OS grid reference SO942900 Country England Founded c. 1182 Status Parish church Material Bath stone | Location Dudley, West Midlands Denomination Anglican Events Rebuilt in 1815 Province Province of Canterbury Dedication Thomas Becket | |
Architectural style Gothic Revival architecture Diocese Anglican Diocese of Worcester Similar St Peter's Collegiate Church, Dudley Castle, Hurst Spit, Coronation Chair, Kinniside Stone Circle | ||
The Church of Saint Thomas is a parish church in the town of Dudley, in the West Midlands county in 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 who had been murdered a few years before. The current building dates from the 19th century. It was rebuilt in 1815 under an Act of Parliament 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, despite the town of Dudley being transferred into the county of Staffordshire in 1966, and later the West Midlands county upon its creation in 1974. The church's original parish, 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.