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.

See our Church Directory to locate churches in Cumbria.

You can explore them all at the Visit Cumbria website.

This year a number of churches will be opening during Heritage Open Days Weekend which takes place from 9th - 12th September 2010.  To see the full brochure of historic buildings which will be open to the public during that weekend see the Heritage Open Day Brochure.  The brochure is designed to make it easy for you to visit a number of sites in one visit.

If you don’t know where to start, Simon Jenkins' book, 'England's Thousand Best Churches' highlights 17 of particular interest.

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.

If you want to discover churches in your local area you can search our directory.  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.  You can use our directory to find contact details.  You can find out about the special opening arrangements that apply to places of worship grant funded by English Heritage 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.