Common Ground · Visit

Places
to visit

Mosques, synagogues, churches, cathedrals, museums and shared places across the UK that welcome visitors, many of them school and community groups too.

Open doors across the UK

Showing 41.

All the UKLondonSouth EastMidlandsNorth WestYorkshireNorth EastSouth WestWalesScotlandNorthern Ireland

synagogue · City of LondonBevis Marks SynagogueBritain's oldest synagogue in continuous use (1701), home of a Sephardi community that dates its return to 1656.Group and school visits: Yes: guided tours and school visits (Bevis Marks Heritage Foundation) [S]

museum · BloomsburyBritish Museum: Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic worldRooms 42–43 trace 1,400 years of Islamic art and daily life, a few rooms from Hebrew and early Christian collections.Group and school visits: Yes: free self-led and booked school sessions [S]

museum · South KensingtonV&A: Jameel Gallery of the Islamic Middle EastHome of the Ardabil Carpet, one of the oldest dated carpets in the world, with its line of Persian verse.Group and school visits: Yes: schools and group bookings via the V&A learning team [S]

interfaith centre · Bishopsgate, City of LondonSt Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and PeaceA medieval church rebuilt after the 1993 Bishopsgate bomb as a place for peace, with a Bedouin-style tent for conversation.Group and school visits: Yes: public events; groups by arrangement [S]

museum · Finchley RoadJewish Museum London ("Two Rooms" at JW3)After closing in Camden in 2023, the museum now shows its collection in an interim space at JW3 while a permanent home is planned for 2030.Group and school visits: Check: interim venue; learning programme continuing online and in schools [S]

mosque · Regent's ParkLondon Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural CentreThe golden-domed mosque beside Regent's Park, opened in 1977 on land given in exchange by the government in the 1940s.Group and school visits: Yes: school and group visits bookable via the ICC [V, keywords on site]

cathedral · City of LondonSt Paul's CathedralWren's cathedral, a working church that hosted national services of remembrance and welcomes 1m+ visitors a year [S].Group and school visits: Yes: groups and school learning programme

library and museum · Russell SquareThe Wiener Holocaust LibraryFounded in 1933 to document Nazi persecution, it is one of the world's oldest Holocaust archives, with free exhibitions.Group and school visits: Yes: free entry; group tours and school workshops [S]

Hindu temple · NeasdenBAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Neasden Temple)Optional, for 'neighbours beyond the three': a hand-carved stone mandir that welcomes thousands of school pupils a year.Group and school visits: Yes: free entry; school and group tours bookable [S]

mosque · WokingShah Jahan MosqueGrade I, built 1889; Historic England calls it the first purpose-built mosque in Britain and northern Europe.Group and school visits: Yes: tours and school visits [V, keywords on site]

shared memorial · WokingMuslim Burial Ground Peace Garden, Horsell CommonBuilt in 1917 for Indian Army Muslim soldiers of the First World War, now restored as a Peace Garden open to all.Group and school visits: Open access; groups can follow the waymarked walk

cathedral · CanterburyCanterbury CathedralMother church of the Anglican Communion and a place of pilgrimage since Becket's murder in 1170.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and school visits

museum · OxfordAshmolean Museum (Islamic Middle East and Jewish collections)Britain's oldest public museum, with Islamic ceramics, metalwork and manuscripts alongside Christian and Jewish objects.Group and school visits: Yes: free entry; school sessions bookable [S]

cathedral · CoventryCoventry CathedralThe bombed ruins and new cathedral stand side by side; its 'Father forgive' and Cross of Nails began a worldwide reconciliation ministry.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and school visits

library and archive · BirminghamCadbury Research Library (Mingana Collection)Home of the Birmingham Qur'an leaves, radiocarbon-dated to 568–645 [S], among the oldest Qur'an fragments known, plus Christian Arabic and Syriac manuscripts.Group and school visits: By appointment; groups occasionally; exhibitions at the Barber Institute in the past [S]

interfaith centre / faith trail · LeicesterSt Philip's Centre: 'Places of Peace' faith visitsLeicester's interfaith centre runs in-person visits to places of worship across eight traditions for schools and groups.Group and school visits: Yes: schools and groups book visits and workshops [V]

cathedral · LeicesterLeicester CathedralWhere Richard III was reburied in 2015, at the heart of one of Britain's most religiously diverse cities.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools [S]

mosque · BirminghamBirmingham Central MosqueOpened in 1975, one of the largest mosques in Western Europe, with a long record of school visits [S].Group and school visits: Likely: school visits [S, not verified]

synagogue · LiverpoolPrinces Road SynagogueA Grade I Moorish Revival synagogue of 1874, offering tours of one of Europe's finest synagogue interiors.Group and school visits: Yes: tours for groups and schools [V, keyword]

museum · Cheetham Hill, ManchesterManchester Jewish MuseumSet in an 1874 Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, restored and reopened in 2021 with a new gallery and café.Group and school visits: Yes: school and group visits bookable [V]

library and museum · ManchesterThe John Rylands Research Institute and LibraryA neo-Gothic library holding the Rylands papyrus P52 (often called the earliest New Testament fragment), Hebrew and Arabic manuscripts.Group and school visits: Yes: free entry; group tours and schools sessions [S]

