In the 18th century, the church was called Nikolaevskaya "what is behind the earthen rampart" or "what is behind the earthen city," and sometimes "what is in the Paltseva sloboda," named after the merchants Paltsevs. In the mid-19th century, to distinguish it from other churches of St. Nicholas in Tula, it retained the name "what is behind the rampart," although the rampart itself, which ran along the current Soviet street, disappeared at the end of the 18th century. This name has survived to this day. According to some sources, a wooden church was built here in 1600, and the construction of the stone building began in 1703. By 1705, the lower church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was completed, and by 1712, the upper church in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. The icons of the church were copied from the images of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and other ancient Moscow icons. The upper church was cold, while the lower one was warm. The church was referred to as both Nikolaevskaya and Vladimirskaya.

The main donations for the construction of the stone church were made by Simeon Yakovlevich Gubin, as well as the Paltsevs, Druzhinins, Ksenofontovs, and Sabinins. In 1770, an altar in honor of St. Nil of Stolbensk was added to the lower church, which was moved to the right side in 1826, and in 1835, an altar in honor of Archdeacon Stephen was arranged on the left side. In 1831, an altar in honor of Kirik and Iulita appeared in the upper church, and in 1832, in honor of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh, where a part of his omophorion was kept. The altar was arranged by merchant M. I. Fedurkin. The stone bell tower was built in 1833 with funds from Ivan and Alexander Tatarinov. It had seven bells, the largest of which weighed 100 poods and was cast in Moscow in 1794. On April 1, 1800, the church suffered from flooding, with water flooding the lower church and damaging some parts. The church was repeatedly subjected to flooding, but without serious consequences. In 1851 and 1856, a two-story stone house with an annex was built next to the church instead of a one-story almshouse known since 1782. The lower floor housed the almshouse, while the upper floor and annex were rented out. The proceeds were used to maintain the church and almshouse, which was designed for 20 people. Initially intended for the poor, it became a place for the poor of spiritual rank in 1862. In 1895, a church parish school was opened at the church. On the Tula map of 1891, the street where the church stood was called Vladimirskaya, and on the 1908 map, Nikolozavalskaya. In 1927, the street was renamed Voykov Street. The Nikolozavalskaya church was closed by the decree of the presidium of the Tula regional executive committee on February 19, 1924.

The document indicates that the church was sealed a year before the official closure. Subsequently, the authorities planned to dismantle the building, but this did not happen, as documents from liquidated institutions were brought to the church, and there was nowhere to put them. Since 1926, the building housed the Tula Regional Archive. In 1991, the church building was recognized as a monument of history and culture of regional significance. In September 2014, the church was returned to the believers, and restoration work is currently underway.