St Thomas' Church, Stockton Heath

St Thomas’ Church stands in Stockton Heath, a village south of Warrington in Cheshire. The present building dates from 1868 and replaces an earlier church of 1838. It was designed by Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, with Sir Gilbert Greenall as the main benefactor. The tower was added later, and a full set of bells was finally installed in 2016. The church is built from pinkish-red sandstone with Westmorland slate roofs, giving it a warm, earthy appearance. The interior features a four-bay nave with a south aisle, a north transept, and a two-bay chancel. The chancel is decorated with richly coloured patterned tilework, and the reredos is made of marble and embossed patterned tiles. The organ was built around 1880 by Young and Sons and rebuilt in 1963 by Rushworth and Dreaper of Liverpool. A campaign was launched to keep a tolling bell from 1883 dedicated to the wife of John Crosfield. The churchyard contains war graves of 31 service personnel, 17 from the First World War and 14 from the Second. The tower rises in four stages with an octagonal southeast turret and an embattled parapet. The south porch and north vestry complete the plan, while the patterned tiles and marble reredos add colour to the chancel.