Parish Church Locking in England
As recording parish churches in England requires visiting them and
gaining access we have, as a side project, been recording statistics on
church locking. The following page will be of interest to anyone who
visits churches and those who have them in their care. While many
people (especially at locked churches) claim that "all churches are
locked", this page will hopefully shatter that myth.
1. Church Locking by County
2. Church Locking Diocesan League Table NEW
3. County Locking Maps
The following tables and maps were derived from data collected over the
past 10 years. While one may argue that church locking is variable, in
our experience locking is stable over decade-long time periods. Spot
checks are occasionally made and very little variation from the
original data has been found; generally locked churches have remained
locked and those that are open have remained opened. As one incumbent
commented "Getting a locked church open or an open church locked is
very very difficult".
The maps in the third section will be of use to those visiting churches
as they show all of the individual sites and their locking status.
1. Church Locking by County
The following table is ordered alphabetically on county name. For the
pre-1900 churches in the county Blue = open, Red = locked, Orange
= locked with a specific notice for gaining the key, Purple = special
opening times, Grey = no longer in use (e.g.: converted to a house).
The number on the right hand side is the number of churches in the
sample; some counties are currently incomplete.
2. Church Locking Diocesan League Table
The following table is ordered by percentage of churches open in a diocese. For the
pre-1900 churches in the diocese Blue = open, Red = locked, Orange =
locked with a specific notice for gaining the key, Purple = special
opening times, Grey = no longer in use (e.g.: converted to a house).
3. County Locking Maps
The links below display maps based on the data for each church. If you
are intending to visit an area then you might like to print off the map
so that you have a good idea what is likely to be open and what is not.
While an effort has been made to make the data as accurate as possible,
you may find some differences. In general one should observe the
following modifiers: churches are more likely to lock during school
holidays, especially in built up areas; some churches only open during
the summer months; some churches only open on weekdays.
On the following maps:
Blue = open
Red = locked
Orange = locked by with a specific keyholder notice (i.e.: not just churchwarden contact details)
Purple = special opening times
Black Square = no longer in use as a church
Full Map - showing all areas currently covered and the distribution of open and locked churches.
Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
Gloucestershire
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Huntingdonshire
Northamptonshire
Oxfordshire
Rutland
Shropshire
Suffolk
Sussex
Warwickshire
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
All maps and data copyright (c)2007 c b newham and the Digital Atlas of England Foundation