This website provides access to a database of historical information about churches and cemeteries, and other places of worship in the UK counties of Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire, for the purposes of individuals researching their Family History. It has no affiliation with the churches or congregations themselves, nor is it intended as a means to find places of worship in the present day.

The design of the database is based upon an original idea by Phil Stringer for GENUKI (UK & Ireland Genealogy), but as a consequence of feedback from our users, it has been enhanced significantly to provide additional features and functionality for this site.

The basic content for each county consists of a Church of England entry for each of the "old" (pre-1834) parishes. In most cases the dedication of the church has been established, and we have an OS Grid Reference for the town or place it is in.

During the course of development of the database, more accurate locations for each of these are being established.

Other information we collect includes the street address (sometimes with postcode), foundation date of its congregation, whether or not it has (or had) a graveyard attached, and whether or not the premises are still open, closed, or are known to have been demolished.

We also collect photographs (or illustrations), and information about the congregation's history. We may also provide a hyperlink to a place of worship's website, when available.

Subsequent entries will include the newer Victorian, and in some cases 20th and 21st century churches; also places of worship of other denominations, such as Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, Latter-day Saints, and from more recent times, Muslim and Sikh. As we are aiming to trace the history of congregations as well as their physical places of worship, there may be multiple entries for the same congregation meeting in different locations, or conversely, for different congregations meeting in the same premises, whether or not the premises have remained formally consecrated.

As we are trying to cover as wide a range of religious experience as possible, we may also include Cemeteries and Burial Grounds, pre-Reformation Abbeys, Hospital Chapels, and Crematoria; however we also reserve the right to edit any contributions submitted for inclusion on the site, and in certain circumstances, not to use them at all.

Please be aware however that a project such as this can never be "complete". Nevertheless information is being added to the database on a regular basis, and some areas and counties will have better coverage than others, depending on resources available to us.

We hope you will enjoy your visit to our site.