Favorite churches, abbeys, in England--what are yours?

Canterbury Cathedral. I'm not much of a cathedral guy but the stories and history behind this one has me still talking about it. There is a docent tour that was well worth the money. Of particular interest to me was the display where Thomas Beckett was murdered, and the small museum in the crypt with objects on display such as the shirt and shield that Edward-The Black Prince wore and small buttons and broaches that would have been sold as souvenirs 800 years ago as people made their pilgrimage to the cathedral.

Coventry, old and new
The Hawksmoor churches
Ely
Durham
Liverpool Anglican
Fountains Abbey
Tintern Abbey
Rievaulx Abbey
Norwich
Southwell
Lichfield
Ripon
Beverley Minster
York Minster
Wells
St David’s
Carlisle
Exeter
Sherborne

Lincoln Cathedral. A stunning building in an amazing location. Parts of it date back to 1072. Plus it’s immediately opposite an excellent castles which has one of the four extant original versions of the Magna Carta.

St Brides, London, All Saints, London, St Pancras Old Church, London, Holy Trinity, London, Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, London, St Mary Le Bow, London.

St James Hampton Hill, St Peter’s Winchcombe, St Michaels and St Georges Catholic Church Lyme Regis.

Cathedrals: Peterborough, Lincoln, Shrewsbury, and Durham.

Thanks for these ideas on churches and abbeys.

We have Canterbury now on our list and also Wells and we will be looking up the others to find out more how we can work some of them into our no car vacation!

Thanks Claudia for the London ideas! We will be returning to London on this trip and will plan out visits to at least some on this list!

I should have mentioned Salisbury Cathedral. We had a tower tour scheduled for there last Fall however due to the death of the Queen it was cancelled. We took a town tour instead and our guide mentioned that the tower tour is one of the best tours in England. I don't know if it's of interest to you, but here's a link to my Trip Report from last Fall. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-the-south-of-england

Fountains Abbey was one of my favorite places. When I first went to England, that was high on my list to see. I was lucky in that I got there first thing and was the only person there. It was so incredibly peaceful and serene. The only sounds I heard were pheasants brushing through the bushes, and birds chirping. As I put my feet on the stone steps, it felt awe inspiring to be able to walk the same steps that these twelfth-century Cistercian monks walked. Leaving the Abbey, I came to mirrored pools of water mixed with Greek style rotundas and marble statues. I will never forget that experience.

For those who visit the Lake District Shap Abbey is one of those undiscovered destinations, which never makes the guide books.
And for anyone visiting Hadrian's Wall Lanercost Priory is a short and worthwhile diversion.

Where to begin? As you've found, there are so many wonderful churches to be discovered in England. You've already had many of the larger Cathedrals and Abbeys mentioned but don't forget the smaller parish churches.

Places like the tiny St Gregory's Minster in Kirkdale, North Yorkshire with its 1000 year old sundail, There is the unspolit Saxon church at Escomb in County Durham or St Mary's Priory Church at Deerhurst in Gloucestershire.

Also in Gloucestershire is St Mary's Church in Kempley with its Medieval wall paintings. The walls of St Michael and All Angels, Garton-on-the-Wolds, in the East Riding are covered with amazing C19th wall paintings that glow when the sun is shining.

Suffolk has wonderful wool churches at Blythborough, Southwold or Lavenham. Framlingham Church in Suffolk has some splendid tombs as does St Mary's Church in Warwick or the redundant church of St Lawrence at Snarford in Lincolnshire...

If you haven't already discovered it, Simon Jenkin's England's Thousand Best Churches published in 2002 is a wonderful source of ideas for places to visit. It's available second hand on Amazon at a reasonable price.

It would help if you know what areas you are planning to visit as we can offer much more focused suggestions.

