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England's Thousand Best Churches
Parish churches are England's glory. They enshrine the history of a people-their art, architecture, and faith. As public monuments, they house a gallery of vernacular art, from different periods and in a wide range of styles, that are without equal in the world. Award-winning English journalist Simon Jenkins has traveled the length and breadth of England to select his thousand best churches. Each entry is prefaced by a map locating the church and illustrated with full-color photographs from the Country Life Archive. Organized by county, each church is described, often with delightful asides, and is given a star rating from one to five, with the four- and five-star churches listed as the "hundred best." This complete guide is invaluable for anyone interested in touring England's best churches.
880 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
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197 people want to read
About the author
Simon Jenkins
102 books109 followersSir Simon David Jenkins, FSA, FRSL is the author of the international bestsellers England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses, the former editor of The Times and Evening Standard and a columnist for the Guardian. He is chairman of the National Trust.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 14, 2008
Overwhelming report. no cahtedrals. Nothing cloistered. basic requiement was that the church had to be accessible. "EULBONE, the smallest church in England". "An English church is a song without words". A capital in st. Mary, Beverly, Yorks ER, depicts a singing quintet, one among 34 carvings showing musical activity. Church in Beverly was famous for its music. 34 carvings in St. mary of musicians and singers, members of the Musicians Guild. *English topography is divided into counties which mark the Saxon boundaries of England.
ASHMANSWORTH St. James has an "engraved" window celbrating English music. Dedicated to composer Gerald Finzi(?); It portrays "the tree of music".
ARRINGTON ST. MARY has a Gothic barrel organ.
BALDRE ST. JOHN holds a yearly memorial service for the crew of the HMS Hood, sunk by the Bismarck.
England's "last" ducking stool is kept in the north aisle of ST. PETER & PAUL, LEONMINSTER. Used in 1829 to duck Jenny Pipes. Not known if she was a "scold" or sold adulterated goods.
In sculputre women are always portrayed in death as 30 years old. This is supposedly Christ's age at the Resurrection. It implies the possibility of marriage to him in the afterlife. (Wouldn't that be adultery?)
A hunky-punk" is a carved figure with no functional purpose. Often found on church towers.
"Womble" is a Brit animal?
Chimera. A Chimera is a mythological, fire-breathing monster. A lion's head, a goat's body & a serpent's tail. Or, any grotesque monster with a dissimilar feature.
Wyvern - two leggged winged dragon having hinder part of a serpent with a barbed tail.
St. Erasmus - 14th C Dutch humanist, scholar, writer, theologian
Pyramus and Thisbe - young lovers of Babylon
Chasubles - sleeveless outer garment worn by priests to celebrate Mass.
St. Elphin, warrington
St. Luke, Goddesby (p355) has life size sculpture of Col. Edw. Cheney (d1848) rising from the saddel of one of the three horses shot out from under him at Waterloos.
Statue of Daniel Lambert (d1809). He weighed 53 stone. (One stone=14lbs, x 53 = 742lbs!
How is "Marylebone" pronounced? What was a Marylebone? Yes, it is a train station in London, but where does the name come from? A church named St. Mary's located by the creek.
What is a "pix" suspended over an altar?
Organ played by Richard Bridge, Handel's organmaster. Location, "LITTLE SNORING" in Norfolk. There are lots of "Green Men" in Norfolk.
Is a "cenotaph" some sort of a tribute?
BERWICK was a "free town", not part of a county or country. For ex: the Crimean War was decared on behalf of Enlgand, Scottland and Berwick.
What's Cornish "Hug Wrestling?"
Master All-Bones is another name for the grim reaper.
Handel played the organ. It had an original Cannos case. St. Michael Church at Great Motley.
What are "Chandos Anthems?" (p749)
"Elsie the Cow" in stained glass (p750)
There are many green men in Norfolk.
What is a "bede" house?" An alms house where residents are required to pray for the owner.
What is a "bedesman?" resident of a bede house.
Pronunciation of "misericord?"
"a picturesque landscape" - BOLTON ABBEY and FOUNTAIN'S ABBEY (1771)
Croft on Tees. Lewis Carroll's father was the rector. Author speculates that the eccentriciites in the design and construction of this church was a source for Carrroll's imaginative fantasies.
