Church Of St Thomas

The Church of St Thomas is a Grade II* listed church located on the north side of West Street in Lees. It was built in 1848 by E.H. Shellard for the Church Commissioners, with a tower added in 1855, an organ chamber in 1885, and minor improvements in 1889. The church is constructed from hammer-dressed stone and features a slate roof. It has a nave, aisles, a west tower, and a chancel, which is flanked by a vestry and an organ chamber, all designed in the Perpendicular Gothic revival style.

The church has a six-bay nave and a two-bay chancel, both with a continuous sill band and a castellated parapet. Each bay is supported by weathered buttresses topped with crocketed pinnacles, and features a two-light window beneath a hoodmould with carved stops. The porch in the second bay displays the date 1848 above its arched door. The east end is adorned with a four-light window. The west tower is castellated and consists of four stages, featuring a four-centred arch door, a four-light west window, clock faces, three-light belfry openings, and diagonal buttresses that rise into crocketed pinnacles.

Inside, the church has a double-chamfered nave arcade supported by octagonal columns. The roof is formed by hammer-beam trusses that spring from carved head corbels. There is no clerestory, but dormer windows provide light. A west gallery features a blind-arcaded parapet. The interior includes poppyhead pews, a carved pulpit, dado panelling, and canopied choir stalls made by Shaw of Uppermill. Additionally, there is a carved stone reredos and sanctuary panelling, along with stained glass, much of which was created by Capronnier between 1874 and 1898.