Churches of the week 2021

The church, with its lopsided bell-cote, is made special by its place in the landscape, for it is set in the hidden valley of the Honddu river, with the Black Mountains to the west and the great ridge carrying Offa's Dyke to the east,

Housing a world class collection of art including the Leighton fresco stained glass by Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Kempe, Clayton & Bell, and William Morris. Pevsner said it is ‘exquisite throughout, among the best of the firm and infinitely superior to anything done by anyone else at the time’.

On the edge of the Northumberland National Park, somewhat off the beaten track, can be found this 12th century church. It is believed to stand on the site of a Roman Centurion's guard camp, built to protect the herds of cattle when grazing during summer, in the rich pastures on the banks of the river Aln.

The first chapel on this site was a meeting room in a building also used as a pub called the Plough, which stood here in the 17th century.

Sited low on sand dunes overlooking the picturesque Gunwalloe beach and exposed to harsh Cornish weather, it is easy to see why St Winwaloe’s is called the ‘Church of the Storms’.

One of only four churches in Scotland designed by EW Pugin, St Mary & St Finnan is set in the most beautiful of locations with its wonderous panorama of Loch Shiel and the mountains beyond.

One of the largest and most impressive Perpendicular Gothic churches in Lincolnshire, full of light and space, was once home to some of the most spectacular stained glass in the county.

The 136 foot high three-stage tower built in 1506, together with its four corner turrets and pinnacles with sculpted figures of saints ensures St Giles earns its place as one of the "Seven Wonders of Wales".

An apparition of a small Roman basilica stranded on a village green, embellished with mind-blowing carvings inspired by fossils and rather unusual natural history specimens.

An almost perfect example of the Decorated Gothic style, this church, known as the Queen of Patrington, contains over 200 carved faces of humans and animals ranging from grotesque creatures to village parishioners.

Heavily influenced by The Oxford Movement, this Victorian church is a riot of colour, from its cusped and gilded roof rafters and elaborately decorated chancel to its painted nave walls and stained glass depicting Biblical scenes.