the church was built by the gilbertine order as a chapel of ease for malton priory. the church passed into the hands of the church of england after the dissolution of the monasteries by henry viii. in 1971 the church was restored to catholic hands when the church of england gave it to the catholics of malton in an ecumenical gesture. as it dates from 1180, it is the oldest church currently in use by catholics in england, a distinction formerly held by st etheldreda's, london (built some time between 1250 and 1290).