It is located on Duncan Terrace to the east of Upper Street close to the centre of Islington.

Other priests were reported to be hiding in the area: a Fr Williams and Thomas Clarke in 1592, and three stayed around 1600.

On 27 September 1841, the foundation stone of the church was laid and blessed by Bishop Thomas Griffiths, the Vicar Apostolic of the London District.

The architect of the church was the same person who designed the school chapel, Joseph John Scoles.

According to Historic England, Augustus Pugin "castigated" the church calling it "the most original combination of modern deformity that has been executed for some time past".

[2] Nevertheless, the architect Joseph Hansom defended the building in the architecture journal, The Builder, stating that Pugin needed saving "from himself", and that the church is "fine and noble".

They were designed by Scoles to be symmetrical, but when they were finished in 1877, they were made asymmetrical, as decided by the priest at that time, Canon Oakeley.

In 1859, the fresco in the St Francis of Assisi side chapel was painted by Edward Armitage.