Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, “Walsingham”:http://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/place/170380-review-little-walsingham was the most famous catholic shrine in Europe. The Catholic faith was banned and Catholics were not allowed to worship openly until the early C19th. In 1897, Pope Leo XIII gave permission for the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham to be re-founded in the newly built Roman Catholic church in King’s Lynn. The first Roman Catholic Pilgrimage was held to the restored C14th Slipper Chapel just outside Little Walsingham. This was the last of the wayside chapels where pilgrims stopped on their way to Walsingham. A temporary Catholic Church was built in Little Walsingham in 1950s, the first since for over 400 years.
In 2006, this was replaced by a very stylish modern brick and flint church, which was designed to be Britain’s first carbon neutral church with solar panels on the roof. The stone cross on the front of the church came from the original church. The date in Roman numerals is picked out in brick on the front of the church.
Entry is into the narthex with a small shop. Inside it is a round church set under the round tower, with wooden benches arranged around the walls and exposed girders supporting the roof.
The simple stone altar is set in front of the stained glass window with the image of Christ Crucified. The font is just inside the doorway. The Holy Oils are displayed in a cupboard behind it.
The church is open daily and is set back off Friday Market. The nearest car park is at Old Mills off Coker’s Hill. The nearest post code is NR22 6DB and the grid reference is TF 933367.
