I'm not one to preach, but this lovely non-denominational Christian church is a spectacular…read morebuilding in Clifton. If religion is your thing and you're a young person looking to get involved in friendly bibled-based activities, then Woodlands might be for you. They hold a wide range of events for students. They're modern in attitude and style and have a community of around 800 worshippers. Pop along for the popular weekly lunches held between lectures on a variety of interesting subjects - religious, educational, philosophical. There's enough food for an army at bargain basement prices, and you might leave feeling spiritually nourished too, if that's your sort of thing.

This is such a funny church. Every year they have a BBQ during freshers week you pay a pound and…read morethey feed you with burgers sausages, biscuits and cakes. Great?! Only however if you get there early they place is so full by 12 that it is unlikely that you will be able to get plate. This is all part of a movement to reach out to the students that walk past their door every day, and i think it works. It is an amazing building too, with the main church and a more modern crypt beneath it.

Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is the Church…read moreof England cathedral in the city of Bristol, and was built 1220-1877. it is located at the bottom of the steep hill In Clifton an sits majestically n the green there, and opposite the City Hall of Bristol.

We came to Bristol Cathedral as the meet-up place and 1st stop on our Bluebeard to Banksy walking…read moreTour of Bristol. The Cathedral is located in this gorgeous open square, and overlooks the Bristol City Council buildings. For me, the curlicue fanciful Victorian Architecture was most dominant, but our guide pointed out the Chapter House is dated from the medieval period and various restoration and expansion efforts were continuously pretty much undertaken over various centuries, so that now the Bristol Cathedral is a beautiful and harmonious blend of Gothic - Medieval, Tudor, Restoration and Victorian architecture. Luckily its still standing as it wasn't damaged during the WWII blitz of the city. An interesting fact our guide told us was that no member of the Bristol City Council ever comes to worship here. Instead they go to a church, which is located directly opposite this Cathedral, because back at the turn of the 19th century, the then-Councillors requested the Bristol Cathedral Bishop for them to be seated closer to the front. The Bishop refused and so they Councillors decided to build their own Church, where they could be given more prominence. If in Bristol, I definitely recommend coming to check this Cathedral out. Yelp 157/ 2019

It's a temple affiliated to the Sikh religion on the Fishponds Road in Bristol. It was founded in…read more1958 at 8 St. Marks Road in Easton. It moved to its present address in 1977. The purpose of this temple is to worship and learn about the Sikh religion, customs and beliefs. The negative point is the disabled access is a bit limited. The requirements to enter this place are: 1) Need to remove your shoes, 2) Cover your head with the Bandanas provided by the Temple, and 3) Modest attire. If visited in Sundays/Celebration Days, free food (Langar) is served. On Sundays, generally, the free food distribution starts from roughly 13:30 PM. The Temple accepts monetary donations or physical volunteering. Inside the temple, on the first floor, the Sikh Holy Book, the Guru Granth Sahib, sits gracefully under a palki ( a construction), from where it is read by a priest. During the festival of Vaisakhi, the whole book is read continuously for 3 days. The Langar is absolutely yum and people from all religions are warmly welcome.

In less than a week, this has been the second church that I had come across while in the UK, that…read morehad been bombed by the Germans as part of their WWII blitz. There is an Info Board located at the main entrance that gives you background including the fact that the original church was constructed by the Knights Templar, in the 12th century. Definitely also look up and checkout the leaning church tower, which gives the one in Pisa a run for its money. The Church's graveyard area has been turned into these beautiful gardens, which are maintained by English Heritage. The atmosphere is one of calm and serenity- a peaceful oasis of greenery amidst the hustle and bustle of city streets . I also liked that the surrounding garden path is wide and even, this making it suitable for wheelchairs and child friendly for strollers. I'm very intrigued by the fact that these bombed out Churches are standing as testaments for the WWII horrors and so it's weird describing these ruins as beautiful, but I feel there is indeed a weird sort of beauty in how this church as well as the one in Coventry are being naturally allowed to decay.. Yelp 167 / 2019

A historic haven near Broadmead. Peer in through the railings and you'll spy concrete slabs that…read moremark out where the exisitng temple stood in medieval times. The church structure you see today was all but destroyed by bombing in World War II, but the original temple was run by the Knights Templar, soldier monks who owned loads of land and religious buildings in Somerset. The churchyard is a welcoming little park now, good for picnics when the sun shines, and a poke around under an umbrella if it pours. English Heritage own it now, so it won't be going anyway for hundred of years. Phew. I like to think of it as a tranquil corner in the chaos of Bristol centre.

