In the late Middle Ages, Walsingham in Norfolk was the most important pilgrim destination in England. Pilgrims travelled here to the shrine to the Virgin Mary from all over the British Isles and Europe, often via Norfolk’s two other great pilgrim places, Norwich and King’s Lynn. Other routes ran within the county, linking other significant pilgrim points including Bromholm Priory, St Benet’s Abbey and Binham Priory. There were also paths from pilgrim ports such as Great Yarmouth, Cromer, Wells and Hunstanton. Along these routes were numerous hermitages, wayside crosses and hostelries catering to pilgrims. When Henry VIII banned pilgrimage and outlawed the veneration of saints, the pilgrims stopped coming and the paths they used were forgotten. Now those paths are being re-established, the pilgrim places rediscovered, and increasing numbers of pilgrims are walking those routes.
This book describes those pilgrim paths and places, including the main feeder routes that pilgrims would have taken across the country to reach Norfolk. It features priories and abbeys, pilgrim churches, hostelries and crosses, holy wells, chapels and hermitages as well as stories of historic figures such as the mystics Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich. Norfolk’s Pilgrim Routes: A History of Paths, Places and People will appeal to all those who enjoy walking and exploring Britain’s heritage. Through this book readers and walkers today can explore the full breadth of Norfolk’s rich pilgrim history and the fascinating history to be discovered en route.
