Church of St Thomas is a Grade II listed building in the Rossendale local planning authority area, England. First listed on 30 November 1984. Church. 1 related planning application.
Church of St Thomas
- WRENN ID
- strange-entrance-owl
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Rossendale
- Constituency
- Rossendale and Darwen MP: Andy MacNae (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 30 November 1984
- Type
- Church
- Address
- Church of St Thomas, Helmshore Road, BB4 4JR
- OS grid reference
- SD 782 212
- Coordinates
- 53.68721, -2.33025
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Church of St Thomas, built between 1850 and 1851 by E.H. Shellard, is a church constructed of rock-faced sandstone with a two-span slate roof. It features a west tower topped with a broach spire, a nave, and a chancel, along with a north aisle that has a separate roof. The church is designed in the Decorated style, characterized by reticulated tracery.
The tower has three unequal stages with angle buttresses on the high first stage. It includes a moulded arched west doorway with a roll-moulded surround that rises from a very low string course, a small lancet window above the door, and similar lancets on the second stage. The belfry has two-light louvres, and the spire is adorned with two-light lucarnes on the cardinal sides, along with modern clock faces positioned below them.
The five-bay nave has one buttress and features a gabled porch on the second bay, with two-light traceried windows. The matching north aisle includes a two-light west window and a three-light east window, while the chancel boasts a larger three-light window, all showcasing reticulated tracery.
Inside, the church has a five-bay aisle arcade supported by octagonal columns and double-chamfered arches, which are linked by figured stops and have roll-moulding over the heads. The arch-braced roof has wall-posts resting on carved corbels. Notable interior features include an elaborate carved wooden chancel screen and canopied choir stalls. The church was built as a commissioners' church at a cost of £2,500.
Local climate
Church of St Thomas sits in one of the wettest parts of the UK, with an average of 1,200 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 91% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 86% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 56 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 96% of listed buildings. Of these, 33 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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