Church of St Thomas at Cliffe
CHURCH OF ST THOMAS AT CLIFFE, CLIFFE HIGH STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1043870
- Date first listed:
- 25-Feb-1952
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Thomas at Cliffe
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST THOMAS AT CLIFFE, CLIFFE HIGH STREET
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2003-03-02
- Reference:
- IOE01/09554/13
- Rights:
- © Mr Robert J Harvey. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1043870
- Date first listed:
- 25-Feb-1952
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 29-Oct-1985
- List Entry Name:
- Church of St Thomas at Cliffe
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCH OF ST THOMAS AT CLIFFE, CLIFFE HIGH STREET
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCH OF ST THOMAS AT CLIFFE, CLIFFE HIGH STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- East Sussex
- District:
- Lewes (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Lewes
- National Park:
- South Downs
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ 42132 10272
Details
TQ 4210 SW LEWES CLIFFE HIGH STREET 11/56 (north side) Cliffe 25.2.52 Church of St Thomas at Cliffe (formerly listed as Church of St Thomas-a-Becket in the Cliffe)
GV II*
Church. C12, C14, C15, restored 1879 and 1885. Flint and stone with stone quoins and dressings. Horsham slab and plain tiled roofs. West tower with nave, north and south aisles with south porch and chancel with north vestry. Three-stage west tower with diagonal buttresses, divided by string-courses with string-course also to plain parapet of brick-banded flint with coping. Pyramidal roof of plain tiles and octagonal north-east stair-turret. C15 two-light belfry openings very much renewed. Single light on west side of second stage. First stage with large reworked C15 window over west door with C19 three-centred arch, carved foliage in spandrels and hoodmould. Separately-roofed aisles with two C19 windows each, to south symmetrically arranged about central two-storey porch, blind above, with C15 moulded door- way below with doubled boarded and ribbed doors. Lower chancel with single C19 Perpendicular-style window to south and similar though larger window to east. Interior: C19 tower arch. Three-bay arcades with octagonal piers and capitals and hollow-chamfered arches. Similar, but larger, tower-arch. Fittings: Tudor royal arms, (Queen Elizabeth, 1598).
W.H. Godfrey, The Official Guide to Lewes, 1933, revised 1977, 42. B.O.E., Sussex, 1965, 553-554.
Listing NGR: TQ4213210272
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 293035
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Nairn, I, The Buildings of England: Sussex, (1965), 553-554
Godfrey, W H, The Official Guide to Lewes, (1933)
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 29-Jun-2026 at 09:59:32.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.