St Thomas the Apostle, Lymington
St Thomas the Apostle, Lymington
St Thomas the Apostle is a Grade II* parish church on the High Street in Lymington, Hampshire, in the Diocese of Winchester. Historic England records thirteenth-century origins, a chapel of about 1325, a tower of 1670, and a thorough eighteenth- and nineteenth-century rebuild.
- Location
- Lymington , Hampshire
- Country
- England
- County
- Hampshire
- City / town
- Lymington
- Address
- St Thomas Street, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 9ND
- Postcode
- SO41 9ND
- Built
- C13 origins; tower 1670; C18–C19 rebuild; re-roofed 1910–11
- Denomination
- Church of England
- Dedication
- Thomas the Apostle
- Diocese
- Winchester
- Parish
- Lymington
- Grade
- II*
- Style
- Medieval origins with Georgian and Victorian fabric
- Materials
- Stone rubble, cement-rendered walls, limestone ashlar tower; tiled roofs; lead-roofed cupola
- Grid reference
- SZ 322 954
- Opening hours
- Open 9am to 5pm.
- Access
- Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby. Accessible toilets in church
Overview
The listing describes a key High Street church whose south wall faces the street. Archaeological evidence of thirteenth-century work survives at the east and west ends; a chapel of about 1325 has a roof of about 1500. The two-stage limestone ashlar tower, added in 1670, has diagonal buttresses to the lower stage, a moulded south doorway, square-headed mullioned belfry windows, and a timber arcaded cupola with lead dome that was in place by 1740. The remainder was rebuilt in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, refurbished and re-roofed in 1910–11, with a sacristy of 1931. Materials are stone rubble, with north, south and west walls cement-rendered, and tiled roofs.
The plan comprises a nave with north and south aisles and galleries, a west organ gallery and narthex, north transept, chancel, south-east tower at the east end of the south aisle, and a north-east chapel. The chancel has a five-light nineteenth-century east window with Perpendicular-style tracery. The church originated as a chapel of Christchurch Priory and remains the principal Anglican church of the town.