Church Heritage Record 641165

The creation of the ecclesiastical parish of Woolton Hill, carved out of the former ecclesiastical parish of East Woodhay, and the construction of St Thomas’ Church was instigated by Thomas Douglas Hodgson, Rector of East Woodhay (1825-1884) who was also the treasurer of a fund set up to finance the construction of the new church. The need for a separate church and parish was justified by population growth and the relative inaccessibility of the church in East Woodhay, located at the edge of the historic parish. The parcel of land for the church was supplied by J.F. Winterbottom of Tile Barn, who also supplied further land for the construction of the adjacent school.

St Thomas’ Church was consecrated on the 10th October 1849 and the parish of Woolton Hill created in 1850. The total cost of construction of the church was supplied by public donation.

The church represents an example of Gothic 19th century architecture, having been built in 1849 in style resembling English Early Decorated Gothic architecture although the inspirations for the architectural elements are quite eclectic and do not reflect the local traditions, like many churches of Victorian origin. The church, built on a roughly north-east/south-west axis, parallel to Church Road, has a chancel to the north-east, a nave with a north-west aisle, a tower at the north-east end of the aisle and porch, with later additions including the south-west porch and vestry. It is built of flint rubble, with Bath stone dressings and tiled roof.

The exterior of the church is characterised by stepped buttresses and pointed arch windows, which include Kentish plate tracery. The windows of the nave and chancel are mostly coupled lights with cusps beneath quatrefoils. There are two lancets beneath a circular window at the south-western end with a traceried three-light window in the north-eastern wall of the chancel.

The thin north-eastern tower, built on a square plan with buttresses and a circular stairwell to the north, is topped with a stone broach spire with blank lucarnes. The small vestry to the south-east of the chancel appears to have been raised in height, likely in the early 20th century to accommodate the relocated organ. The later additions to the structure include a well-designed south-west porch by George Herbert Kitchin, constructed in 1919. The porch was funded by the mother of John William Egerton-Green and Charles Scroop Egerton-Green who died at Ypres and Somme respectively. The vestry, designed by Sir Charles Nicholson, was built in 1927.

The interior of St Thomas’ Church comprises a two-bay chancel, and a nave of five bays with northern aisle, all under wooden roofs. Contemporary and early 20th century fittings survive within the church. A number of memorials within the church commemorate the lives of previous congregation members and their relatives. An internal feature of some interest within the chancel is the decoration of the eastern wall. In 1902, James Powell and Sons were commissioned to decorate the wall in memory of Frances Robinson, the wife of the Rector. The decoration, which was originally quite elaborate, included a scene of two angels, believed to represent the Angel of the Annunciation with lily (left) and the Angel of Resurrection with palm (right). In the mid-20th century, the original decorations on the wall were painted over. Following the uncovering of the decorations in 1999, the parishioners agreed to restore the images of the angels, although the renovations carried out in 2007 placed the paintings in rather simple pointed arch surrounds, not reflecting the elaborate earlier decorations of the wall.

The stained glass in the three-light traceried north-eastern window was designed by Charles Eamer Kempe, a Victorian stained glass designer whose works decorate many churches across England, including the cathedrals in Winchester, Wells and Gloucester. The window depicts the Crucifixion and the window bears the designer’s trademark of a sheaf of corn. It was built in memory of Theodore Byron Hope, a churchwarden.

The 1905 reredos (sculptured screen behind the altar) by W. and C.A. Bassett Smith comprises an elaborate Last Supper scene in high relief set within an arcaded frame, built in remembrance of Lt. Col. F. W. Reader who died in South Africa. It is accompanied by a contemporaneous dado of alabaster on both sides of the reredos (screened behind curtains). Other items of note within the chancel comprise the elaborately decorated Gothic priest’s seat, built into the sill of the south-eastern window and wooden stalls.

The organ was funded by Colonel Ridley in 1902 as a replacement for the original instrument located towards the south-western end of the church. The relocation required the enlargement of the south-east vestry. The aisle is separated from the nave by an arcade formed of alternate round and octagonal piers. The arches, depressed on vertical pieces with hoodmoulds rising to form two-centred blank arches, repeat the odd style used by Joseph Hansom in the design of St Mary’s Church in Ryde, Isle of Wight (1844-46). There are carved headstops, fronting the nave only. Other elements built of stone include the pointed arch door openings. The pews (two lines in the nave and a single line in the aisle) are thought to represent the original furnishings of the church, with the pew numbers (likely painted in order to aid the charging system) preserved along the nave. However, the reinstatement of the pews following works to the flooring did not follow the numerical order, with the numbers mixed-up. A wooden pulpit is located in the north-eastern corner, accessed via stone steps.

The lavishly decorated font, located at the back of the aisle, represents a later design in Early English Gothic style. It has been suggested that this may have been designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who worked locally (i.e. at Tile Barn and St Michael’s Church in Highclere). A recently added cover of the font is inscribed with the following: ‘In grateful memory of all those who lived and worked on the Hollington Estate from 1928 – 1968’. The windows are decorated with stained glass. Of the original scheme designed by Charles Edmund Clutterbuck Snr, an early Victorian stained glass artist from East London, only the south-west gable window remains. It comprises a rare Early Victorian royal coat of arms dating to the early 19th century. This window is thought to commemorate the gift by Queen Adelaide to the building of the church. Most of the windows within the church of the late 19th or early 20th century were designed by James Powell and Sons although later stained glass windows are also present. In the nave these include the depiction of Annunciation with St Bridget in trefoil light, in the memory of Harriet Robinson; Via Dolorosa (Christ addressing the daughters of Jerusalem), in the memory of parents of C. R. de la Salle; Agony in the Garden, commemorating the first vicar Nicholas Ridley; the image of the Ascended Lord, dedicated to a cavalry officer George King. The notable stained glass windows in the aisle include an image of Madonna with Child and Archangel Gabriel in the memory of Malcolm Aird; St Michael (in the memory of Ian Basil Aird); a memorial to Julia Mullens comprising Roman Saints: St Perpetua and St Monica; and the figures of Fortitude and Justice, dedicated to the memory of N. B. Ridley of the King’s Own Regiment. Other memorials include an inscription in the memory of J.H. Lock.