The Best Churches and Cathedrals in London

The Hawksmoor-designed Gothic-Baroque towers at the western facade of Westminster Cathedral are among the capital’s most recognisable landmarks. But the abbey’s history dates back way further than these 18th-century additions alone, with some areas – including the Chapter House and Pyx Chamber – boasting nearly a thousand years of churchly service. British monarchs have been married, crowned and buried at Westminster Abbey since the time of Edward the Confessor, and the crypts contain several thousand of the great and good from days of yore, from Purcell to Newton, Darwin to Dickens.

Don’t miss:

• Poets’ Corner. Pay your respects in rhyme to Tennyson, Chaucer, Browning, Kipling, Dickens et al.
• The Coronation Chair. Ogle the medieval wooden throne used for the coronation of every British and English monarch since Edward II, way back in 1308.
• Stained-glass windows. Several soaring beauties cast colorful light through the cathedral’s interiors. Highlights include the 18th-century north rose window’s depiction of Christ and the apostles, as well as more contemporary designs by the likes of David Hockney.

Top tip: admission to Westminster Abbey and several other London churches and cathedrals, including St Paul’s and Southwark Cathedral, are included with The London Pass®. The pass could save you up to 50% on admission to nearly 100 London attractions, activities and tours. To find out more and buy yours, click here.

Sir Christopher Wren’s fingerprints can be found all over London thanks to his appointment as Royal Surveyor of Works following the Great Fire of London. Among the 50+ churches he restored and rebuilt in the late 17th Century, St Paul’s Cathedral stands tall as his crowning glory and masterpiece. This domed icon of the London skyline can be spied from across London, even as far away as Richmond Park, but nothing beats getting up close.

Don’t miss:

• The Crypt. Running the full length of the cathedral overhead, the highly decorative crypt has more than 200 memorials and is the final resting place of Admiral Lord Nelson, Joseph Turner, Alexander Fleming and old Chrissie Wren himself.
• The Grand Organ. The mighty 17th-century organ is a St Paul’s must-see and can be heard in action at regular recitals.
• The Whispering Gallery. Climb the 259 steps up to this acoustic marvel, where sweet nothings whispered at one side of the dome can be heard way over at the other!

Proximity to the bustling foodie mecca that is Borough Market is just one of dozens of reasons to visit Southwark Cathedral, a veritable gothic melodrama of a building set on the south bank of the Thames by London Bridge. Admire this medieval masterpiece’s swoonsome stained-glass windows, stroll the atmospheric cloisters and eyeball memorials to Edmund Shakespeare and his bro – some guy called William, apparently.

Don’t miss:

• The Shakespeare Window. The commemorative stained-glass window in the south aisle is just one of many nods to The Bard here; he also gets a monument, and there's a memorial to his kid brother Edmund, too.
• The churchyard. A tranquil oasis in which to tuck into your Borough Market quarry in (relative) peace and quiet.
• Sightseeing extravaganza. Southwark Cathedral’s location puts it within easy walking distance of several major London attractions, including The Shard, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Golden Hinde and the London Bridge Experience, many of which are included with The London Pass®.

Set in the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square close to the National Gallery, Buckingham Palace and Covent Garden, St Martin-in-the-Fields is something of a cultural hub in the heart of London, and has featured in novels by Dickens, Orwell, du Maurier and others. Follow its neoclassical Georgian spire for the heavenly reward of coffee and cake in the subterranean crypt café. This atmospheric spot – all vaulted ceilings and marble statues – is also home to the more-interesting-than-it-sounds London Brass Rubbing Centre, and hosts jazz concerts in the evenings.

So moved was musician Nick Cave by his visit to the London Oratory in Knightsbridge (better known as Brompton Oratory) that he immortalised its ‘great shadowed vault’ and ‘stone apostles’ in song on his 1997 album The Boatman’s Call. Step inside this imposing Victorian edifice – second only in size to Westminster Cathedral in London’s roll call of Catholic churches – to discover what so inspired Cave. Among the highlights are statuary and artworks imported from Italy in the 19th Century, a soaring domed nave complete with intricate frescoes and stained glass, and several ornate side chapels.

Discover more things to do in West London here.

It’s that man again: Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt this near-thousand-year-old East End church at a cost of £15,000+ following the Great Fire of London. To put that into perspective, among the 50-or-so churches he worked on at the time, only St Paul’s cost more. Celebrated for its Renaissance-style Portland stone steeple and splendid Norman chapel and crypt, St Mary-le-Bow is perhaps even better known for its starring role in the nursery rhyme 'Oranges and Lemons', and the tradition that states only those born within earshot of ‘the great bell at Bow’ can claim to be true Cockneys. Follow the chimes to Cheapside to take a closer look.

Explore other top East London attractions here.

Admission to several of London’s finest churches and cathedrals is included with The London Pass® alongside many more bucket-listers such as The View from The Shard, the Tower of London and the London Eye. Hit the buttons below to find out more and bag your pass!