List of tallest church buildings in the United Kingdom

From the Middle Ages until the advent of the skyscraper, Christian church buildings were often the tallest buildings in the United Kingdom. Indeed, it was not until the building of the CIS Tower in London in 1962 that St Paul's Cathedral was no longer the city's tallest structure.

The United Kingdom no longer features as prominently on the list of tallest churches worldwide, but in 1311, Lincoln Cathedral surpassed the Great Pyramid of Giza to become the world's tallest building. Salisbury Cathedral is the present tallest church building in the country, standing at a height of 123 metres (404 feet), and it remains amongst the tallest medieval churches in the world.

Extant churches

Note: This list does not include church buildings which have been reduced in height, either through rebuilding or damage due to disaster. These buildings are incorporated into the list of tallest churches buildings.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Churches 200 feet or taller
Rank Name of Church Height (m) Height (ft) Location Notes Image
1 Salisbury Cathedral 123 404 Salisbury, Wiltshire Tallest church in the United Kingdom, amongst the tallest medieval churches in the world. [1]
2 St Paul's Cathedral 111 366 City of London London's tallest structure from 1710 to 1962; previous tallest in London until Great Fire of London. [2]
3 Liverpool Anglican Cathedral 101 331 Liverpool Tallest church in the United Kingdom without a dome or spire, amongst the tallest non-spired churches in the world. Largest church in the UK by area, longest Cathedral in the world. [3]
4 Norwich Cathedral 96 315 Norwich, Norfolk [4]
5 Preston, St Walburge 94 309 Preston, Lancashire Tallest non-cathedral church in the United Kingdom, tallest Roman Catholic church in the country. [5]
6 (Old) Coventry Cathedral 90 295 Coventry Cathedral destroyed in the Coventry Blitz on November 14th, 1940; only the tower and spire remain intact. New Cathedral built adjoining old. [6]
6 Edinburgh, St Mary's Cathedral 90 295 Edinburgh The tallest of the three Cathedrals in the UK with three spires. Tallest church in the UK outside of England. [7]
8 Louth, St James 89 293 Louth, Lincolnshire Tallest Church of England parish church in the country. [8]
8 St Mary Redcliffe 89 292 Bristol [9]
10 Westminster Cathedral 87 284 London Tallest Roman Catholic Cathedral in the country. [10]
10 Grantham, St Wulfram 87 283 Grantham, Lincolnshire [11]
12 Warrington, St Elphin 86 281 Warrington, Lancashire [12]
13 Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral 85 278 Liverpool [13]
13 Kensington, St Mary Abbots 85 278 Kensington, Greater London Tallest parish church in London. [14]
15 Chichester Cathedral 84 277 Chichester, West Sussex Only English Cathedral that can be seen from the sea. [15]
16 Lincoln Cathedral 83 272 Lincoln, Lincolnshire Formerly tallest building the world from 1311 to 1549 when spire collapsed in a storm. Tallest medieval non-spired church in the country. [16] [17]
17 Boston Stump 81 267 Boston, Lincolnshire [18]
18 Derry, St Eugene's Cathedral 78 256 Derry [19]
19 Kilburn, St Augustine 77 253 Kilburn, Greater London [20]
19 Lichfield Cathedral 77 252 Lichfield, Staffordshire The only medieval cathedral in the United Kingdom with three spires. [21]
21 Truro Cathedral 76 249 Truro, Cornwall [22]
22 Wakefield Cathedral 75 247 Wakefield Tallest church in Yorkshire. [23]
23 Hulme, St Mary 73 241 Hulme, Greater Manchester [24]
23 Lancaster Cathedral 73 240 Lancaster
23 Salford Cathedral 73 240 Salford, Greater Manchester [25]
26 Canterbury Cathedral 72 236 Canterbury [26]
26 Newark-on-Trent, St Mary Magdalene 72 236 Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
26 Coventry, Holy Trinity 72 236 Coventry Tallest surviving church in Coventry. [27]
26 York Minster 72 235 York Largest medieval Cathedral in the United Kingdom. [28]
30 Chesterfield, St Mary and All Saints 70 230 Chesterfield, Derbyshire Famous for its twisted spire. [29]
31 Westminster Abbey 69 225 London [30]
31 Gloucester Cathedral 69 225 Gloucester [31]
31 Glasgow, St Mungo's Cathedral 69 225 Glasgow [32]
34 Bath, St John 68 222 Bath [33]
35 Derry, St Columb's Cathedral 67 221 Derry [34]
35 Leicester Cathedral 67 220 Leicester [35]
37 Durham Cathedral 66 218 Durham Largest surviving Romanesque cathedral in the United Kingdom. [36]
38 Ely Cathedral 66 217 Ely, Cambridgeshire Known as the 'Ship of the Fens' due to its huge size above the surrounding flat marshes. [37]
39 Bristol, Christ Church Clifton 65 212 Clifton, Bristol [38]
40 Derby Cathedral 65 212 Derby [39]
41 Bottesford, St Mary the Virgin 64 210 Bottesford, Leicestershire [40]
41 Armagh, St Patrick's Cathedral (Roman Catholic) 64 210 Armagh [41]
43 South Dalton, St Mary 63 208 South Dalton, East Riding of Yorkshire [42]
44 Plymouth Cathedral 62 205 Plymouth [43]
45 Worcester Cathedral 62 203 Worcester [44]
46 Southampton, St Mary 61 202 Southampton [45]
46 Bournemouth, St Peter 61 202 Bournemouth [46]
46 Spitalfields, Christ Church 61 202 Spitalfields, Greater London
49 Birmingham, St Martin 60 200 Birmingham

References
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