# The Cathedrals, Churches and Abbeys of England



## SouthBank (Nov 18, 2004)

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**** England's Grand Old Cathedrals, Churches and Abbeys ****


*You're never far away from a big church or cathedral in England - the country was built, reformed, destroyed and rebuilt around them. The fact that so many remain after hundreds of years of weathering, collapsing towers, unstable foundations, fires and reformation, is a tribute to the both the original architects and those that maintain and protect them today.

I've only recently become intrigued by the aura, majesty and intricate design of these buildings, so I thought I'd share my new-found fascination here. Suffice to say I got a bit carried away... and have included a silly number of photos of what I believe to be some of the finest Christian churches in England. While I hope most of the major ones are covered, this is in no way a comprehensive list, so please feel free to add others if you genuinely feel they are worthy of the company!

I've purposely avoided including either modern-style Cathedrals, such as Coventry and Liverpool RC or ruins of the epic Abbeys such as Fountains and Glastonbury, simply because I ran out of patience! Also, I'm keeping information about each one to a minimum, again because I've already bored myself doing this, so I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Oh, and this is purely meant to be for info and shared interest only - I've got no real agenda here and am certainly not trying to suggest that these are the finest collection of Cathedrals and Churches around, so lets try and avoid any petty "my country/city/***** is bigger/better than yours" arguments please people...

Enjoy!*

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*Buildings featured (no particular order):*

- Salisbury Cathedral
- Westminster Abbey
- York Minster
- Lincoln Cathedral
- Peterborough Cathedral
- Canterbury Cathedral
- Durham Cathedral
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Beverley Minster
- Wells Cathedral
- Winchester Cathedral
- Norwich Cathedral
- Norwich's RC Cathedral
- Gloucester Cathedral
- Lichfield Cathedral
- Exeter Cathedral
- Bath Abbey
- Ely Cathedral
- Chichester Cathedral
- Worcester Cathedral
- St. Botolph’s Church
- Chester Cathedral
- Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
- Truro Cathedral
- St. Albans Cathedral
- St. Mary Redcliffe Church
- Bristol Cathedral
- Rochester Cathedral
- Westminster Cathedral 

- Selby Abbey
- Tewkesbury Abbey
- Southwell Minster
- Arundel Cathedral
- St. Edmundsbury Cathedral
- Wakefield Cathedral
- Southwark Cathedral
- St. George's Chapel
- Christ Church
- St James' Church
- Wilton Church
- Kings College Chapel
- Chelmsford Cathedral
- Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church

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*- Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury, Wiltshire: 1220-1320:*










































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*- Westminster Abbey, London: 1045-1517:*










































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*- York Minster, York, Yorkshire: 1080-1360:*










































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*- St. Paul’s Cathedral, London: 1670-1710:*










































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*- Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln, Lincolnshire: 1072-1280:*


































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*- Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent: 1070-1510:*










































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*- Peterborough Cathedral, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: 1116-1496:*


























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*- Durham Cathedral, Durham, County Durham: 1093-1280:*


































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*- Beverley Minster, Beverley, Yorkshire: 1220-1425:*


































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*- Wells Cathedral, Wells, Somerset: 1180-1392:*










































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*- Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, Hampshire: 1079-1410:*


































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*- Norwich Cathedral, Norwich, Norfolk: 1096-1430:*


































_*(Not to be confused with Norwich's Roman Catholic Cathedral; St John's):*_










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*- Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, Gloucestershire : 1089-1470:*


































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*- Lichfield Cathedral, Lichfield, Staffordshire: 1195-1335:*










































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*- Exeter Cathedral, Exeter, Devon: 1133-1400:*


























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*- Bath Abbey, Bath: 1499-1539:*










































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*- Ely Cathedral, Ely, Cambridgeshire: 1083-1349:*










































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*- Chichester Cathedral, Chichester, West Sussex: 1076-c1600:*


































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*- Worcester Cathedral, Worccester, Worcestershire: 1084-1432:*


































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*- St. Botolph’s Church, Boston, Lancashire: 1309-1520:*


































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*- Chester Cathedral, Chester, Chesire: 1092-1250:*


























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*- Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool, Merseyside: 1904-1942:*










































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*- Truro Cathedral, Truro, Cornwall: 1880-1910:*










































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*- St. Albans Cathedral, St. Albans, Hertfordshire: 1077-c1365:*


































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*- St. Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol: c1200-1571:*


























*(Not to be confused with the equally-impressive nearby Bristol Cathedral):*


















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*- Rochester Cathedral, Rochester, Kent: c1090-1343:*


































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*- Westminster Cathedral (Roman Catholic), London: 1892-1903:*


























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*Other honourable mentions (ok, so I just got lazy...)*

*Selby Abbey, Selby, Yorkshire:*










*Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire:*










*Southwell Minster, Southwell, Nottinghamshire:*










*Arundel Cathedral, Arundel, West Sussex:*










*St. Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk:*










*Wakefield Cathedral, Wakefield, Yorkshire:*










*Southwark Cathedral, London:*










*St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Berkshire:*










*Christ Church, Oxford, Oxfordshire:*










*St James' Church, Louth, Lincolnshire:*










*Wilton Church, Wilton, Wiltshire:*










*Kings College Chapel, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire:*










*Chelmsford Cathedral, Chelmsford, Essex:*










*Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire:*









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## jmancuso (Jan 9, 2003)

great thread. i've been in several of those cathedrals.


