Cathedrals to Visit in England
Ten cathedrals, ten different reasons to go: a murder, a lightning strike, a diver who worked six years underwater by touch alone, a tower that once made the shortlist for tallest building on Earth. England's cathedrals are not interchangeable Gothic boxes — each one has a specific, often strange story attached to it, and this guide is built around finding that story before you walk in.
Most of these buildings started as Norman or early Gothic churches in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, then got rebuilt, extended and re-fronted over four or five centuries as fires, collapses, fashions and ambitious bishops intervened — so a single cathedral can carry Romanesque Norman work, Early English lancets, Decorated tracery and Perpendicular fan vaulting all in one building, often in the same room. Two cathedrals here break that pattern entirely: Liverpool and Westminster Cathedral are both essentially 20th-century buildings, one a Gothic Revival giant finished in 1978, the other a Neo-Byzantine design that still has unfinished mosaics in its side chapels.
Almost all of the cathedrals below belong to the Church of England, the exception being Westminster Cathedral, which is the Roman Catholic cathedral for the Archdiocese of Westminster and a completely different building from the more famous Westminster Abbey next to the Houses of Parliament — a mix-up common enough that this guide flags it on that page specifically.
Where to start
Canterbury Cathedral
Where Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170, turning the cathedral into medieval Europe's greatest pilgrimage site — the one Chaucer's pilgrims were walking to.
Lincoln Cathedral
The tallest building on Earth for over two centuries after its central spire was added, and home to the carved Lincoln Imp said to have been turned to stone by an angel.
York Minster
The largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world, including the Great East Window, which survived a 1984 lightning-strike fire that destroyed the roof above it.
Practical notes for the whole country
| Opening hours | Most cathedrals open around 9–10am and close between 4pm and 6pm; hours shift for services and are often shorter on Sundays, when morning worship can close the nave to sightseers until early afternoon. Always check the specific cathedral's own site before you go — hours change at short notice |
|---|---|
| Admission | Unlike most Continental cathedrals, several of England's charge an entry fee, typically £10–£20, since they receive no government funding and rely on visitors to cover the cost of maintaining a medieval building. A handful remain free to enter, with donations requested instead |
| Dress code | No formal rule at any of them; modest, respectful dress as for any working place of worship |
| Photography | Generally allowed for personal use in the main body of the building; restricted or banned in crypts, during services, and in a few specific chapels — each cathedral's own guide notes the exceptions |
| Getting around | All ten are on the rail network and within a short walk of their station. Trains from London reach most of them in one to three hours; a car is useful only if you're combining several in one trip through the West Country or the North |
All ten cathedrals
- Canterbury Cathedral The murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 and the pilgrimage route it created.
- Lincoln Cathedral Tallest building on Earth for over 200 years; the carved Lincoln Imp.
- York Minster The world's largest medieval stained-glass window, and the 1984 fire that nearly took it.
- Liverpool Cathedral The largest cathedral in Britain, designed by a 22-year-old and built almost entirely in the 20th century.
- Winchester Cathedral Saved from collapse by a diver who worked underwater, entirely by touch, for six years.
- Salisbury Cathedral Britain's tallest spire and one of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta.
- Westminster Cathedral London's Catholic cathedral — a Neo-Byzantine building, not to be confused with Westminster Abbey.
- Ely Cathedral The “Ship of the Fens,” famous for its unique octagonal lantern tower.
- Durham Cathedral A Norman masterpiece and UNESCO World Heritage Site holding the shrine of St Cuthbert.
- Wells Cathedral Scissor arches built to stop the tower falling down, and a West Front lined with medieval statues.
Coming next
This first England chapter covers the ten cathedrals; parish churches, abbeys and other English sites are on the list for later, built the same way as the rest of this guide — one region finished at a time, rather than published half-done everywhere at once.