| St Thomas' Church, Lancaster | |
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St Thomas' Church, Lancaster
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| OS grid reference | SD 477 614 |
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| Location | Marton Street, Lancaster, Lancashire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Churchmanship | Evangelical |
| Weekly attendance | 200 |
| Website | St Thomas, Lancaster |
| History | |
| Founded | 3 March 1840 |
| Dedication | St Thomas |
| Consecrated | 14 June 1841 |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 13 March 1995 |
| Architect(s) | Edmund Sharpe, E. G. Paley |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1840 |
| Completed | 1853 |
| Specifications | |
| Spire height | 120 feet (36.6 m) |
| Materials | Sandstone, slate roofs |
| Administration | |
| Parish | St Thomas, Lancaster |
| Deanery | Lancaster |
| Archdeaconry | Lancaster |
| Diocese | Blackburn |
| Province | York |
| Clergy | |
| Vicar(s) | Revd. Jonathan Scamman |
| Curate(s) | Revd. Saju Muthalaly |
| Laity | |
| Reader | Cathleen Dawson |
| Director of music | Martin Walmsley |
| Churchwarden(s) | Philip Hendry, Sandra Lane-Dixon |
| Parish administrator | David Cumming |
St Thomas' Church, Lancaster is in Marton Street, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Lancaster, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the diocese of Blackburn.[1] The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.[2]
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St Thomas' was built between 1840 and 1841 to a design by the local architect Edmund Sharpe.[3] One of the subscribers to the church was Queen Victoria who, as Duchess of Lancaster, contributed £150 (£15,400 as of 2012).[4] The foundation stone was laid on 3 March 1840, the church opened for worship on 14 April 1841, and it was consecrated on 14 June by Rt Revd John Bird Sumner, Bishop of Chester.[5] In 1852–53 Sharpe's successor, E. G. Paley added the northeast steeple and the chancel in a similar architectural style.[3]
The church is constructed in sandstone ashlar with slate roofs in Early English style. Its plan consists of a six-bay nave with north and south aisles under three gabled roofs; the nave is extended one bay to the west to form a narthex. At the east end is a two-bay chancel with a steeple in the angle between the north aisle and the chancel. The lower part of the steeple has two square stages, with buttresses and a stair turret. Above the level of the aisle it becomes octagonal with louvred bell openings. The spire is also octagonal, with two tiers of lucarnes, a finial and an iron cross. A plain parapet runs along the tops of the eaves and gables. In the west front are five tall stepped lancet windows under which is a triple doorway. On each side of the front are buttresses that rise up to turrets with finials. There are more lancet windows around the church, with a triple lancet at the east end.[2]
Inside the church are galleries on three sides supported by cast iron columns.[2] A brass dated 1881 was produced by Shrigley and Hunt. The arms of Queen Victoria are on the west gallery.[3] According to the authors of the Buildings of England series, the church has "a grand approach up steps with imposing gatepiers".[3] The three-manual organ was built in 1852 by John Banfield, rebuilt in the 1880s by Richard Tubbs and, between 1920 and 1940, was rebuilt again and moved to its present position at the northeast of the nave by Jardine and Company.[6]