Visiting Places of Worship

 English Heritage is keen that everyone has the opportunity to experience and enjoy the historic environment. Few historic buildings are as easy to visit as the parish church and a number of welcome initiatives are going on around the country to encourage more visitors to historic faith buildings

The following links provide some ideas of places of worship to visit.

Visit grant-aided places of worship

It is a condition of the Repair Grants for Places of Worship scheme that the public should have a right to see the buildings to whose repair they have contributed. All grant-aided places of worship are required to provide access on at least 28 days a year, outside hours of worship.

Opening arrangements for these places of worship are published on our website.

The Churches Conservation Trust is responsible for 340 of England's most beautiful and historic churches which are no longer needed for regular worship. They promote public enjoyment of these churches, and encourage their use as an educational and community resource.

Churches Tourism Association is England’s leading body for faith heritage tourism. Its objectives are to promote among churches and others the need to welcome tourists and to educate churches and others about the benefits to individuals and communities which can arise from such a welcome.

Friends of Friendless Churches own 38 former places of worship, half in England, half in Wales, which they have saved from demolition, decay and unsympathetic conversion. They preserve the buildings, undertaking repair where necessary, as peaceful spaces for visitors and the local community to enjoy.

The Historic Chapels Trust was formed in 1993 and owns 17 chapels and other places of worship of outstanding architectural and historic interest. The object is to secure their preservation, repair and maintenance for public benefit, including contents, burial grounds and ancillary buildings.