In ancient times, the border of Ryazan ran along the Lybed River. On the steep right bank, at the exit to the Astrakhan road, there was an ancient outpost and a wooden church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In 1676, there were 101 parish houses and 80 coachmen in the Yamskaya sloboda.

Today's stone Nikolsk-Dvoryanskaya or Old-Yamskaya Nikolsk church, with the main altar in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, was built in 1767, and the bell tower was added in 1805. The church had two chapels: the left in honor of the Protection of the Holy Virgin and the right in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. In the autumn of 1812, during the Patriotic War, the famous Moscow architect M.F. Kazakov was buried in the walls of this church after he died unexpectedly following the evacuation from Moscow to Ryazan and was interred in the necropolis of the Holy Trinity Monastery. In 1866, a new iconostasis was created in the church by the famous Moscow master Galaktion Lebedev, which stood until 1917.

The Nikolsk-Dvoryansk church, conveniently located on the steep bank of the Lybed River and found in the center of the city, was visible from almost all sides, especially well from the Lybed Bridge on Astrakhan Street. A parish school operated at the church.

In 1782, Empress Catherine II approved the "General Plan" for the development of Ryazan. The Astrakhan road, which ran from Ryazan through Ryazhsk, intersected with Ryazhskaya Yesenina Street, and a new Yamskaya outpost was established at their intersection, now known as Theater Square, while the old outpost on the Lybed River lost its significance. Then, 21 years after the construction of the stone Old-Yamskaya Nikolsk church on the bank of the Lybed, a tall stone Novoyamskaya Nikolsk church was built near the new Yamskaya outpost, which is now located on Tsialkovsky Street. The Old-Yamskaya Nikolsk church was then referred to by the locals as Nikolsk-Dvoryanskaya to avoid confusion.

After 1917, the bell tower and the dome with the cross over the altar part of the Nikolsk-Dvoryansk church, as well as the iconostasis, were destroyed. The ancient bells, icons, and other church property were expropriated by the new authorities. The church building, which had fallen into disrepair over the years of neglect, was used as a training point for the automotive college.