The Church of St Thomas, Ardwick in the County of -- Lancashire --

	St Thomas, Ardwick (now St Thomas Centre) Photograph by kind permission and © of GMCVO

Living in Ardwick in the 18th century was an affluent man of the name Samuel Birch. He owned the largest house in the area, and having 7 hearths paid more tax than his neighbours.

He was instrumental in providing a chapel of ease dedicated to St Thomas which was consecrated in 1741. It soon expanded into a fine Georgian church and included a memorial chapel to the local men who had fallen in WW1.

The Church closed in 1978 and the building is now used by the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO) with parts of the building used as a conference hall and meeting rooms. www.stthomascentre.org.uk