Historic Churches in: Scotland | Wales | for England see individual counties menu
Quick jump:
Cathedrals in England | Wales
Illustrated Dictionary of Church History and Architecture
A visual guide to British Churches from Saxon to Victorian Gothic.
The Best Churches to Visit in Britain: a highly subjective rating of the most historic churches in Britain - those churches awarded the top score in our Heritage Rating scheme.
Learn more:
Glossary
of Medieval Church Architecture
Romanesque architecture
Gothic architecture:
Early English
Decorated
Perpendicular
The Medieval
Parish Church
Our picks among historic and architecturally interesting churches:
- Patrington, Yorkshire - the perfect Decorated Gothic church
- Lower Oddington, Gloucestershire - superb 'Doom' painting
- Pickering, Yorkshire - perhaps the finest wall paintings in England
- South Dalton, Yorkshire - a Victorian Gothic gem
- Stoke Dry, Rutland - unique wall paintings and Gunpowder Plot association
- Exton, Rutland - magnificent memorials
- Barfreston, Kent - arguably the finest Norman carvings in England
What about cathedrals?
Our favourites:
- Wells Cathedral, Somerset
- York Minster, Yorkshire
- Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire
- Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire
- Canterbury Cathedral, Kent
East Heslerton, St Andrew's Church
East Heslerton, Yorkshire
A large Victorian church in Transitional Gothic style, with elements of Italian design, built by GE Street for Sir Tatton Sykes of nearby Sledmere House. Street built or restored 14 …
Churches Conservation Trust
The CCT looks after over 340 redundant and historically important parish churches, offering free entry to visitors. See all Churches Conservation Trust properties >>
Church tourism
National and regional societies, charities, histories, and suggested regional resources
County Church Trusts
Many British counties and regions have a trust that cares for historic churches. This can be a great resource for finding interesting historic churches to visit.
Books and DVDs
The following list contains several books that we use regularly to plan trips and research historic churches. Links are to Amazon.co.uk
England's Thousand Best Churches , by Simon Jenkins
The Church Explorer's Handbook, by Clive Fewins
How To Read A Church: A Guide to Images, Symbols and Meanings in Churches and Cathedrals
Church Architecture: A Glossary of Terms (Discovering)
Wales's Best One Hundred Churches
The "Daily Telegraph" Guide to England's Parish Churches (Daily Telegraph Guide)
1000 Churches to Visit in Scotland , published by The Scotland's Churches Scheme.
A Little History Of The English Country Church - by Roy Strong. A lovely book. I got this for a Christmas present a few years ago, and really enjoyed it.
Discovering the Smallest Churches in England - a small book (naturally) covering some of the most appealing little churches in each county
Discovering the Smallest Churches in Wales , by John Kinross
You might also like:
Medieval abbeys and monasteries
England | Scotland | Wales