In the 9th century this part of Zuid-Holland was still inhabited by pagan Frisians. A Scottish nobleman named Jeroen started to convert the local population of a village that was called Northgo then. In 856 he was murdered by invading Vikings because he refused to renounce his faith. The name of St. Jeroen has been connected to the village ever since. In 1429 Noordwijk officially became a place of pilgrimage. The Reformation ended this tradition, which in 1892 was restored.
Noordwijk consists of two parts. Noordwijk-Binnen is the actual village. Despite the Reformation its population remained largely catholic. The fishing village Noordwijk aan Zee is the other part, and became mostly protestant.

The reformed church in Noordwijk-Binnen was built after 1450, except for the 12th-century tower which was the only building in the village that survived a great fire that year. The size of the church is partly the result of Noordwijk's importance as a place of pilgrimage. It's a three-aisled pseudo-basilica in Gothic style. The tower features elements of both Romanesque and Gothic styles.

Noordwijk-Binnen, despite the Reformation, continued to have a large catholic community. When the pilgrimage was restored in 1892, a bigger catholic church was needed, named St. Jeroen. Architect N. Molenaar designed it,   

Noordwijk aan Zee had been a fishing village since the Middle Ages and became mostly protestant during the Reformation. A protestant church is the Gereformeerde Kerk. It was designed by Tj. Kuipers in Rationalistic style and dates from 1899.

A second Roman Catholic church was built in Noordwijk aan Zee in 1949-1951, named Maria ter Zee. Architect was J. van der Laan, member of a family of architects. He took inspiration from early-christian basilicas.

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