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.
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 | ![]() |
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