St Thomas à Becket Church is a parish church of
Widcombe
Widcombe is a district of Bath, England, immediately south-east of the city centre, across the River Avon.
The electoral ward was merged with Lyncombe at the boundary changes effected at the elections held on 2 May 2019; the two places have hi ...
in
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
southwest England, and is one of a number of churches named after
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 ...
. It is a Grade II*
listed building
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 ...
.
History
The church was built between 1490 and 1498 by John Cantlow, Prior of Bath Abbey and took the place of an older Norman church. However, there was a common tradition that a weaver was the founder of the church, and an escutcheon bearing a weaver's shuttle can be seen
[as of 1791] on the outside of one of the north battlements of the tower. It is believed that there was originally a Saxon chapel on the site. The church was commonly called Old Widcombe Church and used to be the principal church of the parishes of Widcombe and Lyncombe. The
Domesday
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
survey of 1086 shows a small settlement around the church although no trace of it remains.
In 1847 a much larger church,
St Matthews, was built in Widcombe parish. On 22 April 1847, it was announced that the church bells, which had for centuries been in the tower of St. Thomas à Becket, were to be removed and installed in the new St. Matthew's. Legend has it that the bells were seized by force from the wardens of St Thomas's.
After the opening of St Matthews, closure of St Thomas à Becket was suggested due to its poor condition at the time. However funds were raised for refurbishment and in 1860 three windows were installed, the ceiling of the tower raised by 10ft, with further work being completed in the following years.
In 1889 a new organ by Messrs. Clark and Son of Bath was installed, and choir stalls placed in the chancel.
On 15 January 1924 what was believed to have been the first ever
evening service was held at the church. Parish registers extending back centuries had revealed only morning service had been held there previously.
Burials
*
William Keasberry
William Keasberry (1726 – 15 November 1797), sometimes spelt Keasbury, was an English actor and theatre manager of the 18th century whose career was chiefly in Bath, Somerset.
The son of another William Keasberry, by his marriage to Catherin ...
, 1797
*
Bennet, family tomb 1700s
See also
*
Notes
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widcombe, Saint Thomas
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1498
15th-century church buildings in England
Church of England church buildings in Bath and North East Somerset
Churches in Bath, Somerset
Grade II* listed buildings in Bath, Somerset
Grade II* listed churches in Somerset
Thomas Becket