Walsingham

Village in Norfolk, England, 8 km/5 mi north of Fakenham; population (2001) 864. There are ruins of an Augustinian priory founded in 1153, which was a centre of pilgrimage until its destruction during the Reformation. Pilgrimages to Walsingham were revived in 1897; they centre on the Slipper Chapel (Roman Catholic) 2 km/1 mi from the village, and on an Anglican shrine in the village.

According to tradition, in 1061 the Virgin Mary appeared three times to the lady of the manor. She felt as if she were transported to the house in Nazareth, where Mary was told that she was to have a son. A wooden replica of the ‘Holy House’ was built as a shrine to ‘Our Lady of Walsingham’, and later incorporated in the chapel of the Augustinian priory.