St Thomas, Rhyl

The building of the church started in May 1861, when Beanland of Bradford were appointed to carry out the work, and was eventually completed in March 1869. The plans were initially rejected by the Incorporated Church Building Society for a grant in 1860, but the nave opened in 1862, chancel was built in 1867, the aisles, vestries and north porch with a room over the top, all completed by 1869. Rhyl Church is a major essay in Sir George Gilbert Scott’s Early English style, with a grand interior, including much naturalistic carving, an alabaster pulpit, a marble font, an alabaster reredos given by Mr and Mrs Bamford-Hesketh of Gwrych Castle, choir stalls and an eagle lectern given by Archdeacon Morgan. The whole building cost £13,000.

In 1874, Scott added a tower to the church. This was capped by a squat version of his familiar gabled clock-face and spire ensemble to provide an effective landmark on the surrounding coastal plain.

Fisher, G., Stamp, G. and Heseltine, J., (eds),The Scott Family, Catalogue of the Drawings Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Avebury Publishing, Amersham, 1981), 64 [c], 65 [a].
http://www.churchplansonline.org/retrieve_results.asp?search_args=x%3DRHYL%2C+St.+Thomas%7Cl%3DRHYL%7Cc%3DFlintshire
RIBA Drawings Collection, Ledger of Scott’s Office, 1875-1914, p. 32.
National Library of Wales, SA/CK/96.