Church Murals: The North Wall pictures the Old Testament, the South Wall, the New Testament.
Holy Trinity, Wensley, has a family pew taken from Covent Garden. The churches benefactor, a member of the Bolton family, became infatuated with an opera singer. As a condition for their wedding, she insisted the opera box in which he sat be moved from London to the church.
Whitby is the setting for Count Dracula's landfall in England.
"What are the 15 signs of "the end of the world"? (Not Nostradamus again?)
"Who was Ste. Ursala, martyred with a king and a few virgins. Was Ursala a virgin too?
Rotherham All saints has a Johann Snetzler organ (1777) with "a simple black and gold case". Also a reversed color keyboard.
LEEDS St. Peter has a working 18th C. Bristol organ. (p805)
crochet - Brit quarter note
halpen - Brit half note
807 pages, many color phots; simple maps of each county to pinpoint church locations. Examples of architecutral stles, glass, caraving, sculpture, church decorations from celtic times to presnet.
ASHMANSWORTH St. James has an "engraved" window celbrating English music. Dedicated to composer Gerald Finzi(?); It portrays "the tree of music".
ARRINGTON ST. MARY has a Gothic barrel organ.
BALDRE ST. JOHN holds a yearly memorial service for the crew of the HMS Hood, sunk by the Bismarck.
England's "last" ducking stool is kept in the north aisle of ST. PETER & PAUL, LEONMINSTER. Used in 1829 to duck Jenny Pipes. Not known if she was a "scold" or sold adulterated goods.
In sculputre women are always portrayed in death as 30 years old. This is supposedly Christ's age at the Resurrection. It implies the possibility of marriage to him in the afterlife. (Wouldn't that be adultery?)
A hunky-punk" is a carved figure with no functional purpose. Often found on church towers.
"Womble" is a Brit animal?
Chimera. A Chimera is a mythological, fire-breathing monster. A lion's head, a goat's body & a serpent's tail. Or, any grotesque monster with a dissimilar feature.
Wyvern - two leggged winged dragon having hinder part of a serpent with a barbed tail.
St. Erasmus - 14th C Dutch humanist, scholar, writer, theologian
Pyramus and Thisbe - young lovers of Babylon
Chasubles - sleeveless outer garment worn by priests to celebrate Mass.
St. Elphin, warrington
St. Luke, Goddesby (p355) has life size sculpture of Col. Edw. Cheney (d1848) rising from the saddel of one of the three horses shot out from under him at Waterloos.
Statue of Daniel Lambert (d1809). He weighed 53 stone. (One stone=14lbs, x 53 = 742lbs!
How is "Marylebone" pronounced? What was a Marylebone? Yes, it is a train station in London, but where does the name come from? A church named St. Mary's located by the creek.
What is a "pix" suspended over an altar?
Organ played by Richard Bridge, Handel's organmaster. Location, "LITTLE SNORING" in Norfolk. There are lots of "Green Men" in Norfolk.
Is a "cenotaph" some sort of a tribute?
BERWICK was a "free town", not part of a county or country. For ex: the Crimean War was decared on behalf of Enlgand, Scottland and Berwick.
What's Cornish "Hug Wrestling?"
Master All-Bones is another name for the grim reaper.
Handel played the organ. It had an original Cannos case. St. Michael Church at Great Motley.
What are "Chandos Anthems?" (p749)
"Elsie the Cow" in stained glass (p750)
There are many green men in Norfolk.
What is a "bede" house?" An alms house where residents are required to pray for the owner.
What is a "bedesman?" resident of a bede house.
Pronunciation of "misericord?"
"a picturesque landscape" - BOLTON ABBEY and FOUNTAIN'S ABBEY (1771)
Croft on Tees. Lewis Carroll's father was the rector. Author speculates that the eccentriciites in the design and construction of this church was a source for Carrroll's imaginative fantasies.
Church Murals: The North Wall pictures the Old Testament, the South Wall, the New Testament.
