This dynamic modern church meets every Suynday morning at 10am in the Odeon Cinema in Harrogate…read more Check out the website for details. Great modern worship music and a life changing message. More than that - the best breakfast and hot chocolate in any Harrogate church!

A friendly and lively church meeting at 10 AM in the ODEON…read moreCinema.

Stunning building, I thoroughly recommend the view from the roof if you visit on an open day.read more

England's largest Parish Church, dating back to the12th century. The brickwork is some of the…read moreoldest (post-Roman) in the country.

My wife and I visited Whitby in September 2024 and of course any visit to Whitby has to include the…read moreAbbey. I did not know it when planning our trip, but this church was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula, so it was very cool and interesting to visit St Mary's after the Abbey. You can immediately see why this place is revered by Stoker and goths everywhere (the annual Whitby Goth Festival is hosted here). The weather worn ancient graves, all leaning hither and tither in the uneven ground creates an epic backdrop to any good horror story. The magnificent huge Celtic Cross the pride of the grounds, check out the carvings on each side representing different aspects of the life of 7th century Anglo-Saxon poet, Caedmon. The church itself was closed, so I cannot speak to its interior. The location, in the shadow of the Abbey, overlooking the town high above the north sea, is epic though. We didn't walk the 199 steps up the cliffs. We drove to the Abbey parking lot. Just made more sense to us - thats a whole lot of steep steps to climb. We spent a good half hour walking the grounds. Time well spent, and as I said, a bonus to the Abbey visit. If you are in the UK, Whitby is a must visit town. It's a really lovely place, and the Abbey and St Mary's have to be on the list of things to do when you are there. Very highly recommended.

Once you've climbed the famous "199 Steps" you will be greeted with the combined spectacular views…read moreof St. Mary's Church (with its vast adjacent cemetery) and the ruin of Whitby Abbey, which reportedly inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. Also, you will be rewarded with spectacular views of Whitby and the open sea. Very much worth your while, I can tell ya*. When I visited the weather was less than spectacular, with grey skies, occasional showers and a bit of fog - all of which only added to the majesty and gloomy atmosphere of the place. St. Mary's Church is fascinating because of the unusual structure inside. The church hall is separated into this huge number of differently sized "boxes" where I suppose the servants were sitting while their masters took their seat on the balconies above. I have visited very many churches and cathedrals in England, and never have I seen such an unusually structured church. It's always interesting to inspect the writing on the various gravestones, a glimpse at least into the lives of those who lie there. And with this vast cemetery you will find gravestones in varying styles and shapes, which I also found intriguing. If you're tired from the 199 Steps you might also drop in at the brewery tap of Whitby Brewery, which is behind the church, opposite of the abbey grounds.

It puzzles me that people visit churches when on holiday in order to soak up the local culture of a…read moreplace, but do not check out the local examples in their home city. Whatever your degree of religious interest, the beauty hiding within Leeds Parish Church is something that needs to be experienced. The main section of the church is breathtakingly aesthetic. When I recently visited it, the sun was dramatically pouring through the beautiful stained glass windows, casting playfully colourful patterns on the stone floor. The intricately carved wooden seating and organ were perfectly framed in the gravitas of the room. Leading off from the main room, is The Lady Chapel. It is much smaller, creating a more intimate space. An elaborate altar sits at the head of the room, a lovely statue to focus on. The softness of the windows contrasts with the jagged edges of the furniture to spectacular effect. The website is updated regularly, providing information on times of services, performances by the choir and other music events. The ethereal beauty of the place evokes such peacefulness, you can't help but feel calm and collected. A wonderful place to contemplate, life, love, the universe, or just what to have for lunch.

As far as churches go, this is the best one I have seen in Leeds, albeit usually as I am leaving…read moreLeeds trying to find the M1. Sadly a massive main road reaches nearly its edge and the way the city centre has developed, there isn't much else around it. If I was to redesign Leeds the city would shift sideways a bit so that this beautiful building was more a central feature. It beats the cathedral in terms of beauty and magnificence inside and out. I love the curling gothic details on each spire and the stain glass windows. It is definitely worth walking down this way just for the sake of checking it out sometime.

