England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Little Walsingham St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Little Walsingham lies in northwestern Norfolk about 4 miles south of the small port of Wells next the Sea. Little Walsingham is a large village, formerly a small market town which sits a little over 2 miles east of the B1105 road which connects Wells next the Sea with the market town of Fakenham. Little Walsingham is one of the premier places for pilgrimage, an equal to the shrine of St Thomas a Becket in Canterbury within England. This once small market town was founded alongside the priory for Augustinian canons and elevated to fame by the visions of Richelde de Fervaques in the late 11th century. The town was largely formed to support the continuous streams of pilgrims which included kings & queens of England, sadly Henry VIII's visit (he apparently walked in bare-foot from nearby Barsham) was not sufficient to prevent ts dissolution in his Reformation. Even today the Easter pilgrimage, transporting a cross on foot to the shrines marks a major event in the Catholic year and Little Walsingham receives an almost continuous stream of visitors from whom much income is derived. Beyond the pilgrimage business Little Walsingham would have been a typical arable farming parish in this rich area of the county. Modern developments came to the town, a railway built from Fakenham to Wells next the Sea has been downgraded to a heritage line today, and dismantled south of Little Walsingham, a tourist business like so many supporting Little Walsingham. The River Stiffkey drains the parish northwards reaching the North Sea to the east of the village that gives the river its name, Stiffkey. Little Walsingham, in its valley setting, is sited at around 20 metres above the sea, whilst the terrain could be considered gentle it is more rolling than many Norfolk landscapes rising to around 75 metres to the west within the deserted village of Egmere. Norfolk has many small parishes and that of Little Walsingham was no different, covering just under 1,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,150 parishioners. In Domesday times Little & Great Walsingham were recorded as a single entity, the majority being held by King William, himself. At that time and prior to the foundation of the Priory Little & Great Walsingham were relatively modest location offering 11 ploughs, the usual meadows & woodland and no fewer than 3 mills. 

The Church

St Mary's church is somewhat overlooked against the Catholic & pilgrimage sites of the town, it sits across the River Stiffkey on the narrow lane of Church Street. Sadly St Mary's history is also tragic as in 1961 the church was gutted by fire leaving only the remains of the external walls, a surviving southern porch and the relativelu unscathed western tower. Thankfully rebuilding followed swiftly and following an extended campaign covering 1962 - 1964 St Mary rose again from the ashes. The surviving western tower shows the style of the Decorated period and the architect rebuilding St Mary chose to replicate the style of the original church in recovering the building. The Decorated style and its following fashion, the Perpendicular, are followed throughout making the revived St Mary still a fine sight today.A broad gravelled area sits outside the gates allowing off-road parking for a few cars. The churchyard, raised slightly above road level, is approached up a short flight of steps into a largely open & uncluttered churchyard, such is the height of that western tower, however, that it is best acquired from outside and by backing away along Church Street.