Christian Holiday Guesthouse, Walsingham — Rooms in England’s Nazareth
The Old Bakehouse stands right on the High Street of Little Walsingham, a Grade II* listed building whose C18 red-brick front and C16 rear wing sit at the heart of a village known for nearly a thousand years as “England’s Nazareth.” Staying here places guests within a few minutes’ walk of almost every shrine and chapel that makes Walsingham unique — but it’s worth understanding why so many different Christian traditions have gathered in one small Norfolk village in the first place.
The story begins in 1061, when Richeldis de Faverches, a Saxon noblewoman and widow of the manor of Little Walsingham, experienced a vision in which the Virgin Mary led her in spirit to Nazareth and showed her the house where the Angel Gabriel had announced Christ’s birth. Richeldis was told to measure the house and build an exact replica in Walsingham, so that pilgrims unable to travel to the Holy Land could still walk where Mary had once stood. According to tradition, the building itself proved troublesome, appearing overnight on a different plot than the one first chosen, as though moved there by unseen hands. Her son, Geoffrey de Faverches, later entrusted the Holy House to a community of Augustinian Canons, and by the twelfth century a substantial priory had grown up around it.
For the next four centuries, Walsingham ranked among the four great shrines of medieval Christendom, alongside Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela, and rivalled Canterbury as England’s most visited pilgrimage site. Every English king from Henry III to Henry VIII made the journey here, often walking the final mile barefoot in an act of humility still remembered today as the “Holy Mile.” All of that ended abruptly in 1538, when Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries reached Walsingham: the priory was suppressed, the ancient statue of Our Lady was carried off to London and burned, and for the best part of 350 years the shrine simply ceased to exist.
Its remarkable revival began at the very end of the nineteenth century, when a laywoman named Charlotte Boyd bought and restored the derelict medieval Slipper Chapel at Houghton St Giles, a mile from the village, gifting it to the Catholic Church in 1896; pilgrims traditionally removed their shoes there to walk that same final “Holy Mile” barefoot once more, a tradition many still keep today. The Anglican tradition followed in 1921, when the newly appointed vicar Alfred Hope Patten set about restoring devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham within the parish church, eventually building a new shrine of his own nearby. Between them, these two twentieth-century revivals are why Walsingham today holds such an unusually rich concentration of churches and chapels for so small a place, each with its own distinct story rooted in that same 1061 vision. You can read more about this history via Walsingham’s own village history pages.
Guests staying at The Old Bakehouse are, in effect, lodging at the very centre of this history, with the freedom to explore as much or as little of it as they wish before returning to a genuinely restful, characterful base for the night. Those looking to extend their pilgrimage further afield will find more Christian holiday accommodation across the East of England, from the Norfolk coast to the Suffolk borders.
Perfect for:
- Pilgrims and pilgrimage groups visiting the Anglican or Catholic Shrines
- Clergy and religious making use of the dedicated discount rates
- Families or friends booking multiple rooms, or the whole house together
- Anyone wanting a quiet, characterful stay steeped in centuries of history
- Guests bringing a well-behaved dog, with rooms available to suit
Location
The Old Bakehouse 33 High Street Walsingham Norfolk NR22 6 BZ
walsinghambakehouse.com 07950882824
How to get there:
By road, we are about 3 hours from London or 2 hours from the M25 where the M11 leaves the capital and passes underneath the M25.
Train to King’s Lynn and then bus to Fakenham and then bus to Walsingham. Train to Norwich possible but not recommended.
We can collect or arrange collection from King’s Lynn on request and charge competitively.
Flights: Stansted is about 90 mins drive away. Norwich airport is about 45 mins away.
Nearest Town:
Fakenham 5 miles
Local Area
Food:
Black Lion pub: 100 yards – good gastropub.
The Bull: good for a beer. 150 yards.
Epiphany cafe: 20 yards. Very good cakes and ice creams.
Read and Digest: cafe for cakes and savouries. Very good. 100 yards.
Anglican Shrine restaurant: Nortons. 300 yards; decent for coffees and light lunch.
Vined-Me: Portugese wine-bar with excellent pop-up food events. Fantastic wines.
Shopping and sites:
Shrine Shop; Pilgrim Gifts; Catholic Shrine Shop: statues and books and religious gifts.
Oxford Stores: 60 yards. Corner newsagent with some food and wine
The Farm Shop: award winning deli cum small supermarket. 350 yards.
Narrow gauge railway to Wells: open during the Summer months until November. 300 yards.
