St Thomas' Church, St Anne's-on-the-Sea

St Anne's-on-the-Sea was developed as a seaside resort in the 19th century, and its first church was St Anne's, completed in 1873. The parish of St Thomas dates from 1893 when a small mission church of wood and corrugated iron was built in Orchard Road. When it was clear that a larger and more permanent church was needed, a list was started for subscriptions. Land for the new church was provided by local landowner John Talbot Clifton and brewer Robert Slater Boddington gave £500. Construction began in 1899 to a design by Lancaster-based firm Austin and Paley. The architects had won the commission in a competition held in 1892, and the plans had been agreed by 1895. The planned tower, porch,…

St Thomas' is constructed of red Accrington brick in English garden wall bond, with stonework around the windows in cream Yorkshire stone, and arches, arcades and pillars of red sandstone; the roofs are of red tile. The plan consists of a nave, with a tower to the north-west, aisles to the north and south, and a chancel with north transept. The nave has six bays and clerestoried windows. The tower is square and has diagonal buttresses. It has intricate three-light belfry louvres, and a parapet with pinnacles. The tower is attached to the nave by a covered arcade.