Cathedrals of England Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Cathedrals are the churches designated as the main church of a diocese, where the throne of the bishop or archbishop is located. Abbeys are religious buildings which are, or were originally monasteries under the authority of an abbot or abbess. Some of the abbeys in the quiz are in ruins, others are now used primarily as churches and there are a couple which are still active.

The cathedrals, in alphabetic order, are in Chester, Cheshire and Coventry, in the West Midlands, which has a relatively new cathedral consecrated in 1962 as the previous cathedral was destroyed by bombing during World War II. Some ruins of this cathedral have been kept as a reminder. Durham Cathedral is in north east England and contains the shrine of St. Cuthbert while Ely is in Cambridgeshire. Exeter Cathedral is on the other side of the country, in Devon and Guildford is another modern cathedral, consecrated in 1961.

Hereford is home to the old map of the world, the Mappa Mundi while Lichfield Cathedral is famous for its three spires. Lincoln is built in the Gothic style while Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral is more modern, dating from 1978 - the city also has a modern Roman Catholic Cathedral. Peterborough Cathedral is another Cambridgeshire cathedral, Ripon is in North Yorkshire while Salisbury, in Wiltshire, is famous for having the highest spire in the United Kingdom. Southwark is located in the borough of that name in London while Wells is one of England's smallest cathedrals in one of the smallest cities.

Turning to the abbeys, three of them - Whitby, Glastonbury and Tintern - are in ruins thanks to Henry VIII. Belmont, in Herefordshire, and Buckfast, in Devon, are both still working monasteries, which can be visited. Sherborne in Dorset, Dorchester in Oxfordshire and Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire are all now used as churches, described as 'The Abbey Church of ...' and referred to as abbeys. Woburn Abbey is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the ruins, being a stately home owned by the Duke of Bedford. It is also open to the public as these huge buildings cost a lot of money to maintain.