WERNETH is an ecclesiastical parish, formed Oct. 22, 1844. The church of St. Thomas is a building of stone in the Early English style, erected in the year 1855 on a site given by Messrs. John and James Platt, and consists of chancel, nave, transepts, north and south porch and a western tower containing one bell: there are several stained windows: in 1881 a new organ chamber was built, the organ rebuilt at a cost of nearly £3,000, defrayed by S. R. Platt esq. and the chancel enlarged and a choir vestry added at a cost of £7,000: there are 550 sittings, of which 220 are free. The register dates from the year 1855. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £340, with residence, in the gift of the Crown and the Bishop of Manchester alternately, and held since 1903 by the Rev. Arthur James Woodhouse M.A. of Chius College, Cambridge.