St Thomas. Wells

Image: © Chris Brown Taken: 9 Jul 2019

Nave, chancel and crossing are all one space in this church by the architect S S Teulon, a "low church" plan despite the often prickly Gothic detail often associated with churches built for the Anglo-Catholic and Tractarian movements. Teulon was one of the most prominent and best-connected low-church architects of the period and his churches usually have such open plans. He was approached by Troth Jenkyns, widow of Dr Richard Jenkyns, dean of Wells cathedral, to design the church her husband had determined to build in the poor east end of the town. It was completed in 1857 and has lent its name to the street previously known as East Wells. Troth herself died soon afterwards, reportedly from an illness contracted after catching a chill at the consecration ceremony.

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