04/05/2026
St Barnabas and St Mary’s church will be open this weekend 9th & 10th May Saturday 10am to 4pm and Sunday 12pm to 4pm we will have local history photos and information refreshments served in St Barnabas everyone welcome xx
ALL ABOUT OUR FESTIVAL! For two weekends this May, lovers of heritage and history have a choice of 119 Lincolnshire churches and chapels to visit for free, as the West Lindsey Churches Festival celebrates its 30th year and sees a record number of buildings taking part.
The first weekend (9-10 May) will see 58 churches in the east of the area take part, with 61 churches opening for the second weekend (16-17 May) to the west.
Festival chair Paul Howitt-Cowen said: “We are delighted to reach our 30th year, which shows how much these historic and sacred places are cherished by the public, as treasure houses of our shared history. From nationally important monuments at Hainton, fourteenth-century stained glass at Kingerby, one of the country’s most impressive Norman doorways in Middle Rasen, a rare 12th century black Tournai font at Thornton Curtis and a very rare rood screen and loft at Coates by Stow - the list of astonishing artifacts you can stumble upon in our churches is very long! We’re indebted to West Lindsey District Council for their sponsorship of this event, which has been essential in making it happen over the decades.”
Traditionally, the West Lindsey Churches Festival has offered visitors a range of historic sites located across the district. West Lindsey is a rural landscape to the north of the cathedral city of Lincoln, encompassing the market towns of Gainsborough, Caistor, Market Rasen, as well as much of the Lincolnshire Wolds National Landscape.
But since 2025, the festival map has expanded beyond West Lindsey’s borders, and welcomed in churches in neighbouring areas: North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and East Lindsey. New festival churches can be found in and around larger towns like Immingham, Brigg, and Scunthorpe, and at the heart of historic market towns and villages like Thornton Curtis, Epworth, Horkstow, Amcotts, and Crowle.
These new buildings join the ranks of churches that have taken part in the event through the past 30 years, and helped make this festival one of the biggest open churches festivals in Europe.
Visitors will find each church offers a unique experience that could include stunning architecture, stained glass, fascinating wood carvings, historic monuments, and graveyards full of stories.
Refreshments are one of the main attractions of the festival, with churches offering treats like homemade cakes, cream teas and plum bread. Lunch can also be enjoyed at 28 of the churches taking part, with homemade soups, sausages in a bun, bacon sandwiches, hot roast beef rolls, ploughman’s lunches, and quiches, among the many meals on offer.
Music is also central to the event, with 74 churches inviting the public to play their organ, with many exceptional instruments included in that offer. For those that like to listen to organs played by professionals, there will also be resident and visiting organists playing music through both weekends (full details to be confirmed on the website).
And all this is made possible by hundreds of church volunteers, who add to the festival their knowledge of local history, plant and book sales, flower displays, exhibitions and bell ringing.
Paul Howitt-Cowen added: “A tour of festival churches will take you through beautiful villages and vibrant market towns, as well as remote rural locations where time seems to stand still. Each church and chapel taking part is a gem waiting to be discovered!
“Anyone interested in a spot of ‘church crawling’ this May (the name given to the hobby of visiting churches!) should visit the website (linked below). There they will find a page for each church taking part (easily reached via the A-Z listing page) and a Google map to plan a tour. People can also browse a 56 page event brochure via the website, or order a hard copy.”
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Photo of St. Edmunds Church - Riby by Louise Montague.
