160 Churches to Explore in England

Leicester Cathedral is at the physical heart of our city and county. This church, built on the site of a Roman temple and dedicated to St Martin of Tours, has been embedded in the public, economic, cultural and religious life of this community since medieval times. The building you see today is predominantly Victorian. The tower and 220 foot spire were designed by the architect Raphael Brandon and were rebuilt in the 1860s. It was one of the main pilgrimage centre as well as a tourist attraction

Leiston Abbey is the impressive remains of a 14th-century Premonstratensian abbey, one of the best-preserved monastic sites in Suffolk. The abbey ruins include the thatched Lady Chapel, which is still sometimes used for worship. Founded in c. 1183 by Ranulf de Glanville , Chief Justiciar to King Henry II , it was originally built on a marshland isle near the sea, and was called "St Mary de Insula". Around 1363 the abbey suffered so much from flooding that a new site was chosen and it was rebuilt

Lichfield Cathedral is a treasured landmark in the heart of the country that prides itself in offering a warm welcome to all our visitors. The Anglican Diocese of Lichfield covers Staffordshire, much of Shropshire, and parts of the Black Country and West Midlands. The current Bishop of Lichfield, Michael Ipgrave, was appointed in 2016. It is a Grade I listed building. One of the main pilgrimage centres in this area and also a tourist attraction too.

Lilleshall Abbey was founded in about 1148 for a community of Augustinian canons. By the late 13th century, it had become a religious house of great reputation and prestige. In the 14th century, however, a financial crisis contributed to a gradual dwindling of the community. After the abbey was suppressed in 1538, it was converted into a private house. The buildings were severely damaged in the Civil War during a Parliamentarian siege, but the extensive sandstone remains still give an impression

Lincoln Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Diocese, the parish church of the County, a place of national heritage and a centre of international pilgrimage. It provides a space for God, a place for worship, praise and private prayer. was the tallest building in the world for over 200 years, but the central spire fell down in the sixteenth century and was not rebuilt. It owns one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta.

Liverpool Cathedral is Britain's biggest Cathedral and the 5th largest in Europe. The cathedral is free to enter, however, the tower and audio tour is highly recommended. It is a world-class visitor attraction with a full program of events from Cream Classics music sets to large gala dinners and conferences. The cathedral is based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott and was constructed between 1904 and 1978. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel.

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool, England. The Grade II* Metropolitan Cathedral is one of Liverpool's many listed buildings. The cathedral's architect, Frederick Gibberd, was the winner of a worldwide design competition. Construction began in 1962 and was completed in 1967. Earlier designs for a cathedral were proposed in 1933 and 1953, but none were completed.

A majestic and historically important church which has been a hotbed of British legend for hundreds of years, having said to have been visited by such major figures as Robin Hood and Sir Gawain. Lud's Church is an immense natural cleft in the rock on the hillside above Gradbach, in a forest area known as the Black Forest. The feature has been formed by a landslip that has detached a large section of rock from the hillside.

Malmesbury Abbey is one of the oldest and most important religious sites in England, with a history going back to at least the 7th century. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The present building dates from about 1180. Over half of the great church has disappeared, but the remainder is used as a parish church and boasts some fine Romanesque architecture and art.

Manchester Cathedral is the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester. The former parish church was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style in the years following the foundation of the collegiate body in 1421. The medieval church was extensively refaced, restored and extended in the Victorian period, and again following bomb damage in the 20th century. The collegiate church became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Manchester in 1847, and is one of fifte

Monk Bretton was a Cluniac priory established around 1154 by Adam Fitz Swane as a daughter house of St John's in Pontefract. When the monastery was built, however, the site in the wooded valley of the River Dearne was peaceful and remote. In the course of time the priory took the name of the nearby village of Bretton to be commonly known as Monk Bretton Priory.

It was the first Catholic Abbey to be founded in this country after the Reformation. This is a Cistercian Monastery of white monks founded in 1835 as a continuation of Garendon Abbey. Includes gardens, high calvary, gift shop, and Abbey Church. The abbey was the first permanent monastery to be founded in England since the Reformation and is the sole Trappist house in England. The monks brew the only Trappist beer in Britain.

Muchelney Abbey is an English Heritage property in the village of Muchelney in the Somerset Levels, England. The site consists of ruined walls showing the layout of the abbey buildings constructed from the 7th to 16th and the remaining intact Abbott's House. It is next to the parish church in which some of the fabric of the abbey has been reused.

Buckland Abbey was built in the thirteenth century as a Cistercian monastery. It retained its function until the mid-sixteenth century, when Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries. The last Drake descendant to live there was Captain Richard Owen-Tapps-Gervis-Meyrick (1892–1948) who sold the Abbey in 1948, after it had been gutted by fire in 1938.

Set amid woodland in North Yorkshire, this unusual monastery is the best preserved Carthusian priory in Britain. The monastery consisted of a church and two cloisters. The Great Cloister, to the north of the church, had seventeen cells for monks whilst the southern Lesser Cloister had six cells for the lay brothers. Wander the ruins and discover how the monks lived 600 years ago in the reconstructed monk’s cell and herb plot. Explore the rooms of the Arts and Crafts manor house and then head out

A beautiful natural location that was covered with trees, hedges, and shrubs planted in the form of a medieval cathedral. This incredible Tree Cathedral was created after the First World War in the spirit of "faith, hope, and reconciliation". The cathedral, which covers 26 acres, was begun in the interwar years in an effort to foster ‘Faith, hope and reconciliation’. The Tree Cathedral contains chapels meant for each of the four seasons.

Newark Priory is a ruined priory on an island surrounded by the River Wey and its former leat (the Abbey Stream) near the boundary of the village of Ripley and Pyrford in Surrey, England. Today Newark Priory is listed as a Grade 1 Ancient Monument. It is located upon private land but can be viewed whilst walking along the river Wey between Pyrford and Ripley.

Newport Minster is a parish church serving at the heart of Newport and the Isle of Wight, where anyone and everyone is welcome. It’s fascinating history has links to Carisbrooke Castle, Osborne House and the Royals. Follow it from the Middle Ages, through Elizabethan times, the Civil War and Queen Victoria right up to the present day.

Normanton Church served as a parish church until the early 1700s when a large part of the village was demolished to create an estate for the Heathcote Baronets. These wealthy aristocrats used the church as their private chapel and mausoleum. It was later rebuilt in a classical style in the 18th century when the Heathcote Baronets created their estate in Rutland and used the parish church as their private chapel.

Norwich Cathedral is a Christian presence in the heart of Norfolk and the Diocese of Norwich. It began, over 900 years ago, as the Cathedral church of a Benedictine Monastery, built to inspire by its sheer size and magnificence. The Cathedral continues to fill today’s visitors with a sense of awe and wonder. The cathedral was completed in 1145 with the Norman tower still seen today topped with a wooden spire covered with lead.