Welcome to Cumbria’s historic places of worship. There are hundreds of churches, chapels and meeting houses across the county for you to visit, each with their own story.

CTfC tips on how to find out more about Cumbria's hidden treasured buildings: On-line

• Our Church Directory will help you to locate churches in Cumbria
• Explore them further at the Visit Cumbria website.
  
  Faith Trails - The CTfC has created these trails with the help of local groups & consultant  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Sacred Solway is a trail between 10 churches in the north of the county built from the stones of Hadrian's wall
• Railways and Religion in the Western Dales Faith Trail takes in 12 small, serene chapels and churches and explains their history to the development of the railway.
• Land, Sea & Spirit - the relationship of these 3 vital elements are explored through 15 churches in the Furness Peninsula. Read about the launch event that took place on 19 June 2012.
• More church trails can be found on the Anglican Diocesan website here.
• There are few non-Christian places of worship in Cumbria, but Conishead Priory, an important Gothic Revival house, now home to a Buddhist Centre, is well worth a visit.
• A report into the origin and early history of Christ Church in Maryport was completed in 2013. It is available to view here. The first building report can also be viewed.

Recommended books

• Lakeland Church Walks by Donaghy & Laidler combines Cumbria's beautiful scenery and churches in series of circular routes.
• If you don’t know where to start, Exploring Britain's Churches and Chapels, Inspirational Journeys of Discovery is a beautiful book published in October 2011 which covers some of the UK's best churches and chapels. It is divided into regions, making it an excellent companion for UK trips and features a number of Cumbria's wonderful places of worship. Available on amazon.
• Also  Simon Jenkins' book, 'England's Thousand Best Churches' highlights 17 of particular interest and if visiting on foot.
• You can also try our quiz to test your knowledge of Cumbria's churches.

If you are interested in seeing the interior of a church it is advisable to check locally before you travel. Contact details may be found on our directory or here for Anglican churches. You can find out about the special opening opening arrangements that apply to places of worship grant funded by English Heritage. 

If you are visiting churches and need somewhere to stay overnight, go to the official tourist board website to check availability and to book online.