Walsingham Friary

Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses. Walsingham is 27 miles (43 km) northwest of Norwich. The civil parish includes Little Walsingham and Great Walsingham, together with Egmere (a depopulated medieval village at grid reference TF 897 374), and has an area of 18.98 km². At the 2011 census, it had a population of 819.Walsingham is a major centre of pilgrimage. In 1061, according to the Walsingham legend, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, Richeldis de Faverches, had a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she was instructed to build a replica of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth in honour of the Annunciation. When it was built, the Holy House in Walsingham was panelled with wood and contained a wooden statue of an enthroned Virgin Mary with the child Jesus seated on her lap. Among its relics was a phial reputedly of the Virgin's milk. Walsingham became one of northern Europe's great places of pilgrimage and remained so through the remainder of the Middle Ages, with a revival in the 20th century.

Walsingham was a railway station on the Wells and Fakenham Railway, later part of the Great Eastern Railway. It opened on 1 December 1857, and served the villages of Great Walsingham and Little Walsingham. It closed on 5 October 1964. The station buildings were purchased in 1967 by a group of members of the Russian Orthodox Church and developed into a small monastic community house, including St. Seraphim's Russian Orthodox church. The resident religious community has plans to further develop the site, including a permanent dual exhibition which will both showcase the religious life, in particular the art of icon painting, and also provide a historical review of the site's railway heritage.Since 1982, there has been a second station at Walsingham - the southern terminus of the narrow gauge Wells and Walsingham Light Railway. This station is sited slightly to the north of the original, the latter now having a car and coach park on the site of the tracks.

St Mary and All Saints Church is the parish church of Little Walsingham in the English county of Norfolk. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and All Saints. Little Walsingham (better known as Walsingham) was the location of the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, destroyed at the Dissolution. The Anglican shrine was revived by Alfred Hope Patten, the Vicar of Little Walsingham, in 1922, and the image of Our Lady of Walsingham was in the church until its translation to the new priory in 1931.

Walsingham Priory was a monastery of Augustinian Canons regular in Walsingham, Norfolk, England seized by the crown at the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. The priory is perhaps best known for having housed a Marian shrine with a replica of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth. Walsingham Abbey Grounds and the Shirehall Museum are opened to the public.

The Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is a Church of England shrine church built in 1938 in Walsingham, Norfolk, England. Walsingham is the site of the reputed Marian apparitions to Richeldis de Faverches in 1061. The Virgin Mary is therefore venerated at the site with the title of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Walsingham railway station is located in Walsingham, Norfolk, on the narrow gauge Wells and Walsingham Light Railway. It was opened in 1982. It is located north of the original station, which has been converted into a Russian Orthodox Church. Operational rail facilities consist of a single running line, plus a headshunt and run round loop. There are no spring points, and access to the run round loop is controlled by ground frames, operated by the train crew. The station is not staffed, except on special operating days, and passengers purchase tickets from the guard.Passenger facilities consist of a single rail-level platform, a waiting shelter, and a local information notice board and map. The station was fully remodelled in the late 1980s, with the single platform relocated from the eastern to the western side of the running line.

Houghton Saint Giles is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Barsham, in the North Norfolk district, in the English county of Norfolk. It has also been referred to as Houghton-le-Dale or Houghton-in-the-Hole. In 1931 the parish had a population of 142.The villages name means 'hill-spur farm/settlement'. The village is one of four settlements that are within the parish of Barsham; the other villages are West Barsham, East Barsham and North Barsham. Originally all four villages had their own parishes, but these were merged to create a single civil parish on 1 April 1935.Houghton Saint Giles is 4.2 miles north of the town of Fakenham, 21.2 miles west of Cromer and 118 miles north of London. The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport. A regular bus service is provided as Houghton is on the Coastliner bus route (service number 36) with destinations including Fakenham, Wells-next-the-Sea, Hunstanton and King's Lynn.In the parish is the Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham, also known as the Slipper Chapel. Built in 1340, it was the last chapel on the pilgrim route to Walsingham.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham, informally known as the Slipper Chapel or the Chapel of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, is a Catholic basilica in Houghton Saint Giles, Norfolk, England. Built in 1340, it was the last chapel on the pilgrim route to Walsingham. Pope Pius XII granted a canonical coronation to the venerated statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Walsingham presently enshrined within the chapel on 15 August 1954. Pope Francis raised the sanctuary to the status of a minor basilica via an apostolic decree on 27 December 2015.

Wighton Halt is a railway station serving the small village of Wighton, Norfolk. It is a public railway station, originally part of the standard gauge network, and now part of the narrow gauge Wells and Walsingham Light Railway.

Great Snoring is a rural village in North Norfolk by the River Stiffkey, in the east of England. It is situated approximately 25 miles (40 km) north-west from the city and county town of Norwich, and 2 miles (3 km) north from the larger village of Little Snoring. At the centre of the village are the listed buildings of St Mary's Church and the Old Rectory. The village main street comprises houses of brick and flint. The nearest inn and shop is in Little Snoring.Village population in the 2001 Census was 168, reduced to 143 at the 2011 Census.

North Barsham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Barsham, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 79.The village is one of four settlements within the parish of Barsham. The other villages are West Barsham, East Barsham and Houghton St Giles. Originally all four villages had their own parishes, but these were merged to create a single civil parish on 1 April 1935. North Barsham is 5 miles north of the town of Fakenham, 22.8 miles southwest of Cromer and 118 miles north of London. The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line. The nearest airport is Norwich International Airport.

Wighton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the town of Wells-next-the-Sea, 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the town of Fakenham, and 45 km (28 mi) north-west of the city of Norwich. The medieval pilgrimage centre of Walsingham lies 3 km (1.9 mi) to the south.The villages name means 'Farm/settlement with a dwelling'.The civil parish has an area of 11.93 km2 (4.61 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 203 in 92 households, the population increasing to 222 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.Wighton is on the River Stiffkey and used to have a watermill, but this was demolished in May 1866. The Wells and Walsingham Light Railway runs close to the village, to the west, and there is a halt called Wighton Halt. A regular bus service is provided as the village is on the Coastliner bus route (service number 36) with destinations including Fakenham, Wells, Hunstanton and King's Lynn.The village was used as the location shooting for "Little Bazeley by the Sea" in the 1965 "The Avengers" episode entitled The Town of No Return with intrepid agents Patrick Macnee (John Steed) and Diana Rigg (Emma Peel.) The local pub featured in the episode was called "The Inebriated Gremlin".