• Home
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Support Us
  • Cathedrals
    • List of Cathedrals
    • Gallery
    • Royal Peculiars
    • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
    • Non-Anglican cathedrals
  • About Cathedrals
    • Cathedral and Bishop
    • Cathedral and diocese
    • How is it governed?
    • How is it financed?
    • What is a cathedral?
  • About us
    • Read more About Us
    • Executive Members
    • Executive Director
    • Media enquiries
    • Report and Accounts
    • Cathedral Networks
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Cathedral Cycle Champions
    • Cathedrals Cycle Route
    • Cathedral Links
    • Cathedral and Major Church Projects Support Panel
    • Cathedrals Measures
    • Chapter Training
    • Church of England
    • Jobs and volunteering
    • Pilgrim Passport
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Videos
  • Events
    • Latest Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Events Map
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Linkedin Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com
  • Bluesky Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.comBluesky

Enter your search, example: Cathedral

The Association of English Cathedrals
  • About Us
  • News
  • Events
  • Divine Light – the Winners
  • Cathedrals
    • List of Cathedrals
    • Gallery
    • Royal Peculiars
    • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
    • Non-Anglican cathedrals
  • About Cathedrals
    • Cathedral and Bishop
    • Cathedral and diocese
    • How is it governed?
    • How is it financed?
    • What is a cathedral?
  • About us
    • Read more About Us
    • Executive Members
    • Executive Director
    • Media enquiries
    • Report and Accounts
    • Cathedral Networks
  • Resources
    • Downloads
    • Cathedral Cycle Champions
    • Cathedrals Cycle Route
    • Cathedral Links
    • Cathedral and Major Church Projects Support Panel
    • Cathedrals Measures
    • Chapter Training
    • Church of England
    • Jobs and volunteering
    • Pilgrim Passport
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Videos
  • Events
    • Latest Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Events Map
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. The Favourite Cathedrals of England
Back to all news

The Favourite Cathedrals of England

20th December 2021

Christmas came early for our three competition winners.

The favourite cathedrals of England. As voted by you.

Chosen at random out of almost 900 entrants to win a copy of Simon Jenkins’ new book, Europe’s 100 Best Cathedrals.

In it, the author and journalist explores the role of history in telling the stories behind these magnificent buildings demonstrating the cathedrals’ central role in the European imagination.

He writes:

“They represent its most embedded institution, Christianity, in all its finery… Even today no other buildings on earth can compare with these structures. They are history and geography, art and science, mind and body in one…’

This is the first study of Europe’s best 100 cathedrals – and we’re proud to say 13 Church of England cathedrals, St Davids in Wales and Kirkwall in Orkney all make the list.

But which did you choose?

Eight hundred and seventy two of you took the time to take part in our competition to name your favourite English Cathedral and why. And we are super pleased that EVERY ONE of our Church of England Cathedrals got more than one vote – as well as St Davids and Llandaff from the Church in Wales.

This means every one of our cathedrals is someone’s favourite.

But who won? A clue: It was very close.

There was only one vote between your first and second choice and again only one vote between your third and fourth placed cathedrals … while number 5 wasn’t far behind!

Watch this little video to find out who were the top 10 cathedrals.

 

  1. York Minster
  2. Durham
  3. Lincoln
  4. Ely
  5. Salisbury
  6. Canterbury
  7. Wells
  8. Liverpool
  9. Winchester
  10. Norwich

Our competition winners were:

Carolyn Taylor, who chose Salisbury because it is just so beautiful;

Louise Round, who chose Liverpool after a recent visit because she enjoyed its vastness and how peaceful it was. She also liked the Tracey Emin neon and felt really at home there.

Helga Brandt who chose Canterbury, where she grew up, for its amazing history and wonderful memories.

Previous
Next

Trending News

1. The Future Financial Sustainability of Cathedrals

21st May 2026

2. Salisbury Cathedral – New Magna Carta Tour

17th June 2026

3. Contemporary Art Exhibition Opens at Salisbury Cathedral

28th May 2026

4. Lincoln Cathedral – Celebrating 25 Years as Director of Music

24th June 2026

5. Wells Cathedral – Bringing Mythical Creatures to Life

24th June 2026

Related Reading

THE LONDON MUDLARK becomes first Mudlark-in- Residence at Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral – Mudlark-in-Residence

26th June 2026
Choirs Unite for Spectacular Hadrian’s Choirs Festival

Choirs Unite for Spectacular Hadrian’s Choirs Festival

25th June 2026
If England lets its cathedrals crumble, it will be everybody’s loss.

Cathedrals are for Everyone and they Need our Support

24th June 2026
Lichfield Cathedral has been awarded 93% by the national tourism body Visit England. 

Visit England recommends … Lichfield Cathedral

24th June 2026
Southwell Minster welcomes the Sun

Southwell Minster welcomes the Sun

24th June 2026
Wells Cathedral Brings Giant Mythical Creatures to Life in Unique Summer Experience

Wells Cathedral – Bringing Mythical Creatures to Life

24th June 2026
Lincoln Cathedral marked a very special anniversary at the weekend as Aric Prentice celebrated 25 years as Director of Music.

Lincoln Cathedral – Celebrating 25 Years as Director of Music

24th June 2026
Portsmouth Cathedral Choir travelled to Caen, Bayeux and Arromanches for a long weekend of D-Day82 commemorations in France last week.

Portsmouth Cathedral Choir in D-Day 82 Commemorations in Normandy

19th June 2026

Contact

Association of English Cathedrals
116 Station Road,
Sutton Coldfield,
B73 5LD
+44 (0)7860 921 419
Email Us

Projects

  • Discover Cathedrals
  • Discover Pilgrimage
  • Choral Evensong
  • Cathedral Ceilings – Always Look Up
  • Cathedral Doors – Look in

Links

  • Resources
  • About us
  • Cathedrals
  • Contact Us
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter Signup

Signup to our newsletter and receive the latest news and event information directly to your inbox.

Registered charity 1128254 Company limited by guarantee

Registered in England 06726262

Website Design: IfLooksCouldKill

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
  • Manage options
  • Manage services
  • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
  • Read more about these purposes
View preferences
  • {title}
  • {title}
  • {title}