Parish Church of St Thomas

The Parish Church of St Thomas is a Victorian Gothic church built in the 19th century. It is constructed from uncoursed axe-dressed stone with freestone quoins and dressings, topped with slate roofs and tile ridges. The church comprises a nave and chancel of slightly unequal height, with a tower and spire at their junction. A diagonally set stairs turret is located at the southwest corner of the tower. A porch is situated to the south of the nave. To the north of the chancel are a vestry and boiler room, rendered and covered by a catslide continuation of the chancel roof, featuring a stone and brick chimney. Iron finials adorn the nave and chancel roofs and the spire.

The windows have simple Decorated tracery. A string course at sill level unites the south and east windows of the chancel and forms a moulding over the chancel south door. The east window is a three-light Geometric design with a label mould and block terminals. The chancel windows are one- or two-light with slight cusping and label moulds. The nave windows are also one- or two-light, with simple tracery and label moulds. The tower’s south side has a lancet window with a roundel and label mould above. Single belfry openings are present on each face; the south opening now displays a clock face. The spire is slate-hung and in a brooch style.

The simple south porch to the nave features an equilateral-arched outer opening and an inner doorway. The chancel south door also has an equilateral arch.

Inside, the church is strongly articulated into nave and chancel. A large arch opens from the nave into the base of the south tower, which, although situated in the position of a transept, does not function as an annexe to the nave. The nave is simply decorated, featuring a boarded ceiling in five bays supported on arched trusses and a red and black quarry tile floor. There are pews arranged in two blocks, with a pulpit to the left and a prayer desk to the right, all in a simple Gothic style. Two nave windows contain stained glass, one dated 1892 and the other 1955. The chancel and sanctuary also have a boarded ceiling and a floor of red and black quarry tiles. Gothic choirstalls and altar rails are present. Two text boards flank the east window; the Ten Commandments are on the left and the Apostles' Creed and Lord's Prayer are on the right. The east window contains glass dating from 1855 by Hardman, Birmingham, featuring coloured margins and yellow quarries with leaf motifs.