By the way my own Parish Church of St James', Whitehaven is in Simon Jenkins' book- a fine example (if restored, and altered) of a Georgian Parish Church, although Wigton St Mary's and Penrith St Andrew's (I don't know if they are in the book) are maybe purer examples of Georgian Churches.
If going to Wigton you should go down the Silloth road to Abbey Town for Holm Cultram Abbey- part ruined and part a current Parish Church.
Penrith St Andrew's also has a fine, if usually missed, memorial to the Jacobite uprisings in the area- I will leave that one hanging tantalisingly for anyone visiting to discover.
Also in the Penrith area, on the A66 heading east, I recommend visiting Brougham St Ninian's Church [otherwise known as Ninekirks]. This old Church is no longer in regular use (having been replaced by St Wilfred's in Brougham Village) and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. It is in the middle of a field with limited parking on the side of the A66.
If heading north on the old road (not the M6) I also recommend Tebay St James' Church with it's unusual railway style architecture.

Another vote for Ely, Salisbury, Wells...and Fountains Abbey. And another strong recommendation for Simon Jenkins' 1000 Best Churches of England (as well as his 1000 Best Houses of England). Those 2 books are my beginning reference points whenever I visit England.

Two quick additions/suggestions.

All Saints' Church, Tudeley in Kent. Has fabulous Marc Chagall stained glass windows. I think you have to make an appointment to visit.

Also, check out London Walks. www.walks.com. It has a city churches walk which is interesting.

So many beautiful ones already mentioned—here’s a few I enjoyed that are off the beaten path.

1. St Asaph’s Cathedral in Wales with its collection of Welsh-language bibles
2. St Thomas’s Church in Salisbury for its restored doom painting
3. St Margaret’s at Sandringham for its connection to the royal family.

I also loved St Eadburgha’s—what a lovely setting. Many of the small parish churches are also fascinating to see.

Whitby, Fountains, Lanercost, York Minster, Ely, Malmesbury. And after all that majesty the tiny chapel at Lead (all that remains of the village) near the site of England’s bloodiest battle at Towton is both memorable and moving. Also St. David’s Cathedral, but technically it doesn’t count here as it’s in Wales!

The church next to Whitby Abbey (St Mary’s) is worth a visit. The church at Fountains in the grounds of Studley Royal Deer Park, another St Mary’s, is similarly worth a look round. I especially like the lion of Judah!

Haven’t so far gained admission to St Olave’s in Seething Lane, London (Samuel Pepys church) yet but it’s on the list.

How about joining a small group tour of churches in an area such as Norfolk, Suffolk or Northumbria? I particularly recommend the tours led by Imogen Corrigan for ACE Cultural Tours - scroll down the page for the church tours.

In the Diocese of Carlisle [Cumbria] see this web page for a number of self guided Church trails which have been developed- see in particular the 3 Churches Trust for Cumbria trails at the bottom of the page.

I should have mentioned Salisbury Cathedral. We had a tower tour
scheduled for there last Fall however due to the death of the Queen it
was cancelled. We took a town tour instead and our guide mentioned
that the tower tour is one of the best tours in England.

I couldn’t agree more. We did the tower tour at Salisbury Cathedral last year August.
It was informative (history and architecture), funny (many stories told by our guide) and beautiful (views inside and outside the cathedral). For me it was the highlight of our 2 weeks southern England road-trip.

I would add St. Albans Cathedral. We had a wonderful tour guide there. Built on site where Alban's was buried after he was martyred.
Short taxi ride from Luton airport where we had a layover.

We just returned from 18 days in the UK and visited 6 cathedrals, Canterbury, Winchester, Wells, Gloucester, Durham, and Ely. All were fabulous, but I think Ely was my favorite. We've visited many European cathedrals and Ely was the first time we encountered an entrance through the main door. The Octagon there is so interesting to see too. I can't judge Durham much as it was mostly closed off to touring the day we were there 🙁

It is heartening to see so many 'ordinary' parish churhes being mentioned. Most people head to the Cathedral but don't bother with other churches. They are missing a lot. Parish churches are one of our unsung glories with a wealth of history. You never know just what you will find when you push open the door. Some are better than others, but I've always managed to find something of interest.

