Now that the original graveyard has been cleared and relaid as a garden of Rest, there is a striking view to be obtained of St. Thomas's church from the southwest on Warrington Road. Framed in the centre of the garden is the imposing War memorial to the memory of the men of the parish who died in two World Wars.
The entrance of the Church is by two doorways in the tower, one on the North (Heath Road) and one on the South (churchyard) side. A fine feature of the tower is the clock, dated May 15th 1812 and taken from the old church. The tower also houses a small bell which replaced the one taken from the old Church. There is too a recorded peal of bells, erected by public subscription in April 1948, in memory of the men of the Parish who gave their lives in the 1939-1945 War.
Inside the Church is a well proportioned building, with a Chancel and a Nave of three bays. The Architect had instructions to place only two pillars on either side between the Nave and the Aisles , though in most Churches there are four in the same length. This condition of course necessitated unusually wide arches, wider in fact, most probably, than in most other churches in England, but the advantage is quite apparent on entering the Church, as the chancel can be seen from the most distant corners of the Aisles. The lofty Nave is surmounted by a clerestory and has aisles of equal length to North and South. The pews of pitchpine were put in when the Church was rebuilt, with matching stalls at the back of each aisle, one on the North side for the Clerk and one on the Southside for the two Churchwardens. The Wardens Staves were the gift of a former Vicar, Rev. A. Pelham Burton, in 1931.

On either side of the entrance doors to the Nave are bookcases for Hymn and Prayer Books, donated in 1963 by the families of Miss M. J. Turton and Thomas Hickson.

At the back of the North Aisle is the Memorial Corner. An oak case contains the Book of Remembrance, in which are inscribed the names of all those who’s ashes are interred in the Garden of Rest. This bookcase was given by Mr. and Mrs. Abel Ogden and Anne in memory of Judith, 15th September 1961. On a shelf above the bookcase is an exquisite King Charles 11 prayer book, given to the church by Mrs. Freda Foster, and displayed in a case made by Frank Hardy. Here also, was to be found the original "Parish Chest" made and carved in 1699 to hold the Parish Registers-a link with an even older building demolished in 1714. Most regrettably, this chest was stolen from the church on November 26th 1992. St. Thomas's had lost a piece of its heritage.

On the North Wall is a board containing the names of the clergy of St. Thomas's, beginning in 1570:-

1570 Oswald Key
1609 John Janion
1645 James Woods
1663 = Maddock
1668 = Atkinson
1690 Thomas Wareing
1710 John Smith
1736 Henry Pierce
- Barton Shuttleworth
1742 Richard Bevan
1779 Edward Edwards
1796 Giles Chippendall
1804 John Woodrow
1809 Edmund Sibson
1848 Edward Pigot
1857 Frederick Kenny
1870 William Page Oldham
1871 Henry Siddall
1908 William Pollock Hill
1916 John Manifold Courtenay
1919 Arthur Pelham Burton
1931 Robert Owen Shone
1945 Frank Harcourt Millward
1960 Henry Stirrup Davies
1966 Fred Finney
1987 Derek Walton Percival

The earlier ones were all curates of Winwick, but records do not indicate whether their ministry was wholly or only partly in Ashton.

At the front of the North Aisle is the Lady Chapel where the Holy Communion is celebrated on Thursdays, and where, appropriately, the Mothers Union Banner is kept.

The Altar Cross was given in memory of Hugh Jarvis by his wife and children; and the service book for the administration of Holy Communion was presented in memory of Ernest Hargreaves by his wife and family, 1984. A new set of Altar frontals has been given by Mrs. A Bullough, in memory of her parents, Harriet and Herbert Pilling, and the first of these was used for Easter Celebrations in 1991. They are kept in a cabinet in the Vestry specially made for them by Donald Slinn.

On the north side of the Chancel Arch is the carved oak pulpit, erected in 1908, in the memory of the Rev. Siddall.

On the South side of the Chancel Arch, where the old pulpit originally stood, is the Lectern, presented by C. H. Astle, Churchwarden, at Christmas 1897. The Bible was a gift of Mrs D. W. Cummins a former headmistress of St. Thomas's infant school, in memory of her Husband.

Between the Lectern and the door leading into the vestry stands the Font, which was originally at the back of Church and was moved to its present position in 1963. The Font itself is of stone and has an octagonal wooden cover given by Mr. W. Litherland in memory of his wife. The mural is in memory of Maggie Mather, given by her Husband and children.

To the East of the Nave, and on a higher level, is the Chancel, on either side of which are the oak Prayer Desks and Choir stalls, given in memory of Jane Elizabeth Naylor by her Husband, and dedicated on Sunday 18th May 1947 replacing the pitchpine stalls which had been put in when the Church was rebuilt.
On a higher level again is the Sanctuary, separated from the Chancel by the oak Communion rail, dedicated on Sunday 27th November in memory of Arthur Rimmer, a former Organist and Choirmaster. Beyond this is the High Altar, the focal point of the Church. The Altar is furnished with coloured frontals, changed according to the seasons of the Church's year.

