Open for Visitors Awards

Nominate your church for these awards

Every church has a story to tell. They are treasure houses of heritage, history and community, ready for visitors near and far to enjoy.  

In every corner of the UK, we love seeing how churches, chapels and meeting houses are providing a wonderful welcome to visitors and how they’re sharing their building with others. Most churches were built to be at the heart of their communities, to be busy and used by all. 

Opening your doors is one of the easiest things you can do but it sends a clear message that churches are for everyone. It also enables visitors to see the ongoing need for care and conservation. By sharing your stories, architectural history, social heritage and more you are helping the wider public understand and care for these amazing buildings. By organising events and open days, you engage with the public. 

To nominate your church, chapel or meeting house for this award, you just need to be able to tell us about the fantastic work you do to open your doors and tell your stories. You don’t need to be open every day or have volunteers on hand. Many churches create a warm welcome with little financial cost. We cannot wait to hear about what your church does. 

Your application will be reviewed by an expert panel. 

What is the prize? 

There will be four winners chosen for this award – one from each UK nation. Each winner will receive £500. 

NEW extended deadline for nominations 

How do I submit a nomination? 

Deadline for submissions is Thursday 5 September (midnight). 

Click here to download the guidelines and questions for this award. 

We recommend that you prepare your nomination in a separate document before copying and pasting it into the online form. This will help you to make best use of the character limits for each question, whilst ensuring you tell us everything you want us to know. You will be able to amend your nomination up until the closing date.

Click here to nominate your church, chapel or meeting house for the Open for Visitors Awards

Once you have submitted your form you will need to email at least 5 images.

• If possible, please rename them with the name of your church; this will help us to match them to your entry
• Please include photos of your team at work, or of the activities that your good work enables
• You can also send a link to a film, if you have one
• Please email them to sarah.crossland@nationalchurchestrust.org