How many cathedrals are there in England?
The Church of England has 42 cathedrals, one for each of its dioceses, and that is the number most people mean when they ask about cathedrals in England. Alongside them, the Roman Catholic Church in England maintains its own network of around twenty cathedrals, including Westminster Cathedral in London, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and St Chad's in Birmingham. Counting both traditions together, England has roughly sixty working cathedrals in total.
The distinction matters because the two lists rarely overlap in style or age. The Church of England inherited the great medieval buildings at the Reformation, so its cathedrals include almost every famous name: Canterbury, Durham, York Minster, Salisbury and the rest. The Catholic hierarchy was only restored in 1850, which is why most Catholic cathedrals are Victorian or modern, with Liverpool's striking circular Metropolitan Cathedral of 1967 the boldest of all.
A cathedral, strictly speaking, is simply the church that holds a bishop's cathedra, or throne. Size has nothing to do with it. Some parish churches are larger than the smallest cathedrals, and famous churches such as Westminster Abbey and Beverley Minster are not cathedrals at all because no bishop has a seat there.
Cathedrals in England: the full list of all 42
Here is the complete cathedrals in England list for the Church of England, grouped by region. Every one of these is a working church with daily or weekly services, and every one welcomes visitors.
South East England
- Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion
- Rochester Cathedral, England's second oldest cathedral foundation
- Chichester Cathedral, with its detached medieval bell tower
- Winchester Cathedral, one of the longest medieval churches in Europe
- Portsmouth Cathedral, in the heart of Old Portsmouth
- Guildford Cathedral, consecrated in 1961 on Stag Hill
- Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, which doubles as a college chapel
London
- St Paul's Cathedral, Wren's domed masterpiece in the City
- Southwark Cathedral, a Gothic survivor beside London Bridge
South West England
- Salisbury Cathedral, home of Britain's tallest spire and a Magna Carta
- Exeter Cathedral, with the longest unbroken Gothic vault in England
- Wells Cathedral, famed for its scissor arches and sculpted west front
- Bristol Cathedral, a rare medieval hall church
- Gloucester Cathedral, where fan vaulting was born in the cloisters
- Truro Cathedral, Cornwall's three-spired Victorian landmark
East of England
- Norwich Cathedral, with the largest monastic cloister in England
- Ely Cathedral, crowned by its unique octagonal lantern above the Fens
- Peterborough Cathedral, with a vast thirteenth-century painted ceiling
- St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, whose Gothic tower was completed in 2005
- Chelmsford Cathedral, one of the smallest of the 42
- St Albans Cathedral, built around the shrine of Britain's first martyr
The Midlands
- Lincoln Cathedral, towering over the city from its limestone ridge
- Lichfield Cathedral, the only medieval English cathedral with three spires
- Hereford Cathedral, keeper of the Mappa Mundi and a chained library
- Worcester Cathedral, above the Severn, resting place of King John
- Coventry Cathedral, Basil Spence's post-war building beside the bombed ruins
- Birmingham Cathedral, a Baroque gem with Burne-Jones windows
- Derby Cathedral, with a great sixteenth-century tower
- Leicester Cathedral, where King Richard III was reburied in 2015
- Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire's Norman cathedral with celebrated leaf carvings
Northern England
- York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe
- Durham Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site above the River Wear
- Ripon Cathedral, built over a seventh-century Saxon crypt
- Bradford Cathedral, a former parish church raised to cathedral rank in 1919
- Wakefield Cathedral, with the tallest spire in Yorkshire
- Sheffield Cathedral, blending medieval and twentieth-century work
- Newcastle Cathedral, under its distinctive lantern tower
- Carlisle Cathedral, small but rich in medieval glass and painted ceilings
- Chester Cathedral, a red sandstone former abbey
- Manchester Cathedral, in the heart of the city
- Liverpool Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Britain
- Blackburn Cathedral, Lancashire's cathedral since 1926
The biggest cathedrals in England
Liverpool Cathedral is the biggest cathedral in England by a clear margin, and one of the largest church buildings in the world. Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and completed in 1978 after 74 years of construction, it stretches around 189 metres from end to end, and its central tower rises about 100 metres over the Mersey. York Minster is the largest of the medieval cathedrals and holds an unrivalled collection of medieval stained glass, including the tennis-court-sized Great East Window. St Paul's Cathedral in London, with its dome rising some 111 metres, dominated the capital's skyline for two and a half centuries. Winchester boasts one of the longest medieval naves in Europe, while Salisbury's spire, at 123 metres, remains the tallest in Britain.
The oldest cathedrals in England
Canterbury Cathedral holds the oldest foundation, established by St Augustine in 597 after his mission from Rome, and its archbishop remains the senior bishop of the Church of England. Rochester followed in 604, the same year a cathedral was first founded in London. The present buildings are naturally later: most of what you see at Canterbury dates from the eleventh century onwards, and the oldest largely complete cathedral fabric in England is Norman work at Durham, begun in 1093 and finished within about forty years. If your interest runs to the earliest church buildings of all, our guide to the oldest churches in England covers Saxon survivors that predate every cathedral standing today.
Visiting England's cathedrals
- Evensong is free. Attending any service costs nothing, and choral evensong, usually sung in the late afternoon, is the single best way to experience a cathedral as it was meant to be used.
- Some charge for sightseeing.Canterbury, St Paul's, York Minster, Winchester, Ely and a few others charge admission for tourist visits, generally with tickets valid for a year. Many, including Durham and Liverpool, ask only for a donation.
- Climb a tower if you can.Most cathedrals run tower tours, and the views from Liverpool, Lincoln or St Paul's Golden Gallery are worth every step.
- Check service times before you travel. Sightseeing pauses during worship, and special events occasionally close parts of a building.
- Take your time. A great cathedral rewards two or three hours: cloister, chapter house, crypt and close all belong to the visit.
Find cathedral cities in our directory
Every cathedral city sits within a wider family of parish churches worth exploring. Browse our guides to churches in York, churches in Liverpool and churches in London, or go county by county: Kent for Canterbury and Rochester, North Yorkshire for York and Ripon, County Durham for Durham, Wiltshire for Salisbury, Somerset for Wells and Lincolnshire for Lincoln. Or simply find a church near you and start closer to home.
Frequently asked questions
How many cathedrals are there in England?
The Church of England has 42 cathedrals. Adding around twenty Roman Catholic cathedrals brings the total to roughly sixty across both traditions.
What is the biggest cathedral in England?
Liverpool Cathedral is the biggest, at around 189 metres long, making it the largest cathedral in Britain and among the largest churches in the world.
What is the oldest cathedral in England?
Canterbury Cathedral has the oldest foundation, established in 597, though the building you see today is mostly of the eleventh century and later.
Is Westminster Abbey a cathedral?
No. Westminster Abbey is a royal peculiar, a church under the direct authority of the monarch, and has no bishop's throne. London's Anglican cathedrals are St Paul's and Southwark.