Church Of St Thomas

The Church of St Thomas was built between approximately 1850 and 1854 by Mallinson and Healey, replacing an earlier church dedicated to St Thomas a Becket. It is constructed of ashlar with a slate roof and occupies a prominent position within the churchyard. The church is a notable example of Gothic Revival architecture, incorporating Perpendicular traceried windows.

The design incorporates a tall, three-stage west tower with embattled detailing and tall pinnacles. The pointed arched north doorway features a richly moulded surround and carved spandrels. The west window is square with quatrefoil lights, and the belfry windows are tall and elaborate. The six-bay nave has three-light windows to the aisles and clerestory, with offset buttresses topped by gargoyles. The chancel is three bays long, leading to two-bay chancel chapels, and features a broad east window of five over five lights with cusped heads and plate tracery. A small crypt chapel is lit by windows at basement level. Gabled porches with decorative diagonal buttresses and pinnacles flank the main entrance, featuring pointed arched doorways with colonnettes and carved faces to the hoodmould.

Inside, the arcades have pointed arches rising from piers with clustered colonnettes and moulded capitals. The nave incorporates a queen post roof with tracery-filled spandrels, supported by long posts with curved braces and carved stone angels. The chancel has an arch-braced roof. Most of the windows contain stained glass. A significant reordering occurred around 1964, at the request of Abraham Gibson, undertaken by Robert Maguire and Keith Murray, resulting in a modern cathedral-style aesthetic. A large organ screen now divides the nave, concealing a fine organ built by Hill, Norman and Beard in 1964. The original church's eleven-sided font has been repositioned behind the screen, while an 1850 font is located beside the altar. Monuments from the earlier church are now housed within the tower, which also contains the original church's clock, crafted by Titus Bancroft of Sowerby Bridge in 1809 and featuring an 18-foot pendulum and 6-foot diameter dials. The church’s remarkable landscape value, with its superb location and visibility from surrounding valleys, is a key characteristic.