Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2013/January 2014 | Page 26

Mark Fox, continues his review of
Island Churches by visiting :
St Thomas Church - Newport

T

his is the last in the series on Island
churches. As such it is appropriate I
should finish with the principle church
of the Island, Newport’s great Minister
Church of St. Thomas. Sitting at the heart of the
county town, dominating the skyline and the focus
for much civic as well as religious activity, this has
been a site of Christian witness for over 800 years.
The church truly sits at the heart of Island life.
Although now generally known simply as
St. Thomas the original church on the site was
dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, after
Thomas Becket. When the current church was
dedicated it was done so for both Becket and St.
Thomas the Apostle. There is an attractive glass
vestry screen showing the life of Becket.
The original church having fallen into disrepair,
a new one was built by the Victorians in 185455, with the foundation stone being laid by the
Prince Consort.

There are many interesting features connecting
the current church with its predecessor. These
include the alabaster effigy of Sir Edward de
Horsey; the seating for the Mayor and local
councillors, and the Vicar’s desk. These are all
reminders of the continuous and unbroken link of
faith and worship that has continued on this site.
The pulpit is a particular feature of the church
and is worth studying carefully. It sits opposite the
Vicar’s desk and is a fine example of the work of
the Flemish woodcarver Thomas Caper.
It was a gift in 1637 from Steven Marsh,
Mayor of Newport, whose crest is carved on
the backboard. The carved panels on the pulpit
depict the seven virtues: faith, hope, charity,
justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude.
And at the bottom panels the seven Liberal arts:
grammar, dialect, rhetoric, music, arithmetic,
geometry and astrology.
In the south aisle there is the original font