The church was built in several stages beginning in 1879, and outstanding debts meant that its official dedication did not take place until 1979.

More houses were built later in the 19th century on the road itself and on streets running to the north and south, and by 1900 the area was densely populated.

[1] A Roman Catholic place of worship has existed at the bottom (west) end of Elm Grove since the late 1860s.

Recent research has found that a temporary mission chapel, completed in 1869, stood on the site now occupied by St Joseph's.

)[1][3][4] A local resident, Matthew Haddock, died in the 1870s; in his will he expressed a wish for a permanent church to be built to replace the mission chapel, and his wife donated £10,000 of bonds to fund this.

Hansom, a member of a family of architects known for their work on Roman Catholic churches, was commissioned to continue the project.

His plans were less ambitious, and by 1883 he had completed the east end of the church, which consisted of one polygonal apse flanked by two smaller versions.

[11] It is responsible for the administration of St Francis of Assisi's church on the Moulsecoomb estate in northeast Brighton.