This is the tallest spire of any Parish Church in England and the church was painted by Turner. Not…read morethe church but a painting. St.James' has a 295 ft high spire from wherever you approach Louth, you can see it. The church featured in Sir Simon Jenkin's book, England's 1000 Best Churches. St James's was begun in 1501 and completed in 1515 it cost £305.7s.5d to build - a fantastic tudor achievement. The (in)famous architect James Fowler, responsible for so many Lincolnshire church 'restorations' in the 19th century has his memorial in the nave. The market town was once the largest in the area and has many beautiful, and huge, Georgian houses. St. James is a reminder of the wealth and status of its former citizens. The spire was completed around 1515. Soon after it was completed King Henry VIII was planning to dissolve the monasteries and rake in all their wealth for himself. So in 1536 the Pilgrimage of Grace began in Louth, only to end the next year with the deaths of the ringleaders. A Plaque on vicarage wall says vicar was hung. The church is floodlit by night, making an attractive sight that's visible for miles around. Look out for the gargoyles on the side of the church, which have been carved in the likeness of former vicars. The tower was built about 1440 - 1445 and the leaded spire involved a selection of masons and designers before it was finished. There had been two previous churches on the site, a late 12th century one and a mid 13th century one. In the 19th century restorations began with the 'rebuilding' of the belfry windows in 1805 by Thomas Espin. E. J. Willson re-roofed the Nave and Aisles and Re-built the North Porch in 1825 - 1827.The chancel was re-done in 1828 by Joseph Fowler and in 1843 the spire was damaged by a Lightening Strike and the next year it was restored by Lewis Cunningham who increased its height by another 7 foot. The next two restorations were in 1860 and 1868 - 1869 by James Fowler who re-laid the floors and rebuilt or possibly restored the North and South Porches. There was a restoration after 1950 started by W. Godfrey Allen (my uncle was one of the carpenters) and continued by G. G. Pace of York who also restored the six plain stalls in the North Chapel. There are two fonts in the church, one in the west end of the north aisle was found in a local garden is a perpendicular style with a panelled stem and a frieze on the octagonal Bowl. The other at the west end of the nave is by Bodley of alabaster with crocketed ogees round the stem and dates from 1867. The lectern and pulpit are both Victorian as are the Choir stalls but in the vestry there is a chest which is much earlier and given to the church before 1504 By Thomas Sudbury. It is known as the Sudbury Hutch. It has on it two carved panels with a male and female facing each other and are said to represent Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. The stained glass is all Victorian. In the Chancel by Clayton & Bell 1861, The West window is by Hardman, Others by Heaton, Butler & Bayne. The west end of the South Aisle by Frederick Preedy There is a monument against the east wall to John Emeris who died in 1819 and has an inscription which is supported by scrolls in the Baroque or Rococo manner. This is by John Earle of Hull. In the south chancel is a wall tablet with a portrait in relief to James Fowler the Architect who died in 1892. High up on the wall of the nave are two tablets with columns left and right and an open pediments of Circa 1725. At the west end of the nave there is a large Gothic memorial with a diapered background and an ogee cupola at the top in relief, this was to William Allison who died in 1845 and the memorial is by C. J. Carter. At the west end of the south aisle a memorial to Wolley Jolland who died in 1835 and it is designed by Chantrey and carved by T. Waudsby of Hull. In front of the above is the indent of a large double brass with figures under concave canopies. An ecclesiastical friend of mine has a theory that there is a St James Church every 16 miles all the way to Compostella. Grimsby first then Louth, then Deeping St James (I think) and onwards. To get a wonderful view of the surrounding area you can pay to climb the tower and look around you.

St James' Church defines Louth, and rightly so - it is stunning. As a KEVIS student we would visit…read morethe church for Charter Day and leaving ceremonies, and it's equally stunning inside - my daughter sang in the choir there for a while, and I was always so proud of her singing in such a beautiful venue. There is a lovely atmosphere in the church and the people who work there are lovely. The church also plays host to some really eminent choirs and musicians from time to time - we saw a wonderful rendition of Handel's Messiah there a few years ago. The spire of course is very famous and a trip up it to see the views from the top is a must!