My favourite churches - including the Cathedral of the Dales - by Bill Bryson

But American-born author Bill Bryson has never forgotten the village in North Yorkshire where he wrote the book which made him famous, Notes from A Small Island.

Now vice-president of the National Churches Trust, a charity which promotes churches and provides grants for their repair, Mr Bryson has included St Michael the Archangel, in Kirkby Malham, in a list of 14 favourites for a new website.

Mr Bryson said churches are the “physical embodiment of all that is best and most enduring in Britain.”

He added: “Nothing else in the built environment has the emotional and spiritual resonance, the architectural distinction, the ancient, reassuring solidity of a parish church.”

Of St Michael’s, a Grade 1 listed building built around 1490, he added: “This was our local church during eight happy years I spent in the Yorkshire Dales and it was treasured not only as a place of worship but also as a kind of community centre.

“It’s often called the Cathedral of the Dales for reasons that become instantly apparent when you see it. It is massive.”

Churchwarden Maureen Dore moved to the village after Mr Bryson had moved away, but met him when he returned to support a fund-raising event for the church.

She said: “He wrote of Kirkby Malham that he didn’t know whether it was the best place in the world to live, but it would do for now. He is remembered with great affection by all.”

The church already gets thousands of visitors and is open every day. Mrs Dore said: “Most people find it a really peaceful place to be.”

Archdeacon Beverley Mason, who oversees the Ripon episcopal area, added: “The Kirkby in Malhamdale community welcomed Bill Bryson into their village and have loved him ever since – they will be delighted by this.”

The writer also lists Durham Cathedral as “one of life’s great experiences”, The Italian Chapel in Orkney and London’s St Martin the Fields.

On Durham he advised: “Drop whatever you are doing and go at once. You owe it to yourself. It is one of the most moving and iconic creations of western civilisation.”

The Italian Chapel in Orkney built during World War II by Italian prisoners of war, he said is “impossibly gorgeous.”

He wrote: “I once spent a happy month in Orkney doing an article for National Geographic magazine and came across this enchanting landmark unexpectedly while driving across the little island of Lamb Holm.

“It is simply a lovingly made, and almost impossibly gorgeous, chapel constructed from a Nissen hut and other surplus materials by Italian prisoners during the Second World War. It is one of the most enchanting places I have ever come across, and alone worth going to Orkney for.”

Others include Christchurch Priory, Christchurch, Dorset, where he and his wife lived when they first married; London’s St Martin in the Fields “gorgeous to look at inside and out” and All Saints, Bakewell, Derbyshire for its wealth of Saxon carvings.

Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust, said: “As the national charity dedicated to promoting and supporting church buildings of historic, architectural and community value, our vision is that ‘ExploreChurches’ will become the leading source of information about churches for visitors.”

People can browse a selection of 13,000 churches by location or a particular feature like stained glass or monuments.

There are also themed lists including Churches on TV, the real-life locations of favourite on-screen moments; extremely rare Wooden Churches and ‘Love’ Churches, linked to saints of love and romantic poets. Visit www.explorechurches.org,