
On 4 June 1837, Heber C. Kimball was set apart to open a mission in England. Over the next few days Orson Hyde, Joseph Fielding, and Willard Richards were called to join him. The first missionaries to England arrived in Liverpool on 20 July 1837. The first branch in England was organized in Preston on 6 August 1837.
Beginning in 1854, the President of the British Mission also held the title of President of the European Mission, which meant that he supervised the presidents of the other missions in Europe. This changed in 1928 when the European Mission president no longer operated as the British Mission President.
The boundaries of the actual mission would fluctuate. When initially founded it had Ireland and Wales within its boundaries. Wales was its own mission from 1845 to 1864, and Ireland from 1854 to 1867. When both missions closed they were reabsorbed into the British Mission.