Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More is a Grade II listed building in the Birmingham local planning authority area, England. First listed on 12 October 2012. Church. 1 related planning application.

Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More

WRENN ID
sunken-finial-owl
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Birmingham
Constituency
Birmingham Yardley MP: Jess Phillips (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
12 October 2012
Type
Church
Address
Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More, Horse Shoes Lane, Sheldon, B26 3HU
OS grid reference
SP 148 842
Coordinates
52.45602, -1.78219
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More is a 20th-century building constructed of reinforced concrete and red brick. It was designed with a hexagonal plan, featuring a raised sanctuary flanked by a projecting sacristy, baptistery, and Lady's chapel, all surrounded by a fan-shaped auditorium.

The exterior is defined by a thick concrete frame forming buttresses to the corners of the auditorium, which also incorporate chunky water spouts. The buttresses rise into a tall concrete steeple at the rear, topped by a shallow stepped concrete roof. Abstract stained glass panels are set between vertical concrete fins, filling the auditorium's walls. A concrete entrance, framed by original lettering, is accessed by concrete steps and sheltered by a heavy, chamfered concrete canopy supported on rectangular piers. Red brick confessionals, a baptistery, sacristy, and chapel project to the side and rear, with the baptistery distinguished by a tall, semi-circular brick wall enclosing the font.

The interior is dominated by the fan-shaped, stepped roof and abstract coloured glass panels by John Chrestien, utilizing vibrant blue, turquoise, and orange. These panels, particularly those at clerestory level, depict Christian symbols. The auditorium offers timber benched seating, frontals, and a small organ, while the floor slopes gently towards the raised sanctuary and altar. The sanctuary features marble altar rails and a screen of angled, blue-painted concrete panels. A timber crucifix hangs from the ceiling ribs, illuminated by an opening in the roof. A curved alcove beneath the crucifix houses the Reserved Sacrament. The Baptistery contains a drum-shaped font in polished aggregate with a marble lid, situated within a circular chapel lit from above and featuring a decorative sunken marble floor. A carved wood sculpture of Christ stands on a plinth within the curved brick wall. The Lady Chapel, lit from above, showcases a carved wood sculpture of St Mary and incorporates a large glass window by Chrestien depicting three circles symbolizing the Holy Trinity against a blue background.

Local climate

Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 62% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 76% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 38 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 73% of listed buildings. Of these, 18 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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