cathedral · LiverpoolLiverpool Cathedral (with the Metropolitan Cathedral on Hope Street)Britain's largest cathedral sits at one end of Hope Street and the Catholic cathedral at the other, a symbol of the city's reconciled churches.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools

synagogue · BradfordBradford Reform SynagogueIn 2013 Bradford's Muslims helped raise funds to save this 1880 Moorish-style synagogue, a story of neighbours that made headlines worldwide.Group and school visits: Yes: visits by enquiry [S]

cathedral · BradfordBradford CathedralHosted the Ramadan Tent Project's first Open Iftar in a cathedral in 2023, in a city with deep interfaith links [S, Hyphen].Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools [S]

cathedral · YorkYork MinsterOne of Europe's great Gothic cathedrals, with the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in Britain [S].Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools learning programme

cathedral · DurhamDurham CathedralA World Heritage Site and shrine of St Cuthbert, also the burial place of the Venerable Bede.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools

heritage site · Holy Island, NorthumberlandLindisfarne Priory, Holy IslandThe cradle of Christianity in the North East, where the Lindisfarne Gospels were made; reached by a tidal causeway.Group and school visits: Yes: English Heritage free education visits for schools

cathedral · Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle CathedralA city-centre cathedral reopened after a major heritage project, with open doors and a café for passers-by [S].Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools [S]

synagogue · PlymouthPlymouth SynagogueBuilt in 1762, the oldest Ashkenazi synagogue in continuous use in the English-speaking world [S, Wikipedia].Group and school visits: Yes: General Tour and Hoe Cemetery Tour can be arranged [V, Plymouth Culture]

cathedral · ExeterExeter CathedralHome to the longest unbroken medieval Gothic vault in the world, and a regular host of Holocaust Memorial Day events.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools

church · BathBath AbbeyA 1,300-year-old place of worship with its famous 'ladders of angels' on the west front.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and school visits [S]

cathedral · St Davids, PembrokeshireSt Davids CathedralThe shrine of Wales's patron saint, a pilgrimage place for over 1,400 years in Britain's smallest city.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools [S]

peace heritage · Cathays Park, CardiffTemple of PeaceOpened in 1938 as a memorial to the dead of the Great War and a home for peace; run by Cymru Global (formerly the Welsh Centre for International Affairs).Group and school visits: Yes: Temple of Peace tours and learner activities [V]

cathedral · Llandaff, CardiffLlandaff CathedralAn ancient Christian site, rebuilt after wartime bombing, with Epstein's Majestas floating above the nave.Group and school visits: Yes: groups and schools [S]

mosque · Gorbals, GlasgowGlasgow Central MosqueScotland's largest mosque, on the banks of the Clyde, regularly open during Glasgow Doors Open Days.Group and school visits: Yes: school visits [S]; open-day tours [V]

museum · GlasgowSt Mungo Museum of Religious Life and ArtA museum devoted to the world's religions, beside Glasgow Cathedral, with a Zen garden.Group and school visits: Yes: free entry; school learning sessions [S]

synagogue / heritage · GlasgowGarnethill Synagogue and the Scottish Jewish Heritage CentreScotland's oldest synagogue building (1879), home of the Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre.Group and school visits: Yes: school visits and tours [V, keywords]

cathedral · EdinburghSt Giles' CathedralThe High Kirk of Edinburgh on the Royal Mile, a centre of Scottish church history.Group and school visits: Yes: groups [S]

reconciliation centre · Ballycastle, County AntrimCorrymeelaNorthern Ireland's oldest peace and reconciliation community, founded before the Troubles, welcoming schools and groups to its residential centre.Group and school visits: Yes: residential programmes for schools and community groups [V, keywords]

cathedral · BelfastBelfast Cathedral (St Anne's)Belfast's cathedral in the Cathedral Quarter, with its Spire of Hope and open doors to visitors.Group and school visits: Yes: group tours bookable [V]

cathedral · ArmaghSt Patrick's Cathedral (Church of Ireland), ArmaghArmagh has two St Patrick's cathedrals, Church of Ireland and Catholic, facing each other across the city.Group and school visits: Yes: tours [V, keyword]

Photographs: "20230702 1527 St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh" by davidwilson1949, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/32693718@N07/53461951171; "Bath Abbey, England" by szeke, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/43355249@N00/39711375980; "Bevis Marks Synagogue" by It's No Game, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29057345@N04/6131321034; "Boating Lake and London Central Mosque, Regent's Park" by Loz Flowers, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/99245765@N00/393064811; "Bradford Reform Synagogue" by Tim Green aka atoach, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93416311@N00/16388567731; "Canterbury Cathedral: West Window 1" by Tobias von der Haar, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76402385@N03/8120163167; "Cave at Corrymeela" by Grace5mith, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/27475012@N06/3356452515 (coastline at Corrymeela, not the centre buildings); "Cicero at the Ashmolean Oxford" by Leshaines123, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/46018453@N06/27098323588; "Coventry Cathedral Ruins" by amandabhslater, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/15181848@N02/8531528095; "Durham Cathedral on the River Wear - County Durham" by Glen Bowman, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/10978503@N00/506606185; "Exeter Cathedral West Front" by It's No Game, Flickr via Openverse: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29057345@N04/20593963280; "Garnethill Synagogue"