The Sanctuary is panelled in oak. The Easter Vestry Minutes of 1908 state that "a vote of thanks was recorded as follows:-to the family of the late vicar, Rev. Henry Siddall, who generously gave the Reredos in oak to the memory of his son, the late Rev. Henry Siddall, and as a thanks offering for his own partial recovery; to Mr Williams Valiant who generously gave the side panelling on the North and South sides of the Rerodos under the East window in memory of his late wife; to Mr. William. Clark, Mr. P. Clark and Mrs. Stuart who generously gave the oak panelling on the North side of the Chancel above the Communion Rails in memory of their Father, the late Mr. C. P. Clark; Mr F. H. Oldham (architect of the Church) who together with his late wife gave the panelling on the South side of the Sanctuary in memory of the late Rev. W. Page Oldham, Vicar 1870-1871; to the men’s bible class who generously subscribed for the panelling below the Communion Rails; to Mr. Molyneux and the day school staff for raising the cost of the pitchpine boarding round the Nave; and to the many generous donors who subscribed to the beautifying and cleaning of the Church."

In 1987, when our late Vicar, Rev. D. W. Percival, arrived, the Altar had been brought forward away from the East Wall to the centre of the Sanctuary. This left an unsightly gap in the panelling where the altar had stood. Four new panels were made and carved by Donald Slinn to match exactly the existing panels, and the work was completed at the beginning of Advent 1992. The new panelling was dedicated by Bishop J. Roxburgh at the opening of our Centenary Celebrations on Sunday 7th February 1993, and they are in memory of Rev. D. W. Percival.
The Sanctuary furnishings consist of the Bishop's chair and Desk, given by Mrs Mather in memory of her husband, a former Organist, and a Credence Table given in memory of Robert Noble Smith by his wife in 1961. These are on the North side of the Altar. On the South side is a long Prayer Desk and Sedalia, plus a small Prayer Desk which is part of a pair, the other being in the Lady Chapel. There are also in the Sanctuary two chairs from the old Church, with kneelers, one on each side of the Altar. The stands for the flower vases are in memory of Robert and Eva Westhead. The Processional Cross dedicated at the Christmas eve Eucharist in 1988, is a gift of Mr. and Mrs A Edwardson, to mark his twenty first anniversary as Warden. On the South wall of the Chancel is the memorial to Mary, Lady Gerard. It shows her as a nurse warding off death from a wounded soldier, and the inscription records her patriotic work in the Great War of 1914-1918.

Two brass plates have also been placed in the Chancel-on the North side:-

"To the Glory of God and in memory of John Rigby who died 16th July 1927, Thomas Wright Rigby who died 5 August 1928, Kate Rigby who died 17 June 1930, in gratitude for their benefactions to the Church."

And on the South side:

"In memory of James Pilling who died 3rd December 1926, for 8 years Churchwarden of this Parish."
In the South Aisle at the back of Church is the C.M.S corner. The C.M.S. table was presented by Mr. and Mrs. T. Smith and family in loving memory of Elizabeth and Robert Noble Smith. The cupboard is dedicated to the Glory of God and in loving memory of Thomas William and Jane Hardy from their sons and families. In this corner also there is now a small library of Christian Literature for the use of anyone interested.

In 1928 it was decided to build a new vestry for the use of the clergy, and to use the existing vestry for the choir who had previously robed in the passages around the organ. The plans were drawn by Messrs Austin and Paley of Lancaster and the work carried out by Messrs Kearsley and Gee, at a cost of between £500 and £600.

At a meeting of the PCC at St. Thomas's Vicarage on 28th August 1928 the installation of Electric lighting in the Church was unanimously approved. In September a faculty was granted "to remove the Gas Pipes and fittings at present in the Church and to introduce in lieu thereof a system of lighting by electricity.
Until 1961, the Organ remained on the South side of the Chancel. In May 1961 it was decided to place the Organ in the side Chapel and have it rebuilt with a new foot-pedal board and new pump.

At about the same time as the organ was being moved, the vicar found in a chest, stored away, the only worthwhile ornament from the old church namely a brass chandelier, which had, for a while hung at the west end of the present Church. The brass work was so black and covered with verdigris that it needed professional treatment. Mr Daniels, an old member of St. Thomas's offered to have it cleaned. It was then fitted electrically and hung in the side Chapel. This link with bygone days now has found a useful place in our present church.
The next important improvement was the Vestry, which had looked little better than a junk room for many years. The extra space of the old organ chamber now gave it good proportions, but the plaster was in bad condition and as a temporary measure, the old pitchpine screen was placed across the archway adjoining the Chancel. The Vicar wanted to see the vestry panelled all the way round with the robes-cupboards and other necessary cupboards as all part of one scheme. The Vestry was eventually renovated and enlarged in the following year, 1963 by the voluntary labour of the men of St. Thomas's, and the cost was defrayed by a legacy left by Mr. and Mrs J.H Foster of Old Boston Farm. The chairs were given in memory of Mr. H. Darwell, one time warden, by his wife.