The Abbey Grounds: famous for bluebells and snowdrops. Contains the lonely Arch and the site of the original Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham: 70 yards.
Waitrose garage: 4 miles. Lidl; Morrisons; Aldi: 6 miles. Tesco: 5 miles
Wells-next-the-sea: 5 miles. Stunning beach and picture postcard village. Destination fish ‘n chips at Plattens and French’s.
Churches:
The Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham: 1.25miles
The Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham: 300 yards
The Orthodox Chapel of St Seraphim: 300 yards
Anglican Parish Church of St Mary: 500 yards Methodist Church: 300 yards Greek Orthodox chapel: 1.25 miles
The Church of the Annunciation- RC Parish church: 100 yards
Facilities
Partly medieval grade 2* listed building with flexible en-suite accommodation for around 21.
Walpole: 1st floor, mid 18th c double or twin room with space for up to 3 adults and one child. En-suite with shower. Extra beds would be fold up or z beds. Up 13 steps and then a further 6 steps from the ground floor, with a banister all the way.
Cavell: same spec as Walpole but with an open fireplace.
Nelson: 1st floor super-king double room from mid 16th c with space for two more adults in beds with proper mattresses. Separate en-suite with bath by a private connected corridor, bathroom is down 2 steps from room level. Open fireplace. Up 13 steps with a banister from the ground floor.
St Joseph’s: 1st floor large 19th c double room with super-king four poster with jack-and-jill ensuite shared with adjacent small double bedroom, the Cabin.
St Joseph’s can be rented with or without the Cabin (but the Cabin cannot be rented separately).
Rooms accessed via the back of the building across an internal yard and up a winding staircase.
Space in St Joseph’s for 4 adults and 2 adults in the Cabin.
Open fireplace in St Joseph’s.
Not suitable for those with mobility issues.
St Rose: 18th c attic en-suite bedroom at front of house. Sleeps up to 4 adults. Double French sleigh bed. Very steep staircase at the top of the house. No headroom restrictions.
Chapel: St Kolbe’s – in the basement at the front of the house, basement probably from late 15th c. basement can be accessed by 2 staircase. Seats up to 10 or temporary walls can be moved for access for up to 30 in the adjacent St Thomas Aquinas room. St Thomas Aquinas can be used as a bedroom for up to 6 adults, with a dedicated loo and shower one floor up.
Sitting room: mid 18th c large room, suitable for up to 35 seated. Large multi fuel wood burner. Dining table for up to 12 or up to any number more by request.
We do not permit live TV access in the house.
All bedrooms have kettle and small fridge.
Wifi throughout the building.
Small enclosed garden at rear of house for whole house bookings.
Small kitchenette on ground floor for use by b n b guests.
Downstairs loo for guest use.
Washing machines/ dryers/ iron available.
Piano in 16th c playroom on request.
Many Christian books in the St Thomas Aquinas room.
88 note weighted keyboards can be borrowed for use in bedrooms – preferably with headphones.
Many board games and children’s toys and books.
Parking; opposite the house when available, or Mill Car Park, 250 yards away. Often also available at Friday Market, 100 yards.
Additional Photos
Click to enlarge
Costs
Charges : our full price online rate with various platforms is about £115-125 per night per room. We will always offer a discount on any online available price.
For direct bookings we offer rooms from £85 per room per night for up to 2 persons plus £15 per stay per room cleaning fee.
Clergy discount: £75 per room per night plus £15 per stay cleaning fee.
Monastic/ religious discount: £50 per room per night plus £15 per stay cleaning fee.
Long stay – 7 days plus: discount can be discussed.
January-March: best months for best rate long stays.
£15 per person per night surcharge for more than 2 persons per room for ages 2 upwards. 0-2yrs: no surcharge. Travel cot available.
Energy Provision:
Wood use is included for evening use only in bedroom fireplaces.
If wood/ coal is requested beyond the above, this can be provided for a small cost.
No other energy charges.
Availability
Available all year round.
Arrival and Departure times:
All times possible but our preference is check- in from 3 pm and check-out by 1030 am
Pets: £5 per pet per night. Dogs only. Max two per room and a limit of 3 guest dogs in the building.
Contact the Owner
If you are interested in making a booking, or you would like further information, please get in touch using the following contact details:
Name: Justin Harmer and Charlotte Harmer
Home Address: The Old Bakehouse, 33 High Street, Walsingham, Norfolk NR22 6BZ
Website: www.walsinghambakehouse.com
Phone Number: 07950 882824 / 07958 235270
Email Address: harperharmer@aol.co.uk