[1] The site is part of a continuing tradition of Anglican worship established during the first years of European settlement on the Darling Downs.

The Reverend John Gregor visited the area, holding services in camps and private homes from 1840 until his death in 1848.

The energetic Reverend Benjamin Glennie succeeded him and in 1850 was appointed the first Incumbent for the Darling Downs, having previously made yearly trips to the area.

By this time, the focal point of activity on the Downs was swinging some six kilometres northwards to an area known as "The Swamp", later to become Toowoomba.

In February 1853 Glennie sought permission to collect subscriptions for buildings at Drayton, Warwick, Dalby and Toowoomba on his tours throughout his parish.

After considering costs in several different materials, it was decided to build a stone church and the tender for £850 by builders Seath, Hobart and Watson was accepted on 26 March 1886.

[1] The original church was used as a Sunday school and in 1901 was taken down, moved slightly and rebuilt, the shingles being replaced by corrugated iron.

In 1903 a new rectory was built opposite the original church site to the design of William Hodgen, another noted Toowoomba architect and founder of an architectural dynasty, who undertook work throughout southern and western Queensland.

[1] Between 1923 and 1935 the Reverend Samuel Atherton was Rector at St Matthew's and was responsible for a series of major projects to improve and extend the church.

In the process the rectory was made more convenient by relocating the previously detached kitchen, pantry and bathroom.

[1] In 1933 extensive work was undertaken to remove the old timber sanctuary and replace it in bluestone as originally intended.

The site of the original church, on the corner of Cambooya and Rudd Streets, Drayton, is now marked by a cairn.

[1] The interior is painted plaster and the nave has an open, timbered ceiling supported by king posts and hammer beams.

[1] The former rectory is set back from the corner of Cambooya and Glennie Streets and is a single-storey timber house on low stumps with a roof clad in corrugated iron.

[1] St Matthews Church of England was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

St Matthews is associated with the early development of Drayton and of the Anglican church in Queensland, being the oldest parish on the Darling Downs.

The stonework of St Matthews is well constructed and the building is a rare example of a church built in the local bluestone.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.

St Matthew's Church has strong associations with the life and work of James Marks, one of a family of prominent architects in Toowoomba.