Holy Trinity, Wensley, has a family pew taken from Covent Garden. The churches benefactor, a member of the Bolton family, became infatuated with an opera singer. As a condition for their wedding, she insisted the opera box in which he sat be moved from London to the church.
Whitby is the setting for Count Dracula's landfall in England.
"What are the 15 signs of "the end of the world"? (Not Nostradamus again?)
"Who was Ste. Ursala, martyred with a king and a few virgins. Was Ursala a virgin too?
Rotherham All saints has a Johann Snetzler organ (1777) with "a simple black and gold case". Also a reversed color keyboard.
LEEDS St. Peter has a working 18th C. Bristol organ. (p805)
crochet - Brit quarter note
halpen - Brit half note
807 pages, many color phots; simple maps of each county to pinpoint church locations. Examples of architecutral stles, glass, caraving, sculpture, church decorations from celtic times to presnet.
March 22, 2014
Opinionated, beautiful writing (admire the writing, even when I disagree with the opinion!), every parish church included is there because it is accessible within 30 minutes (even if you have to phone or visit the local key-holder). Exquisite photographs, marvellous details about what to look at within each church. My hardback copy is heavily annotated in the margins: a real working copy. Whenever I am driving about England, the sight of a spire will necessitate a detour. It is always on the back seat of my car. England's parish churches are, as the author says, a vernacular gallery of art, even for a non-believer like me. A splendid resource, free to see, and a book worthy of what it describes.
June 19, 2025
I can only say I am reading through it and have read the churches that I am interested in which are in Oxfordshire and Berkshire. I have visited all the ones mentioned in Oxfordshire and quiet a few in some other counties for a blog I write called The Church Explorer
Simon writes a good many books and no doubt had a lot of researchers helping him but I wonder how many of the churches he visited, the photos are from Country life archives at least all the ones shown in my Blog I took. Simon does give a lot of good information on the churches in the book but if you want to visit all 1000 it will take a long time. It took me a few years to visit all the churches in Oxfordshires Best Churches. Its a good book and well worth getting for your shelf if you are a church crawler like me
Simon writes a good many books and no doubt had a lot of researchers helping him but I wonder how many of the churches he visited, the photos are from Country life archives at least all the ones shown in my Blog I took. Simon does give a lot of good information on the churches in the book but if you want to visit all 1000 it will take a long time. It took me a few years to visit all the churches in Oxfordshires Best Churches. Its a good book and well worth getting for your shelf if you are a church crawler like me
February 12, 2023
On the advice of friend, I used this book to prepare for a trip that included about a week in England. It was a big help in planning September 2022 visits to York, Halifax, Bristol, Bath, Cambridge and Greenwich, allowing me to appreciate churches and details I otherwise might have missed. The photos aren't that great, but the descriptions are thorough, tinged with just the the right amount of British understatement and snark. I hope to watch parts of Jenkins' accompanying BBC TV series. I also look forward to using this book again, along with his two more recent volumes on English and European cathedrals, to help plan future trips.
March 12, 2023
The Bible for UK Church crawlers, but one cautionary note A couple of years ago I popped into a fairly modest church in Seaford, adjacent to one of the 'big grand' A man was busy cleaning and polishing. At first he was overjoyed someone was actually visiting his church, but after a while he said "Why are you here? I explained I visit every church mentioned in Pevsner So far I have done all in my home county Hampshire, Dorset, East and West Sussex, Surrey and Berkshire. I'm about halfway through Wiltshire Which brings me belatedly to my point All churches are worth visiting
June 12, 2018
c2000 (6) Some of the entries have now made it onto the 'places I must visit list'. Easy to read, a nice selection of photographs and, if it wasn't so heavy, I would definitely take Bel Mooney's advice to 'Think of (it)..as a hip flask and carry it always.". 100% a keeper. Highly recommended to the normal crew. <'>"The pulpit is surprisingly narrow, leaving no scope for theatrical gestures on the part of the priest."
July 15, 2019
It was told from the perspective of what the author thought of the churches, and understandably, only a page or 2 was allotted to most churches, but I guess I was wanting more in depth history compared to broad spectrum knowledge. Still a good read though.
