| Walsingham | |
|---|---|
 Common Place, Little Walsingham | |
  Walsingham Location within Norfolk | |
| Area | 18.98 km2 (7.33 sq mi) |
| Population | 819 (2011) |
| • Density | 43/km2 (110/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TF934368 |
| • London | 118 miles |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WALSINGHAM |
| Postcode district | NR22 |
| Dialling code | 01328 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
Walsingham (/ˈwɔːlsɪŋəm/) 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.[1][2] Walsingham is 27 miles (43 kilometres) 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.[3][4]
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.
- ^ Ordnance Survey (2002). OS Explorer Map 251 – Norfolk Coast Central. ISBN 0-319-21887-2.
- ^ "Welcome to Walsingham". Walsingham Parish Council Clerk. Retrieved 7 June 2006.
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 December 2005.