When formal Roman Catholic worship returned to Maidenhead in 1867, William Wilberforce (eldest son of the Abolitionist William Wilberforce) let his study to be used for the celebration of Mass. Later in the year, Wilberforce converted the Old Bull Inn into a Chapel and Priest’s House. The inn was part of his estate and stood on the High Street, where St Ives Road is now.
In 1879 Canon John Scannell acquired a ‘finely situate’ acre of land as the site for a Parish Church and set about raising funds to erect a building to accommodate the town’s growing Catholic population. The eminent architect Leonard Stokes was appointed and the builders were Messrs Silver and Sons and Filewood. The opening ceremony and dedication of the church to St Joseph was performed by the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Right Rev Dr Virtue, on 18th December 1884.