The Paley and Austin building replaced an earlier church of 1773, and cost about £3,000 (equivalent to £ in ). The church was supported by the Wakefield family of
Sedgwick House, another Paley and Austin building in the parish. In 1885, composer
Mary Augusta Wakefield and her sister Agnes organized a music festival to raise money for St. Thomas'. The festival continues today as Mary Wakefield Westmorland Festival (but no longer supports St. Thomas'). The internal furnishings are also by Paley and Austin. The church was provided with an organ by Wilkinson of Kendal which was rebuilt in the 1980s by the East Anglian firm Holmes & Swift. The stained glass in the east window dates from about 1890, and is by
Clayton and Bell. ==Modifications==