In June 1965, the Architect finally decided that the repair of the slated structure on the Tower would be expensive and only temporary, and he advised the P.C.C. to have it taken down and a flat roof fitted just below the top stonework. The cost of this work was in the region of £300. Whilst the roof was being repaired, the Vicar invited an expert to inspect the bell which had been taken down. The expert, form Loughborough Bell Foundry, informed him that the bell was worn out; it was cracked and had a small hole in it. He had three suggestions to make; a light peal of bells-cost £2,400; a tenor bell -cost £540; a smaller bell-£350. It was eventually decided on a small bell.

In 1975 rewiring of the Church was undertaken and improvement of the lighting. The work was done by Norweb at a cost of over £1000. Early 1975 also saw the cleaning of the outside stonework of the church, by Stone and Metal Renovators Ltd, of Whalley, Lancashire. The total cost was £2,509 of which St Thomas's had to pay only £277, the rest of the cost being borne by the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council and the greater Manchester County Council. In addition to the cleaning work, the stonework was renovated where necessary. This was at St Thomas's expense and the cost was around £1,000. The tower and west front had been renovated in 1954 when badly perished stones had been cut out and replaced with stones to match. The whole of the Tower, including the copings, the West elevations of the North and South aisles, and buttresses, were all repointed. The work had been undertaken by E. & C. Smitton Ltd, Masons and Contractors of Liverpool at a cost of £600.

By 1980 the Church roof was causing problems. To replace it with the same Westmoreland green slate would cost somewhere in the region of £35,000. The decoration of the Church, long overdue, would require a further £12,500. The Church restoration fund stood at £5,000, so several months were spent applying for grants to help meet this enormous expense. Hardly any financial help was forthcoming, so planning permission was obtained to re-roof the Church in dark brown Redland Renown tiles, which would cost about £10,000.

The campaign to raise the necessary funds took the form of a tile sponsorship scheme, launched under the slogan " I helped to raise the roof of St Thomas's" The initial aim was to raise enough money to pay for the new roof and thereafter sufficient further funds to pay for the internal re-decoration of the Church. Within a month £4,300 had been raised and the appeal was continued until sufficient funds had been received. The Church was re-roofed by W. Swindell’s & Sons of St Helens, who contracted to do the job at a cost of £9,603 plus VAT, a total of £11,043. After being re-roofed, the Church was decorated.

The year 1986 saw a Public Address System installed, to make the services perfectly audible to everyone in Church, wherever they sit. There was also an induction loop system for the benefit of those with hearing aids. The cost was covered by a donation from Mr. F. Lowe (Organist), his wife and sister, in memory of their parents.

In 1988, the Organ was again renovated; the work was being undertaken by George Sixsmith and Son Ltd, of Mossley, Nr Manchester, at a cost in excess of £18,000. Parishioners were asked to "adopt an organ pipe" to defray the expense of the refurbishment. Some £12,000 was raised and the balance provided very generously by the late Ronald Bragg and his wife Barbara. Both the raise the roof scheme and the organ pipe adoption schemes were conceived and administered by Malcolm Taylor who was church warden at the time.

In 1991 the Parochial Church Council approved a plan for the Gallery at the West end of the Nave to be enclosed. A considerable amount of heat was lost through the existing opening and it was also draughty for members of the congregation seated at the back of church. Apart from these practical considerations, the work was also meant to be part of our Centenary celebrations of the Church in 1993. The design of the Gallery window, which was the work of Paul Tushingham, was kept simple and is in balance with the existing East window and the West window beyond the Gothic arched Gallery opening. The work was carried out by Cyril Catterall a local joiner and carpenter, and was completed in 1992. It was dedicated by Bishop J. Roxburgh at our opening Centenary Service on 7th September 1993, and will be known in future as the Centenary Window.

Early in 1992 the Church Architect pointed out the urgent need to restore the outside stonework. The walls were deteriorating badly and it was vital to carry out long term remedial work to halt the deterioration. The worst affected stones needed to be re-placed, the lesser affected areas "re-dressed", and the whole repointed. This work had to be carried out by experienced stone masons working to drawings especially prepared for the purpose. No internal work needed to be done so there was no interruption of Church activities. The cost of the restoration was a staggering £70,000 (fourteen times more than it cost to Build the Church), and for this reason the work had to be phased, as funds allowed. The first phase the South wall began on 7th September. A special Evening Service was held on 8th September to launch the fund raising campaign. As the Vicar noted, our beautiful church has stood proud and firm through the momentous events of the last century. It has been a witness to times of joy and sadness, to war and peace. It has been there for all of us when we needed its comfort and encouragement. It is now up to all of us as custodians of the building to ensure that we can pass this "Rock" to those who follow us.