In 1177 the parish of St. James is mentioned as part of the abbey of St. Thomas (from which Thomas St. got its name), and the church of St. Catherine was a chapel-of-ease to the abbey.
The parish of St. Catherine appears to have been the only viable one in the area at that time - Roman Catholics eventually got the use of a chapel in Dirty Lane (now Bridgefoot Street) towards the end of the 17th century.