This prestigious institution was founded in 1862 as a part of the vision of Christian missionaries to contribute significantly towards the life of the Christian youth and the society as a whole. The famous educational institution had a very humble beginning a school in Husainabad area of the old city of Lucknow. Over the years, the school was raised to the level of a college with a long and proud history. The Husainabad School House was established by Rev. J.H.Messmore, a pioneer educationist missionary in Lucknow. It was later shifted to Inayat Bagh, which is now a part of college campus, and was raised to the level of high school in 1882. The Lucknow Christian College later expanded to six units, the Degree College being one of the units. The school which was the stepping stone of a huge educational vision still remains under the umbrella of the Lucknow Christian College Society.

The Centennial School was established in 1877 and was raised to high school in 1882. Similarly Reid Christian Intermediate College came to existence in 1888 and in 1889 it started degree classes in Arts and Science.

As the demand for professional courses increased, Teachers Training Course was initiated in 1932 and in the same year Mr. E. W. Ted Mumby, an Olympic coach and a pioneer physical education teacher of north India, established the College of Physical Education which is one of the six units and is run from the Reid Hall Campus of the College.