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2006 was a very important year for The Anglican Shrine
of Our Lady of Walsingham for it marked the 75th anniversary
of the restoration of the Holy House. It is wonderful to
see how God has blessed the vision of Fr Patten and those
who supported him in his work of restoring pilgrimage to
Walsingham’s holy ground. Each year more and more people
from a whole range of backgrounds seek and find God in this
unique place.
The project will:
- Provide for a fixed
display where tourists, visitors and school groups can
learn about Walsingham and prepare themselves for their
visit to the Shrine Church
- Beautify the entrances
to the Shrine. As well as creating a new approach through
the colonnade, the Appeal will enable the rebuilding
of the piazza in front of the Shrine Church to make
it accessible to people with disabilities
Named after one of the earliest and most generous
of the Shrine’s benefactors, this new development
will transform, modernise and greatly extend Stella
Maris which is one of our oldest accommodation buildings.
The Milner Wing will contain a Visitor Centre and
a new Pilgrim Reception area, plus many completely
refurbished bedrooms with bathrooms and disabled
access. Safety will be improved by the creation
of a new pedestrian-friendly colonnade leading from
the centre of the village into the Shrine grounds.
Beautifully designed entrances and a new lift will
give access to all floors and the appearance of
the building will be greatly enhanced, not least
by the addition of an additional floor to the tower.
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The project will:
- Create a new reception area where arriving pilgrims
can be comfortably welcomed to the Shrine before being
shown to their rooms
-
 Greatly
enhance the quality of accommodation, in particular
by giving us many more single and en-suite rooms and
providing special facilities for families and pilgrims
with disabilities. While this will not increase the
total number of beds, it will enable us to cater much
better for the special needs of our pilgrims
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November 2008 update: Thanks to the wonderful
generosity of pilgrims and friends the
Walsingham Appeal has reached its £2
million target. There is still quite a lot to do
to finish of the interior of the new Milner
Wing, so if you would like to make a
donation please use the on-line facility at the
bottom of this page. |
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As well as a time to celebrate and give thanks,
an anniversary is an opportunity to look ahead and
think what sort of place we want the Shrine of Our
Lady of Walsingham to be for the next 75 years.
Increasingly the Shrine welcomes not only regular
pilgrims, but also thousands of tourists and school
groups. It is vital that we improve the way in which
we cater for all visitors to Walsingham.
This is why the Guardians of the Shrine have
decided to mark this celebration by moving ahead
with the second stage of the development plan that
began with the new Pilgrim Refectory (completed
in 2001). In early 2005 the Shrine launched an appeal
to fund this imaginative project.
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Chief Patron:
The Archbishop of Canterbury
Patrons:
The Lord Bishop of Norwich
The Lord Hope of Thornes
The Baroness Wilcox of Plymouth
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The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham exists today because
of the commitment of its early benefactors. The Walsingham
Appeal provides an opportunity for today’s generation
of pilgrims to emulate their generosity. Here are some
ways in which you can play your part in this exciting
development.
- Send a Donation
- Set up a regular monthly Banker’s Order
- Remember the Shrine in your Will
- Join with others to sponsor a specific
part of the Milner Wing project - such as
a bedroom, a window, an item of furniture
etc. All such generous gifts of £1,000 or
more will be acknowledged by either the
use of the donor’s name in the naming of
rooms or facilities or recorded on a simple
donor board to be displayed in the Pilgrim
Reception Area.
The following are examples of sponsorship
possibilities:
-
 The
Visitor Centre £500,000
- The Pilgrim Reception Area £300,000
- The Colonnade £75,000
- Lift £25,000
- Staircases (two) £15,000
- The Tower Room £15,000
- En-suite bedrooms with disabled access
£15,000
- The Oriel Window £5,000
- Equip a disabled bathroom £2,000
- Furnishings, fabrics etc £10 - £1000
Please note that all donations to the
Walsingham Appeal 2006, no matter what size,
will be gratefully acknowledged and the donor’s
name inscribed in the special Appeal Book which
will be kept permanently in the Shrine Church.
Building work is now (November 2008)
almost complete. The first pilgrims have
taken up residence in the splendid array of
en-suite bedrooms; the Hospitality and
Development Departments have moved into
their offices on the ground floor; the
spacious Reception area is staffed - though
not quite complete. The Welcome Centre opens
on Monday, 3rd November.
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