Pretty without being chocolate-boxy, Penmark is a small village just outside Barry with a good…read morelocal pub and an interesting mediaeval church. Its peace is only disturbed by the aircraft taking off from nearby Cardiff-Wales airport, but it's a million miles away in character. History The village was the site of a 12th century Norman castle, overlooking a natural ravine carved by the Waycock River. Originally built in wood by Gilbert de Umfraville, it was rebuilt in stone in the 13th century. A good review of the castle (now in ruins) can be found at http://www.castlewales.com . The church was probably built around the same time, and its generous proportions may reflect the patronage of the local lord. The oldest part is the chancel arch, dating from around 1200. The tower arch dates from 1400 and most of the Perpendicular Gothic windows date from the 15th century. Charles Wesley preached here on 26th July 1777, after breakfasting in nearby Fonmon Castle. In 1811 the church is recorded as still being dedicated to St Mark, and repairs were undertaken and new seating was installed in 1893-5. In the churchyard is a preaching cross, restored in 1888, on the original mediaeval base. The church The church has a south porch, nave, chancel and tower. The most notable interior feature is the peculiar chancel arch, a simple and crude pointed arch with similarly crude zig-zag carving, dated to around 1200. More impressive is a tall and beautifully proportioned Perpendicular tower arch dating from around 1400. The nave has a well preserved staircase for a long-vanished Rood Screen. Most of the windows are perpendicular in style, dating from the later 15th century, some restored. The church has some interesting fittings and furnishings: pride of place goes to the Jacobean pulpit, from which Charles Wesley preached in 1777. The nave side altar opposite dates from 1709, and above are memorials to Jones family of Fonmon Castle. In the chancel are late 17th century alabaster memorials to the Lewis Family of Penmark Place, with coats of arms and skulls. The nave has a plain turned Norman tub font, presumably dating from the founding of the church. The church is an integral part of village life details of special services can be found in the newsletter at http://www.penmark.org . Regular services are part of the joint benefice of Benefice of Penmark with Llancarfan with Llantrithyd telephone for service times and location.

A large and very active church just off the centre of Milton. It is home to enthusiastic and…read morewelcoming Christians of the Baptist and general denominations. It has a large emphasise on children and youth, which can be quite rare in the world of church. It was a large paticipent of the Hope 2008, and brought together other local supporting churches in one place for serveral nights throughout the year. They also do alot of reachout-come in commuinity events, and charitable work. Main services on a normal time on sunday, and other services throughout the week. The building itself is fairly new and very big.

Belmont Abbey is a community of Benedictine monks founded in 1859…read more They lead a life of work study and prayer. Attached to the monastery is a first class guest house 'Hedley Lodge' which has a excellent standard of service most rooms have TV, phone are en-suite and have a tea and coffee tray. The rooms are warm and comfortable and the food is excellent. I have attended several 'retreats' at the abbey and have found them of great value for 'getting away from it all 'for a few days The abbey although within walking distance from the town of Hereford is situated in quite countryside the only sound at night is the abbey clock chiming the hours This cannot be heard from many rooms. On one occasion when it was a popular retreat I was offered a room in the abbey itself. This was an interesting occurrence as there was no sound at all during the night A complete silence. A very unusual experience ! Even though I live in a fairly noiseless rural area a there is always some faint sounds. to be heard at night. The retreats which are usually for a weekend are given mostly by one of the monks of the community and obviously have a Christian basis. A complete list can be downloaded from their website As a sample there is in June a workshop on painting Icons where beginners and more experienced artists are welcome to try their hand at the art This year the subject will be the icon of Elijah.

While Hedley Lodge offers a good standard of hotel accomodation for those attending retreats or…read morecourses it is also possible to sample monastic life itself. These stays of typically 3 or 4 days can be arranged through the Guestmaster of the monastery; one of the monks. Accomodation is simple but sufficient - no en suite. You are invited to join the monks in their daily Benedictine routine. Morning prayers at 6am; Mass at 8am; help yourself breakfast; rest of the morning free to read or walk; prayers before lunch then formal served lunch. Afternoons free. Evening prayers at 6pm; help yourself dinner at 7pm. Night prayers at 8.30 or so, then the end of day bell rings. All meals are taken in silence. If you are 'stressed out' by the world and life's troubles and looking for peace of mind I can recommend the structure and discipline of the Benedictine routine. It is hard work but very effective therapy. The monks are nice guys and will look after you: they are allowed to communicate :-). You don't have to be catholic but it helps I suppose. I was going south after a major bereavement and this routine got me back on the front mental foot in 3 days. Great result. They should invoice the NHS really.

This is a spectacular sight with the tall spire which you can see from the train as you arrive and…read morefrom around the town. It is beautiful inside and I spent some zen time inside by myself. Only downside is that there were some druggies hanging around the church, so watch out for that.

St John's tall steeple and spire is one of the landmarks…read morevisible from the train as you go through Bath: at 222ft high, it is the tallest in the city. This large church is a confident statement of faith, and an equally emphatic lesson in the Gothic Revival in this otherwise large Georgian city. The church was commissioned by the Benedictines and built in 1861-3 to the designs of Charles Francis Hansom (1817-1888) and his son Edward Joseph Hansom (1842-1900). They adopted a flamboyant Decorated Gothic design, almost French in character exemplified particularly in the rose windows in the transepts yet the spire owes more to English precedents. The church is built of rough-faced Bath stone, and has a large aisled nave, with clerestory, transepts, an apsed chancel and side chapels. The interior has pink Devon Granite piers with foliated capitals. The decoration throughout is of high quality, with extensive use of marble and alabaster. The glass and the impressive iron screen in front of the chancel are by Hardman. In the north-west apse is a reliquary, also designed by Charles Hansom, containing the relics of the martyr, St Justina, donated in 1871 after many years in the possession of the Borghesi family.

