St Thomas' Church, Mellor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. Thomas' Church, Mellor, Stockport
St. Thomas' Church, Mellor, from the southeast
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OS grid reference	SJ 982 889
Location	Mellor, Greater Manchester
Country	England
Denomination	Anglican
Website	/ Mellor Church
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	St Thomas
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	20 December 1967
Architectural type	Church
Style	Gothic
Specifications
Capacity	200
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Mellor
Deanery	Chadkirk
Archdeaconry	Macclesfield
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St. Thomas' Church is a historic church located in the village of Mellor, Greater Manchester, England. It sits high on a hill, offering amazing views of Manchester and Cheshire. This church is a very special building. It is listed as a Grade II building, which means it is protected because of its historical importance.

St. Thomas' Church is famous for two unique items. It has the oldest wooden pulpit in England. A pulpit is a raised platform where a preacher stands to give a sermon. The church also has a very old font from the late 12th century. A font is a basin used for baptisms. The church is an active Anglican parish church, which means it's a local church for the Church of England community in Mellor.

History of St. Thomas' Church

The first stone church building was likely built in the early 1300s. Over the years, the church has been changed and updated many times.

• In 1783, parts of the walls were rebuilt. New seating areas, called galleries, were added. At this time, the church could hold 700 people.
• In 1815, a new entrance and porch were built. The south wall was also repaired.
• From 1827 to 1829, the chancel (the area around the altar) and the north wall were rebuilt. This work was designed by a person named Thomas Rickman.
• In 1885, one of the galleries was removed.
• In the early 1900s, the other galleries were taken down.
• In 1960, a type of beetle called a death watch beetle was found in the roof. The roof had to be replaced to fix this problem.
• A screen inside the church was moved to create a new chapel area.
• In 1977, a new Mander organ was put in the church.

The church's tower was built in the 1400s on foundations that were even older, from the 1100s. Most of the rest of the church you see today was rebuilt in the early 1800s.

What Does St. Thomas' Church Look Like?

Outside the Church

The church is built from stone. It has a main tower at the west end. The main part of the church, called the nave, has four sections. There is also a chancel and a porch on the south side.

At the east end of the church, there is a window with a pointed arch. The tower has three levels. It has a door and a window on the west side. Above these are openings for the bells, and then clock faces. The top of the tower has a castellated parapet (like the top of a castle wall) with decorative finials.

Inside the Church

Inside St. Thomas' Church, two items are very important and interesting. These are the 14th-century pulpit and the Norman font.

The Ancient Pulpit

The pulpit in St. Thomas' Church is truly special. It is believed to be the oldest wooden pulpit in all of England, and possibly even the world! It dates back to the time of King Edward II, who ruled in the early 1300s.

The pulpit has eight sides. Two of these sides form the entrance where the preacher walks in. Five of the other six sides are decorated with beautiful carved designs called tracery. What's amazing is that the entire pulpit was carved from one single block of wood.

The Norman Font

The church's font is also very old, dating back to the 11th century (the 1000s). It's not clear if it was made before or after the Norman conquest in 1066.

The font is round and mostly plain. However, the bowl part, which holds the water for baptisms, has carvings. These carvings show figures and animals. The inside of the basin is lined with lead. The church's records of baptisms, weddings, and burials, called parish registers, begin in the year 1629.

Things to See Outside the Church

In the churchyard, which is the area around the church, there are a few interesting historical items.

• You can find the remains of an Anglo-Saxon cross.
• There are also two stone posts that were once part of stocks. Stocks were used in the past to punish people by holding their feet or hands. These likely date from the 1800s.
• You can also see the headstone of Thomas Brierley, who died in 1855. His headstone is carved with symbols related to Freemasonry.
• The churchyard also contains the war graves of two soldiers who died in World War I.

Images for kids

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  St. Thomas' Church, Mellor, from the southeast

See also

• Listed buildings in Marple, Greater Manchester
• List of churches in Greater Manchester