January 22, 2020
Of the ~8000 parish churches of Britain, which ones are worth a detour? This book sets out a selection of ~1000 by the author's estimation. There's a short description for each, and a small number are pictured in colour plates set through the pages.
October 1, 2023
Picked-up at a book auction. It’s a reference book for travel & tourism in my opinion - even if it’s a meaty one!! I’m not sure I agree with some of history given on Owain Glyndŵr and Henry IV, BUT what would I know!!, so yes a great volume.
May 31, 2017
Excellent introduction to the history of church buildings. Will keep handy as a reference
August 21, 2018
Opinionated and engaged, great fun to read or consult, even when you disagree.
February 25, 2020
Great book.
September 13, 2021
I have wanted this book for a very long time and much has changed in the interim... it is a book originally published at the close of the last Millennium and now references to '20th Century' feel very different. I wonder too what has happened to all the churches that made the cut (new discoveries, catastrophes) I was distinctly underwhelmed by a couple of other Simon Jenkins' selections from English heritage (small h) and this updated paperback has only a few fairly pointless photographs. But I have enjoyed this book tremendously and will continue to do so in the future.
It was a very atmospheric book - he sometimes describes his personal experience of visiting a church - something very different to an opinion - the time of day, the weather, the setting in the landscape, the candelight, the floral displays, the impending weddings. He doesn't always explain enough - why does he have a problem with so much Victorian stained glass and scraping, and it sometimes feels like an insider's book with all the references to Pevsner. He can be downright rude (often in my opinion deservedly so where I have my own knowledge eg his dismissal of the village where I grew up) However, overall it seemed positive like visiting churches with someone more experienced, more knowledgeable and keener (nay, more in love) and being able to feed off that - you almost feel that on a good or reasonable day you could tease him about his bugbears (but perhaps not on a day when he's struggled to get hold of a key).
The organisation of the book is very helpful - by county, with an introduction to each and a list of churches, and then a few brief words at the top of each entry to indicate the chief attractions of the place. Obviously there was little point giving access information as so likely to change (but they all had to be available for viewing to be considered) There's a glossary at the beginning but it missed several frequently used terms I looked up. I always did expect the majority to be Church of England (at least until the point at which they may have entered heritage organisation care) but wonder what it says that there are so few Roman Catholic or Non-Conformist premises. It is not at all a religious book but it shows some empathy with those who have been down the ages (and provides some perspective too)
It was a very atmospheric book - he sometimes describes his personal experience of visiting a church - something very different to an opinion - the time of day, the weather, the setting in the landscape, the candelight, the floral displays, the impending weddings. He doesn't always explain enough - why does he have a problem with so much Victorian stained glass and scraping, and it sometimes feels like an insider's book with all the references to Pevsner. He can be downright rude (often in my opinion deservedly so where I have my own knowledge eg his dismissal of the village where I grew up) However, overall it seemed positive like visiting churches with someone more experienced, more knowledgeable and keener (nay, more in love) and being able to feed off that - you almost feel that on a good or reasonable day you could tease him about his bugbears (but perhaps not on a day when he's struggled to get hold of a key).
The organisation of the book is very helpful - by county, with an introduction to each and a list of churches, and then a few brief words at the top of each entry to indicate the chief attractions of the place. Obviously there was little point giving access information as so likely to change (but they all had to be available for viewing to be considered) There's a glossary at the beginning but it missed several frequently used terms I looked up. I always did expect the majority to be Church of England (at least until the point at which they may have entered heritage organisation care) but wonder what it says that there are so few Roman Catholic or Non-Conformist premises. It is not at all a religious book but it shows some empathy with those who have been down the ages (and provides some perspective too)
May 10, 2009
The result of exhaustive research (Jenkins visited all 2500 churches on his shortlist) this guide contains some lovely photographs and just the right amount of well-written historical background for each entry. Enjoyable to browse through; would be helpful as a travel guide (though rather too heavy to be practical).
April 10, 2009
All right, I didn't read about all 1,000 of them; I just skimmed for extant Anglo-Saxon structures. This is a subjective but useful guide, and Simon Jenkins isn't shy about voicing his opinions of the churches or their caretakers. If you're heading to England, this $20 book is a bargain.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews