St Thomas' Church, Stockport Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids St Thomas' Church, Stockport
St Thomas' Church, Stockport, from the north-east
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OS grid reference	SJ 898 897
Location	St Thomas's Place, Wellington Road South, Stockport, Greater Manchester
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	modern catholic
Website	St Thomas, Stockport
History
Status	Church
Consecrated	25 September 1825
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade I
Designated	14 May 1952
Architect(s)	George Basevi
Architectural type	Church
Style	Neoclassical
Groundbreaking	1822
Completed	1825
Construction cost	£15,611
Specifications
Materials	Stone
Administration
Parish	Stockport and Brinnington
Deanery	Stockport
Archdeaconry	Macclesfield
Diocese	Chester
Province	York

St Thomas' Church is a beautiful old church located in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It's part of the Church of England and is still very active today. This church is super important because it's listed as a Grade I building, which means it's one of the most special historic places in England!

It's also known as a "Commissioners' church." This means it received money from the government a long time ago to help build new churches after the Napoleonic Wars. St Thomas' was the only church in its county at the time to get this special funding. It was designed by a famous architect named George Basevi. This church is the only one of his Commissioners' churches that is still standing!

History of St Thomas' Church
Exploring the Church's Architecture
- Outside the Church
- Inside the Church
St Thomas' Church Today
Images for kids
See also

History of St Thomas' Church

St Thomas' Church was built between 1822 and 1825. It cost a lot of money back then, about £15,611! The government's Church Building Commission gave a grant of £15,636 to help pay for it. The land for the church was kindly donated by Lady Warren-Bulkeley.

The church was officially opened and blessed on September 25, 1825. It started as a "daughter church" to another local church, St Mary's Church, Stockport. When it was first built, it was huge and could seat 2,000 people! Over the years, the church has been updated. It was refurbished in 1881 and the area around the altar was redesigned in 1890. The original seats have been changed, but the upper seating areas, called galleries, are still there.

The church from the outside, showing its grand design.

Exploring the Church's Architecture

St Thomas' Church has a special look called Greek Revival. This means it was designed to look like ancient Greek temples.

Outside the Church

The church is made from strong, smooth Runcorn sandstone. It's shaped like a long rectangle. At the west end, there's a tall clock tower. At the east end, there's a massive entrance with a triangular roof (called a pediment) supported by six tall, elegant columns. This grand entrance used to face the main road.

The main entrance is set back a bit, leading to the galleries inside. There are also doors on either side that go to smaller rooms. Near the top of the tower, you'll see openings for bells with small triangular roofs above them. Higher up, there's a clock face on each side. The very top of the tower has an open, dome-like structure supported by eight columns. The architect, George Basevi, wasn't completely happy with how the government changed his tower designs for this church and another one in Greenwich. That's why these were the only two churches he designed for them! The sides of the church have two rows of windows: the top ones are rounded at the top, and the bottom ones have a slightly curved top.

Inside the Church

Inside, St Thomas' has galleries (upper seating areas) on three sides. These galleries are held up by square columns. These columns continue all the way up to the ceiling, changing into fancy, fluted columns with decorative tops.

The area around the main altar, called the chancel, was updated in 1890. It's raised up and has a decorative railing around it. On the north side, a curved pulpit (where sermons are given) sticks out from the railing. The bottom part is stone, and the top is made of ironwork. On the south side, in the same spot, there's a shiny brass eagle lectern (a stand for reading the Bible).

Behind the main altar, there's a beautiful marble screen called a reredos. It has a carving of the Annunciation, which is when the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would have Jesus. Above this, there's a copy of part of a famous painting by Raphael called Transfiguration of Jesus.

In the south aisle (a side section of the church), you'll find St John's Altar. This altar was moved here in 1941 from another church that closed. The east end of the north aisle is used as the Lady Chapel, a special area for prayer. The area for baptisms, called the baptistry, has an eight-sided baptismal font and a floor covered in a mosaic (a picture made of small tiles) showing fishes. The beautiful stained glass windows were made in the late 1800s and show different scenes from the life of Jesus.

The church also has a large organ with three keyboards, built in 1834 by Samuel Renn. Parts of it were added and cleaned over the years.

The beautiful interior of St Thomas' Church.

St Thomas' Church Today

Today, services are held at St Thomas' Church every Sunday and on important Christian holidays. A robed choir usually sings during these services. The church has had many repairs and restorations recently, including replacing the roof and fixing the clock faces and the top parts of the tower.

In 2014, new restrooms were added, and the church was made easier for people with disabilities to access. This cost £45,000! These changes help the church be used for more events, like concerts and music recitals. The ceilings in the upper galleries were also fully restored in 2016, making them look brand new.

The church follows the "modern catholic" tradition within the Church of England.