.

[2] The church has fine ceramic Victorian floor tiles, of various sizes and designs, most likely manufactured by Mintons of Stoke-upon-Trent.

[15] The exterior of the church is built from broken shell limestone, otherwise known as Burr, sourced from within the 3rd Earl of Eldon's own estate at Blashenwell Farm Pit, less than a mile away.

The columns and pillars of the arches are made from polished Purbeck marble, famous for its use in the 'great churches' in England, such as Salisbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

[13][17] The greater part of the interior, including the walls and arches are made from Portland stone, famous for its use in St Paul's Cathedral.

[15][18] The oak for the choir stalls, doors, organ case and roofs were taken from mature trees in the Eldon estate at Stowell Park in Gloucestershire.

[7][19] The chancel steps, which raise the sanctuary above the crossing and nave, were made of crinoidal limestone from the Peak District in Derbyshire.

John Taylor & Co of Loughborough were commissioned to cast the bells in 1878, and these were a ring of eight, with a tenor of 28 and a half hundredweight (1448 kilograms).