Hundreds of churches across Yorkshire are preparing to welcome visitors for ‘Yorkshire Churches Day' (YCD) on Saturday 16 September.

Run by the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (YHCT), Yorkshire Churches Day is a day where everyone is encouraged to visit their local place of worship even if they have never stepped foot inside a church before. It will be a day for those who are curious about the history and heritage of their local surroundings.

The initiative has been warmly welcomed by Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York and President of the YHCT: “Yorkshire Churches Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our County's churches. At the heart of nearly every one of our communities is a church. They are there to serve and welcome everyone. However you choose to engage with these wonderful buildings, remember, they are not merely places of heritage and history, but vibrant centres of worship and community serving Yorkshire today.”

Among those opening their doors are St Wilfrid's, the only Grade I listed building in Harrogate. The church contains many fascinating pieces of silverware, beautiful vestments and items of interest, all of which will be on display throughout the day with guides available to tell you more about the church and its unique history.

If you are near Gomersal in West Yorkshire, and are interested in history, the Methodist Church will be open from 10am – 3pm. This lovely chapel is home to a wealth of treasures and artefacts, including WW1 records and files on John and Charles Wesley.

St. Augustine’s, in Hedon is known as ‘the King of Holderness’, and is believed to date from 1180 during the reign of Henry II. Visitors are welcome between 9am -4pm for a tour of the interior to learn about the history of the building along with stories of those that worshipped there and their memorials.

St John’s, Ranmoor in Sheffield, is hosting a number of events throughout the day, including family story and arts and craft session, refreshments, tours of the ringing room and a talk about the construction of the building and those that worked on it.

Many churches from across the region are opening their doors to visitors, details can be found at https://www.yhct.org.uk/yorkshire-churches-day/
YCD is being run in conjunction with the Heritage Open Days initiative, with numerous places of worship opening up for the duration of the festival from 9th – 18th September. Details can be found at https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/