[1] With the population of South Kensington expanding in the mid-Victorian period and the opening of Gloucester Road tube station in 1865, the Rev.

John Sinclair, Vicar of Kensington and Archdeacon of Middlesex, arranged for the purchase of land from the Alexander estate to establish several new churches, including St Stephen's.

[2][3] A temporary iron church was erected on the east side of Gloucester Road in 1865 while designs were sought for a permanent building.

Lord Victor Seymour as vicar in 1900: the architects George Frederick Bodley and Walter Tapper erected the reredos in gilded wood behind the high altar, as well as galleries for the choir and organ.

St Stephen's played a prominent role in the development of his Christian faith as he explored the traditions and disciplines of Anglo-Catholic worship and devotional practices.