Thank you to the many people who took part in 2023. We have had great feedback from people who really enjoyed getting out and about, some seeing inside places of worship for the first time and others exploring buildings they’ve always been intrigued about.

YORKSHIRE CHURCHES DAY WILL TAKE PLACE ON

SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2024

Known affectionately as the ‘Pork Pie Chapel’ due to the building’s shape, Gomersal Methodist Church opened up for Yorkshire Churches Day on Saturday 16 September and welcomed over 130 visitors. A previous grant recipient of the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust, the church is home to a wealth of treasures and artefacts, including First World War records and files on John and Charles Wesley. Volunteers raised money by selling refreshments and history books and received great feedback from both first time and returning visitors alike. Details of the church opening up appeared in the Yorkshire Post on the Wednesday before the event as well as on social media, and representatives from the church are looking forward to taking part again in 2024.

Open up and tell your story

Yorkshire Churches Day (YCD) is a chance for every place of worship in the county to open up and showcase the amazing history and heritage found inside their buildings.

This year we are holding it on Saturday 16 September

A day to tell stories and bring to life the variety, beauty, history and sheer wonder of Yorkshire’s churches, chapels and places of worship. The aim of the day is to encourage everyone to visit their local church even if they have never stepped foot inside a church before. It will be a day for those who are curious about history and heritage of their local surroundings.

Watch below to see what YCD is all about

So many churches are getting involved – check out the list of churches opening up:

Open-churches-2023-5 Download

Get involved

This year we are running YCD in conjunction with Heritage Open Days (HOD), holding it on Saturday 16 September 2023. This is England’s largest festival of history and culture, when thousands of people come together to celebrate their heritage, community and history. Stories are told, traditions explored, and histories brought to life.

We’d love you to get involved and our ultimate aim is to have every church in Yorkshire open.

First step – Register…

Register your event on the Heritage Open Days website, stating you are opening for YCD with the words “As part of Heritage Open Days we are opening our lovely church/chapel (delete as required) on Yorkshire Churches Day, September 16th. Come and explore our history and treasures” – and use the logo on the right

Ideas…

Although as part of the HOD remit, entry to your event must be free, there are many ways you can engage your visitors and encourage donations.

Ideas include:
Provide refreshments, run tours, stage exhibitions, offer bell ringing, put on recitals, offer skills/craft demonstrations, provide eye spy sheets for children, set up treasure hunts, seeds/book swaps, flower demonstrations, holding a teddy bears picnic – there are so many possibilities.

Publicising your event

Publicising your event is really important, let us know your plans and we will add your details to the list of participating which will drive visitors on the day.

Let us know your plans

3 easy steps:

Registration: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/about
Event preparation: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/organising/how-to-get-involved
PR and Publicity: Get started

Click here to download a poster allowing visitors to donate to the YHCT and add details to the poster to display in your church

Donation poster

We are taking part poster

More advice on the use of social media, local papers and local radio to promote your event can be found here:

Promotion

Use the YCD logo on your HOD entry and any publicity you are producing:

YCD logo

5 good reasons to take part:

Attract new audiences to your church
Engage with the local community and make strong local connections
Showcase the history and heritage of your church
Bring in funds
Meet and inspire potential new volunteers

Support us

Hundreds of churches set to open for Yorkshire Churches Day

Yorkshire’s places of worship need your help

Join us

Donate

It was during lockdown that the Trustees of the YHCT came up with the concept of a ‘Yorkshire Churches Day’. The day is an opportunity to raise much needed funds for places of worship in Yorkshire. The future of many churches is under threat due to crumbling roofs, windows and stonework. The YHCT works to ensure these places of worship are kept in good repair, recognising the contribution they make to society at large and the support they provide to local communities.

If you are visiting a participating church, please do consider becoming a Friend of the Trust – you will be joining a group of like minded people, passionate about preserving and maintaining places of worship and helping secure their future.

If you are opening up your place of worship, although entry must be free, we have suggested many fundraising ideas and ways to encourage donations. By taking part in Yorkshire Churches Day, you are helping all places of worship in Yorkshire as well as your own church. We’d encourage you to split any funds raised to the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust, to help us continue to offer vital support to churches, chapels and meeting houses across Yorkshire. Do also consider joining as a Friend, you can see a list of all those places of worship that currently support us here:

A message of support from the Archbishop of York

Open Churches

Click below to see the places of worship opening up on 16 September

Do let us know if you plan to open and we’ll add you to the list

Open-churches-2023-3 Download

For inspiration and ideas of interesting days out visiting some of the best church heritage in the UK, check out the Explore Churches website .https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/explore