How many people have also been to the wonderful Holy Trinity Church just off Goodramgate with its now gently subsiding box pews.

Almost next door to Lincoln Cathedral on Bailgate is the church of St. Mary Magdalene with St. Paul in the Bail and St. Michael on the Mount (to give it its full name). It's only open limited hours but is worth a quick look.

A bit further away but but easily reached by bus is Stow Minster, which predates Lincoln Cathedral and is often referred to as the 'Mother Church of Lincoln'. It is a wonderful example of Norman architecture plus a Saxon tower.

About 10 minutes walk from Canterbury Cathedral is St Martin's Church, described as the oldest church in continuous use in the English speaking world, being part Roman, part Saxon.

As well as Wells Cathedral, St Cuthbert's Church is only a short walk and another interesting church and the largest in Somerset.

St Thomas in Salisbury with its doom painting has already been mentioned.

There are loads more examples out there waiting to be discovered!

If you're interested in medieval christian artwork then St. Huberts church in Idsworth, Hampshire is a must see. It's a lovely, small Saxon church that offers a completely different experience to the grand, majestic cathedrals and, if you're religous, will probably provide a more meaningful experience.

https://www.hampshire-history.com/st-huberts-church-idsworth/

As you have Canterbury and Wells on your list I assume this trip would focus on Southern England. I would add -
Sherborne Abbey
St Nicholas Church in the village of Moreton - wonderful engraved glass windows and Lawrence of Arabia is buried nearby
St Mary's in Tyneham village - the village was evacuated in WW2 and the villagers never returned. The D Day landing were practised from there.
These are all in Dorset, nearer Wells than Canterbury. You would need to check the opening times of Tyneham village.

Exeter, Bristol, Sherborne, Gloucester and Wells.

number one for me by a country mile is St Mary and All Saints, Fotheringhay, just on the Northamptonshire side of the Cambridgeshire border. Beautifully light and bright, beautiful and informative memorials and floor. Incredible history, mostly royal. Only half the size it used to be, but at least still there unlike the even more (in)famous castle.

As long as we are in the neighbourhood, Great St Mary's in the centre of Cambridge. Magnificent ring of bells, all the associations with Cambridge University and constituent Colleges.

Hereford Cathedral for its Chained Library.

Wells Cathedral for such modern looking but ancient architecture. And that clock. And the Cathedral Close.

Speaking of Cathedral Closes, and with a world class ring of bells, close enough to the cricket pitch a good six could nearly take out a window, overlooking the Severn River, and we haven't even looked inside yet. Worcester Cathedral, one of the all time tops.

I could go on and on, not forgetting St Mary's Prestbury (my family is buried there, Prestbury Glas, not Prestbury Gtr Manc.), St Mary's Warwick with the fabulous tower and another really good ring of bells, and Kings College Chapel, Cambridge with the world's largest fan vault, amazing acoustics, stained glass that has to be seen. And the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, known as Peterborough Cathedral. Three massive Early English Gothic arches form the front of the very impressive Cathedral.

and my all time fav - personally - St Pauls Cathedral. My favourite ring of bells in the country, and a fairly impressive building inside. Nice dome too...

Thanks so much everyone! I love reading these! So much to see!
I also loved St Mary’s Abbey ruins in York! We walked by everyday we were in York and sat in its shadow or walked past and around it. Gorgeous!

An out of the way church is the Church of St Mary in Lastingham. It is way out of the way but if you are in the vicinity of the York Moors it is worth visiting. It dates back to the 600s and has a crypt dating to the 1000s. Not a cathedral though. Hope it is still there. We visited it over 20 years ago.
It is listed in Simon Jenkins book getting 4 out of 5 stars according to "Wikiwand".

Wells Cathedral immediately comes to mind . St Laurence Church in Ludlow - beautiful collection of carved misericords , and the poet A. E. Housman is interred in the Churchyard.