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## Ulster (Dec 29, 2005)

I love the history behind old churchs...


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## Miso (Dec 23, 2006)

wow, excellent compilation, thanks, they'r great. I love the gothic, specially in england like salisbury. 

Cathedrals change the vision of the humaninty and they still are extremely beautiful


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## Deadeye Reloaded (Apr 25, 2006)

Wow, congratulations for this well organized and informative post about these beautiful churches! The pictures are impressive!

BTW: Are British people religious and "use" these churches or are they empty every sunday? 
And is it true that the government don´t pay for the maintenance at all? 
If this is true so where does the money come from to protect the religious buildings in Great Britain?


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## SouthBank (Nov 18, 2004)

Thanks for the comments folks!



> BTW: Are British people religious and "use" these churches or are they empty every sunday?
> And is it true that the government don´t pay for the maintenance at all?
> If this is true so where does the money come from to protect the religious buildings in Great Britain?


Although many people in Britain are religous of course, the majority don't attend church or cathedrals very often. As such, the main uses for these Cathedrals, other than as tourist destinations, is for major holiday services (Christmas, Easter etc) and weddings/funerals of important or wealthy people. The churches and cathedrals are still open to anyone at any time if they wish to pray, but most visitors are just there to see the buildings.

I believe that most of these places receive little or none government funding. Most are run as charities and receive most of their money from donations, entrance fees, fundraising and help from organisations like English Heritage and The National Trust.


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## Tazmaniadevil (Dec 23, 2003)

You missed the Brompton Oratory in London, An Italian baroque style building rather unique to England


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## Patachou (Dec 1, 2007)

British Cathedrals are certainly magnificent and of a multitude of styles. We have always been very impressed by the immaculate state of these monuments. It is a special treat to listen to a choir concert in one of these Cathedrals.


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## Patachou (Dec 1, 2007)

British Cathedrals are certainly magnificent and of a multitude of styles. We have always been very impressed by the immaculate state of these monuments. It is a special treat to listen to a choir concert in one of these Cathedrals.


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## msxw (Dec 22, 2007)

This is just amazing!!! thanks for putting it all together . It was like an orgasm watching all that amazing structures.


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## nestor morales (Feb 1, 2008)

Amazing ! very beautiful!
I ask myself why the most britanic people are so atheist today. All these pretty churches,cathedrals are empty almost of them. Weeks ago I watched through tv programm how all England and Europe are increosing muslim people and they built theirs mosques or abandoned christian temples they purchase them and become in islamic sites.
In few years english nation will be replaced by arabs and women will wear in black clothes and men will pray six times a day and maybe will remember to christian England today ,but it will late too much.


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## NeilM (Jul 9, 2005)

I think St Chads, Birmingham RC cathedral should be here, as, although not the most magnificant catherdral, it is a very important one, built in 1830, it was the first Roman Catholic Catherdral to be built since the reformation, it was also an early design by Pugin, who designed many churches and also the Houses of Parliament.

The photos are not the best unfortunately.


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## tpe (Aug 10, 2005)

I have always loved Durham because of its venerable associations

The great spire of Salisbury is of course noteworthy. Had the spire of Fonthill survived, they would have been a wonderful pendant to each other.

In London, someone mentioned the Brompton Oratory. Although relatively modern compared to the others, I never miss hearing the Tridentine Mass there whenever I am in London. I love it also because of its associations with Cardinal Newman.

The style of the Oratory is clearly in the tradition of the great Counter-Reformation churches of Rome, notably Maderno's Santa Susanna and the great Jesuit Mother Church, the Gesu.

Photos taken from flickr:


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## ZZ-II (May 10, 2006)

i don't believe in god or anything else but i'm always impressed when i stand in front of such a big Cathegral, great architecture!


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

Now this is my kind of thread.. such quantities of marvellous old cathedrals. Thank you so much for putting this thread together!


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## iloilocitykid (Aug 27, 2007)

delete


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## alacanti (Jun 14, 2003)

My favourite one, althought is not the biggest is Bath Abbey. I love that town.


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## Patachou (Dec 1, 2007)

It is a special treat to listen to a choir concert in one of these Cathedrals


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## astrimole (Jul 8, 2008)

SouthBank said:


> *- St. Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol: c1200-1571:*


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