Church Of St Thomas The Martyr

The Church of St Thomas the Martyr stands in Up Holland and incorporates elements dating back to the 14th century, with substantial Victorian alterations. Originally the nave of the Benedictine Priory of Up Holland, founded in 1317-18, the church's history is deeply intertwined with the Priory's. The early 14th-century nave was later extended with north and south aisles, restored in the 19th century. A late 15th-century west tower was added, along with an 1882-86 chancel and a crypt.

The church is constructed of coursed rubble with slate roofs. The tower is of four unequal stages with diagonal buttresses, featuring a low 2-centred arched west doorway with three orders of hollow moulding, containing masks, shields, figures, and Tudor roses. A large 19th-century 2-centred arched 3-light west window has reticulated tracery, along with 2-light belfry windows with stone louvres. The top stage includes clock faces, grotesques, and an embattled parapet with corner pinnacles. A Tudor-arched doorway is set into the angle of the north side. The junction between the north aisle and the tower features a redundant quatrefoil pier, a remnant of the former crossing, and a 2-centred arched 4-light window with intersecting tracery. The aisles have large buttresses and 19th-century 2-centred arched windows with reticulated tracery. The chancel, two bays wide, sits above a crypt, and has a polygonal stair-turret leading to the crypt, with low, 2-light windows to the crypt and transomed 2-light windows above. The east end of the chancel features doorways to the crypt and a large 5-light east window with elaborate reticulated tracery.

Inside, the four-bay aisle arcades are supported by quatrefoil columns with annular caps and 2-centred arches with chamfered orders and carved stops to the hood moulds. The tower is moulded in three orders, as is the 2-centred chancel arch. The interior also features 20th-century ceilings and two painted hatchments in each aisle. A fine Church Wardens’ pew, dating to 1679, stands at the west end of the nave, displaying muntin-and-rail panelling and a top rail inscribed with the names of the Wardens. A Church Wardens' cupboard, dated 1720, is located in the base of the tower and bears inscribed scriptural quotations. The church forms a group with nearby structures, including stone piers and a lamp, the Conservative Club, remains of the former Up Holland Priory, and Priory House.