St Thomas

St Thomas church was built between 1868 and 1870 in the Early English style and stands on an elevated platform, or ha-ha. The foundation stone was laid by Major Thomas Clark, of Bellefield House, Hilperton Road, in memory of his deceased father, who had provided funds for its erection. The church was designed to provide a place of worship for the mill workers rather than the gentry, and all 400 seats were free, a rarity in those days.

The church is cruciform in plan with a slightly extended west nave and two side aisles, rather than a central one. There is a separate vestry on the southside and a baptistery on the north. The remainder of the interior is one large space, with north and south porches. It is the work of a well known Trowbridge Architect, William Smith, who was also responsible for several other buildings in the town, including The Tabernacle in Church Street.

There was originally a bell turret housing four bells and also a spire, but these were taken down in1970. The two arches of the roof are supported on columns of Hanham (blue) and Mansfield (red) stone with symbolic carvings of the four Evangelists at the keystones that form the junctions of the arches.

The stained glass east window includes St Thomas acknowledging the risen Christ, while the south window erected in 1903 includes Christ as the Good Shepherd and as Light of the World, and also the Archangel Michael, King David and King Solomon. Emblems in the baptistery window depict the ark, the cloud and the dove.