The Church of Saint Thomas is a

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

in the

West Midlands County West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1 ...

of England. Known locally as 'Top Church', as opposed to the 'Bottom Church' of St. Edmund's, it was originally established in the 12th century, when it was dedicated to

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

who had been murdered a few years before. The church is mentioned in a Papal Declaration of 1182, which granted it to the nearby Priory of St. James. At some point in its history, the church's dedication changed to the Apostle St Thomas. The current building dates from the 19th century. It was rebuilt in 1815 under an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

after the existing building was declared unsafe, for a cost of £12,650. On 7 September 1940, the Luftwaffe dropped a bomb opposite the front of the church, blowing out most of the windows and leaving shrapnel damage which is still evident today. The church is in the

Anglican Diocese of Worcester The Diocese of Worcester forms part of the Church of England (Anglican) Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese was founded around 679 by St Theodore of Canterbury at Worcester to minister to the kingdom of the Hwicce, one of the many ...

, despite the town of Dudley being transferred into the county of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

in 1966, and later the

West Midlands county West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1 ...

upon its creation in 1974. The church's original

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, Dudley St. Thomas, was abolished in 1969 to form the current Dudley St. Thomas & St. Luke Ecclesiastical Parish. The church building was granted Grade II* listed status in 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Church of Saint Thomas Church of Saint Thomas Church of England church buildings in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed buildings in Birmingham Grade II* listed churches in the West Midlands (county)