History

History of St Thomas

The Church of St Thomas a Becket stands in its own square at the north end of the High Street, a few hundred metres from the Cathedral Close. Its site lays claim to the first active place of worship in New Sarum prior to the building of the Cathedral, but most of its fabric dates from the fifteenth century. It is a handsome, light building with a high roof, and a bell tower housing 8 bells, which are regularly rung before services.

Please feel free to come in and enjoy the building which has nearly 250 representations of angels on the roofs, walls and pillars.

A few highlights are:

The Doom Painting above the chancel arch is a powerful feature drawing many visitors. It is believed to be the largest such painting in England and was painted in 1475 as a thank-offering for a safely returned pilgrim.

The painting was white-washed over in 1593 and was re-discovered in 1819, but not restored until 1881. It was repainted again in 1953.

click on images for larger pictures

Funeral Hatchments. There are a complete set of 17th and 18th century funeral hatchments in the church. They display the painted coat of arms against a black background of the families from both St Thomas and St Edmund. They are hung by one corner and would have been placed on the front of the deceased’s house to inform others that the family was in mourning. After the burial they would have been moved into the church.

The Book of Remembrance was created by the Mayor of Salisbury’s Appeal in 2003-4 to commemorate those from Salisbury who died in the service of their country since 1914. The pages are turned daily.

Disabled access. There is full disabled access to all public areas of the church with an automatic door, ramps and disabled toilet.