Church of St Thomas

The Church of St Thomas is a church built between 1857 and 1859. The architect was Sir G G Scott, with Messrs Ben Graham of Huddersfield acting as contractors, and Alfred A Walton serving as Clerk of Works. Constructed of coursed dressed stone with ashlar dressings, it features pitched slate roofs with separate roofs for the nave and aisles, incorporating coped gables with finials.

The church comprises a nave, chancel, aisles, a north chancel chapel, a single-story vestry, an organ recess, and a sacristy on the south side. A prominent south-west tower rises four stages, topped by a tall, broach spire with gabled lucarnes. The tower displays plate tracery characteristic of the early 13th century, while the aisles exhibit late 13th-century detailing. The east end features grouped lancets (blind to the sacristy), and the gable ends boast oculi with bar tracery. Octagonal stair towers are topped with conical ashlar roofs. Buttresses and parapets feature along the south aisle and tower, complemented by gargoyles.

Inside, cylindrical piers support moulded capitals, with hoodmoulds bearing carved label stops. The chancel has a two-bay arcade on each side, incorporating two-centred arches and pierced quatrefoils in the spandrels. Naturalistic foliage carving adorns the capitals, extending to the chancel arch. The chancel features pointed timber barrel vaults with diagonal bracing, while wagon roofs cover the aisles. A low-arched reredos, piscina, sedilia, and pulpit are crafted from ashlar with delicate foliage carving and marble colonnettes. The communion rail is distinguished by stylised iron foliage balusters, a moulded wooden rail, and newels. A rood beam displays figures of Christ crucified, St Mary, and St John. Other furnishings include characteristic simple bench ends and a brass lectern. A notable monument, consistent in style with the pulpit, commemorates Thomas Starkey (d. 1847) and his brothers Joseph and John, featuring delicate foliage ornament. Stained glass windows, by Clayton and Bell and others, are present throughout the building.

The church’s creation stemmed from the intention of Thomas Starkey, owner of Springdale Mill, to fund its construction. Upon his death from typhus, his widow, Charlotte, enlisted the aid of Canon Bateman, the Vicar of Huddersfield. Sir G G Scott, whose father had tutored Bateman, designed the church, leveraging a childhood friendship to fulfil the Starkey family’s vision. The foundation stone, laid on 19 March 1857, contained a jar with current coins of the realm and copies of local newspapers. The church was consecrated on 30 June 1859, costing £9,000 largely funded by the Starkey family. Edmund Snowden, a 27-year-old nephew of Mrs. Starkey, served as the first Vicar from 1859 to 1892.