This is a very attractive Victorian Roman Catholic church, just up Stow Hill from Newport City…read morecentre. History A small chapel was built on the site of the then-expanding seaport and industrial centre in 1812, but the town's continued growth meant that a larger church was soon needed, and the original chapel was demolished in 1839. The new church was built in the neo-Gothic style, with a prominent tower at the west end, which also formed the main entrance. Inside, the nave arcade was built with slender columns made of cast iron - the first such use of metal pillars in Wales. The construction of St Mary's took place around the same time as the Chartist uprising; the Chartist rioters passed the church and ordered workmen to join them, although they declined. In 1901 the original east window was replaced by one of the Assumption of the Virgin by John Hardman, who worked with the Pugins. The church The church is essentially in the Early English Gothic style, with tall lancets with shafts and hoods, and the slender piers have frilly stiff-leaf capitals. The most notable feature of the church from the outside is its tower, the muscular design of which provides a distinct contrast with the light and airy interior. Indeed, the pale pink walls with white arcades and detailing gives almost a wedding-cake like appearance. Today, the church is part of the united parish of 'All Saints' in Newport, formed in 2007 and incorporating six former parishes. Although the interior is not open outside service times, the outer doors are kept open, allowing one a good view into the nave.

A very good visitors guide to this church,with some good photos.. However,not much is said of the…read morefamous pipe organ in the gallery. And there are no photos of it. Neither is there a specification of the organ. Does not the music count for much in this church?

Frome's large parish church fitting for a town that was larger than Bath until 1650 lies a short…read moredistance up a hill from the town centre. From the outside, much of what the visitor sees is Victorian, but inside are substantial elements from a complex mediaeval building. History The church was founded around 685AD by St Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury, and this Saxon building survived until the Norman period. It was replaced late in the 12th century, and fragments of the new Romanesque church can be found in the present fabric. Around 1300, the nave was replaced, and the lower stages of the tower were built. The nave was extended late in the 14th century (or early 15th), and the northern transept rebuilt and the tower completed. In addition, chantry chapels added to the east of the tower (around 1412) and to the west of the north transept (1517). The clerestory was also raised in the 15th century but, like much of the fabric, rebuilt in the 19th century, as it was said to be in very poor condition. These works included rebuilding the chancel (1847-9), the north porch (1862), the north and south aisles (1862-5), and the west front (1865). The church The two approaches to the church could not be more different: from the end of King Street and Cheap Street, a series of steep steps rises alongside a stone wall with sculpted stations of the cross, forming a processional way (or Via Crucis) to the North door; to the west a spacious forecourt is closed off from Bath Street by a five arched screen, designed in 1814 by Jeffry Wyatt. Once inside, one is struck by the scale of the building, and particularly by the long nave. Here, the division between the earlier and later 14th century parts is clear in the design of the arcades. Both the clerestory and the rather intrusive sculpted roundels are Victorian. The north chantry chapel is entered through a fine panelled arch. This is now a baptistery and, besides the font, contains many wall monuments. An attractive round-arched doorway with continuous mouldings (ie no capitals) from the Norman church opens into the north transept. Another Norman fragment is the round-headed piscina on the north wall of the chancel. Architecturally, the ornate Victorian chancel is less interesting than the south chantry chapel and the room beneath the tower, both of which have elaborate rere arches. The church has many interesting furnishings. In the baptistery chapel are a 13th font in the shape of a quatrefoil, with four shafts; fragments of 15th century stained glass and an unusual wall monument to Richard Stevens (d. 1796), depicting an urn with two orphan boys on one side and an elderly man the other, with an asylum in the distance. The north transept has more 18th and 19th century monuments, but more striking is the large table tomb with a cadaver underneath, to a member of the Leversedge family. The elaborate rood screen is by Kempe, and the reredos in the chancel (of Carrarra marble) by the prolific sculptor, James Forsyth (1826-1910), beneath an East Window by Clayton & Bell. Finally, in the tower room opposite are two fragments of Saxon sculpture, depicting a monster and interlaced carving. The accompanying description postulates that they may have been from a cross, one of several erected where St Aldhelm's funeral procession stopped as it moved to Malmesbury for burial. It admits there is no evidence for such a claim but says, 'we at St John's like to think it is a reasonable assumption'.

The church of St John the Baptist is probably the most significant church, historically speaking,…read morein the town. A church was first founded here in 685 AD by St Aldhelm, and has grown and developed into the fine imposing building that sits half way up Bath Street today. Inside, there are still a few examples of Saxon stone carvings to be seen, and the stained glass windows are stunning. Definately somewhere to browse for those interested in ecclesiastical architecture and local history, as well as being a stately and spiritual place of worship for the CoE parishioneners.