St Thomas's Church, Regent Street

Thomas Tenison (later Archbishop of Canterbury) became the first rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly in 1685.

A new façade with an entrance on Regent Street was built, funded by the Church Building Commission and designed by C. R. Cockerell.

New rooms, a vestry with a schoolroom above, designed by Thomas Hardwick, were built behind the façade.

[2][3] Commerce increased in the area; middle-class inhabitants left, and a greater proportion of local householders could not afford pew rent, so that the church's income decreased.

This took place in 1869, the freehold of the building being conveyed to the Commissioners, and the church was dedicated to St Thomas.