Sts Thomas Minster

The original late 12th-century church was dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury (Thomas Becket) (1118–1170). Later, under the rule of King Henry VIII of England (1509–1547), when Becket was declared to have been a traitor, the Canterbury part of the name was dropped. Its name and the ambiguous dedication to St Thomas was thereafter, over time, assumed by many to refer to Thomas the Apostle. From the 18th century its deterioration made any renovation futile, and funds were raised for a new church on its site. The new church was built over the years 1854 and 1855 to a design by the architect Samuel Daukes of Cheltenham. Reflecting the building's history, but arguably unusual, the new church…