A campaign is underway to help secure the future of one of Warrington’s best-loved historic buildings, with supporters urging the public to back efforts to preserve St Thomas’s Church in Stockton Heath.
The Grade II listed church, which has stood at the heart of the village since 1868, requires significant restoration work, estimated at £1.9m, to ensure it remains safe and open for future generations. Church leaders say urgent repairs to the roof and deteriorating sandstone masonry are needed to prevent further damage to the Victorian landmark.
But campaigners say the appeal is about far more than bricks and mortar.
For generations, St Thomas’s has been the setting for baptisms, weddings, funerals and community celebrations. It also provides a venue for concerts, charity events, support groups and village activities, making it one of Stockton Heath’s most important community hubs.
Supporters hope the restoration project will not only protect the church’s historic fabric but also create improved facilities, allowing the building to host even more activities for residents.
Consultation carried out as part of the project found overwhelming public backing, with many residents describing the church as a focal point of village life and offering to volunteer with fundraising, heritage projects and community events.
Church representatives say the vision is to preserve the building while adapting it to meet the needs of a modern community, ensuring St Thomas’s remains a place of worship, welcome and support for decades to come.
Residents wishing to support the campaign or learn more about the restoration project can visit the parish’s Major Works Project webpage or contact St Thomas’s Church directly via its parish website.
Essential structural repairs
The highest priority work includes:
• Replacing leaking roofs over:
o the Vicar’s Vestry,
o the east slope of the North Transept,
o the north Chancel roof.
• Repairing and restoring failing sandstone masonry around the exterior. The church says the soft red sandstone has deteriorated in many places, with the stone face breaking away and requiring urgent conservation.
Internal improvements
Alongside the conservation work, the project proposes alterations to make the church more usable throughout the week, including:
• A new glass entrance lobby to improve accessibility, visibility and energy efficiency.
• Creating a flexible community space by removing some pews.
• Moving the Lady Chapel altar so services can be conducted facing the congregation.
• Installing a central platform (dais) for worship, concerts and community events.
• Creating interactive digital heritage displays telling the story of the church and village.
• Extending opening hours by installing CCTV so the building can be open more often.
Environmental improvements
The project also aims to reduce running costs by:
• Replacing the ageing 25-year-old gas boiler, which can no longer be easily repaired.
• Installing a hydrogen-ready heating system with an air source heat pump.
• Investigating discreet solar panels.
• Developing wildlife-friendly church grounds as part of its environmental programme.
Cost
The latest estimate puts the project at around £1.9 million. The church has been invited to submit a full application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund after its Expression of Interest was accepted. If successful, it will still need to raise around 10% of the total cost in matched funding through donations, grants, and fundraising before the work can begin.
The church’s own summary explains why the work is so urgent:
“It is inconceivable that our church will not survive to serve the community of Stockton Heath for generations to come, yet that is the stark reality without this renovation work.”
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