There is little doubt that there has been human settlement in the area around Wokingham for at least two thousand years. The Romans built a main road from Silchester to Staines through the area and in Saxon times the powerful tribe called the Woccingas, probably based in Woking, occupied the area and at some point gave their name to Wokingham. No mention is made of such a place in the Domesday Book, but when it does first emerge as a specific name in the historical record, in 1146, it is as a minor chaplaincy attached to the parish of Sonning. It was around 1190 that the Wokingham chapel was first dedicated to All Saints. It was later to become the Parish Church of the town.

At the census of 1861, the population of Wokingham was 4144 and a great deal of development was going on in the area. The railway had arrived; the line from Guildford to Reading had been built in 184~, and the direct line to London via Staines had followed in 1856. The Town Hall was opened in 1860, the same year as the Baptist Church had been re- built. There was also a Primitive Methodist Chapel in the town, and much restoration of All Saints Church was in progress. At this time, John Walter, living at Bearwood was at the height of his industrious powers and prosperity. He had inherited the Times newspaper from his father at the latter's death in 1847, as well as the country house at Bearwood. By 1860 he was extending his estate, buying land in much of the Arborfield, Wokingham and Sandhurst area. He pulled down the old Bearwood house and built the present mansion with its extensive grounds and large ornamental lake. As well as his penchant for building, he had a strong religious instinct. He had been very much influenced by the ideas of the Oxford Movement when he was at the University in the 1830s. This, coupled with his father's building of St Catherine's Church at Bearwood in 1846, lay at the root of his subsequent church building work.

St Paul's Church was built by John Walter, entirely at his own expense, during the period 1862-1864. It was consecrated by Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, on 23rd July 1864. For various reasons the original church building was not entirely satisfactory and within ten years it was found necessary to enlarge the church by the addition of the North and South Aisles. At the same time the acoustics of the building were improved by the construction of a new roof. Almost all of the basic fabric of the church therefore dates from the middle of Queen Victoria's reign, and is a product of that one period. When it was built it was described as being 'in the Decorated style of the 14th and 15th centuries'. Today it is probably most readily labelled as 'decorated Victorian Gothic'.

The architect of the church was Henry Woodyer of Grafham, near Guildford who, while not being one of the most outstanding names in Victorian architecture, is generally considered to have a high reputation. He was one of those who, under the influence of the Oxford Movement, used decorated detail in the Gothic style as an appropriate offering to the glory of God, in contrast to the prevailing industrial architecture of the day much of it of superb engineering quality, but essentially built as a monument to Man's achievements. John Walter's personal interest in the Oxford Movement must have influenced him in his choice of architect. The late John Betjeman wrote about Woodyer with approval, quoting St Paul's, Wokingham as a good example of his work. Among the most interesting ornaments in the church is the stained glass representing scenes from the life of St Paul, by Hardman of Birmingham. Also the organ, built by Willis, and the peal of eight bells, made by Warner, are notable. The principal dates in the history of the church are:

• 1862 Foundation stone laid
• 1864 Consecration of the church and churchyard
• 1874 Enlargement of the church, by the addition of the north and south aisles, and new roof
• 1892 The vestry enlarged to its present size
• 1938 The original Walter family pew converted to the present Walter Chapel
• 1950 The Lady Chapel in the north aisle was established
• 1951 The churchyard extension was consecrated.

St Paul’s Church was built and endowed by one man, John Walter. As it stands today, the church looks very much as it did when he had completed it. He bore the same name as his father and grandfather before him, and all three of them have their place in the history of this country through their respective parts in creating and developing The Times newspaper, but it is John Walter III who left his mark on Wokingham and its neighborhood by the buildings he erected, notably St Paul's Church and his own estate at Bearwood.

John Walter (III) was born in 1818, and after his father retired from Parliament in 1837, the family lived chiefly at Bearwood. In 1846 his father built St Catherine's Church at Bearwood but by this time he was a sick man, stricken with cancer and in 1847 he died. Thus John Walter became the sole proprietor of The Times on the death of his father. At this time he was 29 years old. He had studied Classics at Oxford and in the year of his father's death he was called to the Bar, at Lincoln 's inn. His time at Oxford had been during the heyday of the Oxford Movement and this had led to some temporary differences of opinion between himself and his father. Like most laymen of his age, his father distrusted the Oxford Movement and never brought himself to understand it. In contrast, like many young men of open minds at the University, John I1I fell under its influence and as a result a change carne over the attitude of The Times towards the Tractarian movement and its leaders.

In practice, John Walter committed most of the active management of The Times to others. His most important contribution was made in 1866 when he perfected a rotary press, which printed rapidly and simultaneously on both sides of a roll of paper. It was about this time that he was giving rein to his very strong inclination for building. He reconstructed The Times offices, and built the large mansion and estate at Bearwood, all to his own design. Though he was a Member of Parliament for many years, and owned the most influential newspaper of the day, his influence on public affairs was exercised unobtrusively. He was a man of a retiring disposition and, unlike the 'press barons' of later years he claimed no authority for his own opinions higher than they were worth. Though he had access to the organs of power, he chose not to use them and hiss personality has remained relatively obscure. His first wife died in 1858, and he remarried in 1861.There was a family tragedy on Christmas Eve 1870,when his eldest son was drowned in the lake at Bearwood. He himself died in 1894, aged 76, and was succeeded by his second son, Arthur Fraser Walter.