Church Of St Thomas The Apostle

Church of St Thomas the Apostle

This is an Anglican church built in 1933-34 and designed by Edward Maufe, located on the west side of Boston Road. It is constructed of silver-grey Tondi brick with red bands and Weldon stone dressings, with an internal vault of reinforced concrete.

The church comprises a seven-bay nave with passage aisles, a one-bay chancel and one-bay sanctuary with south vestries, a north chapel, and a children's corner positioned beneath a square tower. The exterior features pointed lancet windows to the main church and square-headed casements to the lady chapel and vestries. The tower has lancet openings with spear-head glazing symbolic of St Thomas. The east end, which faces the road, is dominated by Eric Gill's Calvary, with the cross forming the glazing pattern of the circular east window. Two entrance doors on the north side are severely pointed with panelled doors set in stone surrounds—one carved with a dove and the other with a pair of birds, both by Vernon Hill. The doors have rippled copper plates, and a plaque bearing Maufe's 'seal' is positioned to the left. The foundation stone was laid on 8 July 1933 by the Earl of Jersey.

The interior is cool and refined yet rich in detail. A concrete groin vault spans the nave, carried on rendered buttresses cut through with lancets to form passage aisles. The eastern and western bays of the nave are narrower than the remaining bays. The west window contains finely detailed glass by Moira Forsythe and is positioned behind an octagonal font of Weldon stone carved with fish, anchor, and symbols by Vernon Hill; the font cover is of oak and ivory. Pendant electoliers with symbols of the twelve apostles, part of Maufe's design, hang throughout. The flooring in the nave and chapels is of blue and yellow linoleum, an original feature (except where otherwise noted). Arches either side of the chancel mark narrow cross-axes leading south to the vestries and north to a side door and chapels.

The chancel and sanctuary are raised and finished with travertine floors. A reading desk and pulpit stand to either side beneath an arch. The chancel contains choir stalls set in front of screens of angels by James Woodford. The organ, by Hedgeland, was brought from the earlier St Thomas's at Portman Square. The sanctuary features low oak railings and sedilia with acutely-pointed arches characteristic of Maufe's work. An altar designed in 1911 by Cecil Hare, also from the Portman Square church, is installed here. Lancet openings on either side lead to a small east chapel.

The side chapels are notably low and richly detailed spaces, contrasting with the coolness and height of the nave. The children's corner, positioned under the tower, is separated from the passage by a timber screen and features carvings by James Woodford depicting flesh, fruit, fish, a flower, and fowl. A painted reredos incorporating local scenes by E Starling is mounted here. A statue of St Christopher by Vernon Hill stands in this space.

The lady chapel, formerly known as the Morning Chapel, has a flat roof divided by low beams and decorated by Katherine Roberts. Painted altar rails frame an 'English' altar. A stoop is set in a narrow south-east window, and a statue of Our Lady by Vernon Hill is positioned within. All of Vernon Hill's statues are carved from Weldon stone. Stained glass by Moira Forsythe is featured throughout the lady chapel.

The church was financed from proceeds of the demolition of the earlier St Thomas's at Portman Square, a church of 1858 by P C Hardwick. This financial circumstance may account for the exceptional lavishness of its design and decoration. Maufe designed this church while simultaneously working on designs for Guildford Cathedral, and it demonstrates in miniature many of his ideas for that larger building. Due to its smaller scale and more rapid completion, it has been considered the more successful of the two works.