Walsingham Priory
| Walsingham Priory | |
|---|---|
| Augustinian Priory of The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary | |
 The surviving remains of the 14th-century East Window of the priory church at Walsingham, a significant remnant of the medieval religious complex | |
  Walsingham Priory | |
| 52°53′37″N 0°52′33″E / 52.8936°N 0.8757°E | |
| Location | Walsingham |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Website | walsinghamabbey.com |
| History | |
| Status | Public (Priory grounds) and Private (The Abbey, manor residence) |
| Founded | c. 1153 |
| Founder(s) | Funded by Geoffrey de Faverches, son of Lady Richeldis de Faverches—the original founder of the Holy House |
| Past bishop(s) | William de Turbeville (Bishop of Norwich, 1146–1174) |
| Associated people | Edwy (First Prior) Richard Vowell (Last Prior) |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade I listed (Entry No. 1039369) |
| Designated | 30 November 1951 |
| Style | Norman architecture |
| Demolished | July 1538 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Norwich |
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Walsingham Priory, originally established in the 12th century, was a monastery of Augustinian Canons regular in Walsingham, Norfolk, England. Also known as the Augustinian Priory of The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it became a significant pilgrimage site, associated with the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, before being seized by the Crown and largely destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII in the 16th century.[2]
The Priory Grounds are best known for their historical association with the 11th-century Anglo-Saxon chapel and the Holy House, the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.[2] The Holy House itself was the most notable feature, housing the revered image of the Virgin Mary. Traditionally believed to be a replica of the house where Mary lived in Nazareth, it became the central focus of pilgrimage for centuries.[2] The original location of these now-lost structures, once part of the medieval priory, is now marked by a plaque and a marker stone within the grounds of Walsingham Abbey, placed following archaeological excavations in 1961.[3] Today, visitors can explore the grounds of Walsingham Abbey and the Shirehall Museum, which remain open to the public.
History
[edit]
The village of Walsingham lies a few miles from the sea in the northern part of East Anglia. Walsingham Priory traces its origins to the time of Edward the Confessor, when Lady Richeldis de Faverches, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and widow, is traditionally believed to have founded the Holy House on her manor grounds in Walsingham following a series of Marian visions she experienced, in which the Virgin Mary revealed the house in Nazareth—believed to be the site of the Annunciation and the home of the Holy Family—and commissioned her to build its replica.[2] The reputed appearance of the Virgin Mary to Lady Richeldis is one of the earliest recorded Marian visions in England. This structure became a sacred space for prayer and pilgrimage, attracting worshippers from across medieval Christendom.[2] A century later, the Anglo-Saxon chapel and Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham was granted to the Augustinian canons and subsequently enclosed within the priory.[4]
From its earliest days, the shrine of the Virgin Mary at Walsingham was a significant site of Christian pilgrimage, attracting pilgrims from across the British Isles and continental Europe.[2] This tradition continued until the destruction of the priory by Henry VIII in 1538. To this day, the main pilgrimage route through Newmarket, Brandon, and Fakenham remains known as the Palmers' Way. Also referred to as the Way of the Shepherds or Way of the Palm, this path was followed by pilgrims for centuries. The canons of Walsingham received many gifts of land, rents, and churches, and the shrine was associated with numerous reputed miracles.[4]
Henry III undertook a pilgrimage to Walsingham in 1241, followed by Edward I in 1280 and 1296, Edward II in 1315, Henry VI in 1455, Henry VII in 1487, and Henry VIII in 1513.[4]
In 1511, Erasmus made a pilgrimage from Cambridge in fulfillment of a vow, leaving as his offering a set of Greek verses expressing his piety. Thirteen years later, he wrote his colloquy on pilgrimages, in which he described the wealth and magnificence of Walsingham while rationalising some of the reputed miracles.[4]
In 1537, while the last prior, Richard Vowell was paying obsequious respect to Thomas Cromwell, the sub-prior Nicholas Milcham was charged with conspiring against the suppression of the lesser monasteries. On flimsy evidence, he was convicted of high treason and hanged outside the priory walls.[4]
In July 1538, Prior Vowell assented to the destruction of Walsingham Priory, assisting the king's commissioners in removing the figure of Mary, along with many gold and silver ornaments, as part of the shrine's general spoliation. In reward for his compliance, he received a large pension of 100 pounds a year, while 15 of the canons were granted smaller pensions ranging from 4 to 6 pounds.
With the shrine dismantled and Walsingham Priory destroyed, the site was sold by order of Henry VIII to Thomas Sidney for 90 pounds. Over time, the Prior's lodging was expanded between the late 17th and early 19th centuries, eventually becoming a private mansion known as 'The Abbey'. The destruction of Walsingham Priory was lamented in several ballads, most notably Walsingham (also known as As I Went to Walsingham), a widely popular Elizabethan ballad tune. Other notable works reflecting on the site's religious and cultural significance include A Lover's Complaint, often attributed to Sir Walter Raleigh, and The Wreck of Walsingham, sometimes linked to Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel. The Pynson Ballad, a mid-15th-century account detailing the foundation of the shrine, offers an earlier perspective on its revered status. Following the English Reformation, these ballads served as expressions of grief over the shrine's suppression, reflecting the broader religious and cultural upheaval of the period.[4]
Ballad literature suggests that some pilgrims sought non-religious encounters; Ophelia in Hamlet quotes from lyrics about Walsingham in which a woman asks about her pilgrim lover.[5]
Burials
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Unknown, Walsingham Abbey (1153). Walsingham Bible (in Latin).
- ^ a b c d e f Feasey, Henry (1898). "The Shrine of Our Ladye of Walsingham". The Downside Review. 17 (3). Bath: Downside Abbey: 175–187. doi:10.1177/001258069801700313. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
- ^ Green, Charles; Whittingham, A. B. (1968). "Excavations at Walsingham Priory, Norfolk, 1961". Archaeological Journal. 125 (1). London: Royal Archaeological Institute: 255–290. doi:10.1080/00665983.1968.11078341. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Herbermann 1913.
- ^ Sternfeld, F. W. (1964). "Ophelia's Version of the Walsingham Song". Music & Letters. 45 (2): 108–113. ISSN 0027-4224.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Walsingham Priory". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- "Houses of Austin canons: The priory of Walsingham". A History of the County of Norfolk. Vol. 2. London: Victoria County History. 1906. pp. 394–401.
- Historic England. "WALSINGHAM PRIORY (359045)". Research records (formerly PastScape).