The Daveys of Overy Manor were a recusant* Catholic family who, from 1570 and, over several generations, adhered to their Catholic faith in times of great persecution. In 1849, after the Catholic Emancipation Act, John Davey gave the land and paid for the building of the present church. He commissioned William Wilkinson Wardell, an eminent architect and colleague of Augustus Pugin, to be the architect. Wardell eventually emigrated to Australia and became the architect of the Cathedral churches in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as many other Australian churches.

The design of the church is in the style of a 14th Century Gothic chapel. It is built of Littlemore stone with a Caen stone embellishments and statuary. Under a canopy on the west wall is a carved statue of St. Birinus and in the gable end of the porch is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Divine Child. The interior is a simple rectangular nave and chancel, with a canopied sedile and piscina, under a painted and gilded ceiling. The wooden traceried rood screen is part of the original furnishings provided by John Davey. The stained glass windows in the sanctuary were made by Ward and Nixon in 1849 for the opening of the church by Archbishop Ullathorne OSB.

The church was restored extensively from 2004-2009. The interior restoration was carried out according to the principles of Sir Ninian Comper.

*Recusant: An English Roman Catholic of the time from about 1570 to 1791 who refused to attend services of the Church of England and thereby committed a statutory offence.