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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
Previous winners
Working with partners across the sector we celebrate churches and the people who care for them through a range of award schemes. In 2022 and 2023 we launched the National Church Awards, working closely with partners, funders and sponsors across the sector. Here are some previous winners from similar categories in those awards.
An inspiring legacy
This year, the National Church Awards have been inspired by the work and legacy of Lord Patrick Cormack, a champion of church buildings, who dedicated his life to helping to keep the UK’s churches open and in use – and who partnered with many different organisations to make this happen.
A tribute to an extraordinary champion of churches![Image shows all tourism award winners](/sites/default/files/styles/hero_image_large/public/2023-11/AWARDSNationalChurchAwards2022%28%C2%A9AndySillett%26NCT%2954.jpg?h=41f55a5b&itok=yFP-w9gi)
AndySillett