Church of St Thomas is a Grade II listed building in the Sefton local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 October 1968. Church.

Church of St Thomas

WRENN ID
burning-niche-grain
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Sefton
Constituency
Sefton Central MP: Bill Esterson (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
11 October 1968
Type
Church
Address
Church of St Thomas, Rock Lane, Melling
OS grid reference
SD 388 002
Coordinates
53.49548, -2.92271
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Church of St Thomas is a Grade II listed building located on Melling Rock Lane, built in 1835 with a chancel added in 1873, designed by J. W. Casson. The church is constructed of stone and features a stone slate roof, although the east end has concrete tile roofs. It consists of a five-bay nave, a west tower, a chancel, and a north organ loft and south vestry, all covered by lean-to roofs. The nave is adorned with a cornice and coped gables, diagonal buttresses with pinnacles, and lancet windows with splayed reveals and hood moulds situated between weathered buttresses. There is a gabled porch at the end bay of the south side. The tower includes diagonal buttresses and a giant arch on the west side that frames three lancets (two of which are blind) with a three-light window above; the north side is similar, while the south side features an entrance with a shouldered lintel. The bell stage has paired louvred bell openings, a cornice, and an embattled parapet. The chancel boasts an east window with three stepped lancets, diagonal buttresses, and paired lights for the organ loft and vestry. A stack is located at the southeast angle of the nave.

Inside, the roof has tie beam trusses, and there is a deep west gallery supported by iron columns with moulded capitals. The east wall of the nave features a chancel arch on round piers, flanked by segmental pointed recesses, with the left recess housing organ pipes and rosettes above. There is a similar entrance on the south side. The chancel includes a pointed arch leading to the organ lofts and south blind arches. A window in the chancel contains stained glass by Holiday, dated 1907. The nave has notable wall memorials, particularly for R. Bootle (died 1758) and Sir T. Bootle (died 1753). At the rear of the nave, there are pointed commandment, prayer, and creed boards, along with a board commemorating the church's rebuilding in 1834 and a charity board flanking the south entrance. The gallery displays Hanoverian arms, and there is an open-well stair in the tower.

Local climate

Church of St Thomas sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 1,140 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 89% 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 18 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 82% of listed buildings. Of these, 8 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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Nearby listed buildings

  1. Retaining Wall to Churchyard of St Thomas' Grade II 25 m
  2. The Parsonage Grade II 181 m
  3. Former Vicarage Grade II 288 m
  4. Barnes Farmhouse Grade II* 834 m
  5. Wood Hall and Wall to North of Front Garden Grade II 898 m
  6. Barn to West of Melling House Grade II 1.3 km
  7. Outbuildings and Pigsties to West of Melling House Grade II 1.3 km
  8. Melling House Grade II 1.4 km
  9. 38 40, North Park Road Grade II 1.4 km
  10. Lytham House Grade II 1.5 km