Notre-Dame de Walsingham et le prieuré

Little Walsingham

Tradition holds that in 1061 an Anglo-Saxon widow, Richeldis de Faverches, saw in a dream the house of Mary at Nazareth and was commanded to build a replica of it here. The Holy House of Walsingham became England's foremost Marian pilgrimage. In 1538 the king's commissioners carried it off: the statue was taken to London, the priory was sold, and the sources agree neither on the month, nor on the commissioner, nor on the exact fate of the image. The site of the original chapel is now marked only by a plaque and a marker stone, set out after the excavations of 1961. Three distinct shrines now share the devotion, and none of them stands on the spot of the first.

Getting there : Priory grounds open to the public; the prior's lodging is private; around 200,000 pilgrims a year at the Catholic shrine

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound