ST Thomas church in Stanhope has been the focal point of the community for around 1000 years.
The church is a tourist attraction for Christians and others from around the world, including, as it does, many features, some dating back to the time when the original Saxon church on the site was re-shaped by the Normans. These include a pre-Christian Roman altar, medieval glass in the shape of the relatively recently restored West window and, of course, the fossil led tree that is estimated to be around 320,000,000 years old.
All-in-all, St Thomas is truly the jewel in the Weardale crown. But – and there IS a but – it needs help from the local community to keep it going. It wasn’t long ago that despicable thieves were responsible for stealing the lead from the church roof. This act caused the building to rain in and during the work to mend it, dry rot was discovered in the wooden floor.
As Sarah Stancliffe from Stanhope, one of the founders of the Friends of St Thomas, said there was a silver lining in that cloud caused by the thieves in that at least the aftermath revealed the dry rot.
The church community, aided by the Friends, decided that because the floor had to be replaced, it would be an idea to use flagstones and to raise money by asking folk to sponsor them. Literally scores of flagstones will be needed and it will be very expensive but if each flagstone can be sponsored to the tune of £100, it would greatly help the overall cost.
In the past, Stanhope St Thomas was one of thr richest livings in the country but through the second half of the C19 into the C20, the Church of England began to centralise church income and distribute it more fairly among the new church communities growing in industrial centres. Since the mid 1960s, all clergy have been paid the same stipend, whether serving in the inner city or deepest countryside. Since then, St Thomas has built up reserves from legacies and donations and these reserves will go towards the present repairs.
The flagstones can be dedicated to a loved one or can be sponsored by local businesses and organisations. Every sponsor will have an inscription in a book that will be held within the church and on view to the public. A certificate will be presented to each sponsor.
The flagstones will be sourced locally from Dunhouse Quarry in Teesdale and will last for many centuries to come. To be able to sponsor one is a unique opportunity to remember a loved one or to celebrate a wedding or baptism – or to have your business or organisation go down in history.
Work is scheduled to begin on this work in early January and time is running out for anyone interested in sponsoring a flagstone. If you would like to do so, you can pay by cheque made out to The Friends of St Thomas or a bank transfer to: sort code 20-45-45, Account Number 30486310. (After making payment, please inform the Secretary of The Friends, so your donation and to whom it is dedicated can be recorded – email Bill Hobson on )
If paying by cheque, send to W E Hobson (Membership Secretary) at 82 Front Street, Stanhope, Co. Durham DL132XF.
Please visit www.friendsofstthomasstanhope.org.uk/fundraising.
