UK's Quirkiest Churches
My Weekly|September 06, 2022
From works of art to spectacular settings and ingenious new uses, these places of worship past and present are well worth a visit
SUE HAYWARD
UK's Quirkiest Churches

See The Sistine Chapel

On a residential street in Goring-by-Sea near the seaside town of Worthing you'll find an unassuming local church with a stunning secret in its roof. If you want to see the world famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel without taking a trip to Vatican City in Rome - this is the place to come!

Look up as you go through the doors of the English Martyrs Catholic Church to see the only known reproduction in the world of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Michelangelo painted the original in around 1500. This one was created by local parishioner Gary Bevans after a trip to Rome in 1987 and it's simply stunning. english-martyrs.co.uk

Discover A Shell Church

The "Little Chapel" as it's known perches in the Vauxbelets valley on Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Whatever your age it's impossible not to be mesmerised by this hidden treasure which is one of the smallest chapels in the world. Built by Brother Deodat who arrived on Guernsey in 1913, to resemble the Notre Dame Grotto at Lourdes in France, it glitters in the sunlight as it's decorated inside and out with tiny shells, colourful bits of broken china and pretty pebbles. Tiny inside - just 16 feet by 9 feet - it's open daily in summer. visitguernsey.com/experiences/activities/the-little-chapel/

Coffee Among The Tombstones

Trafalgar Square is one of London's busiest and most popular tourist spots but head over the road from this famous landmark to discover an underground café with a difference.

At the Café in the Crypt in St Martin-in-the-Fields Church you can have coffee among the tombstones.

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