Walsingham Abbey & The Shirehall Museum

24/06/2026

More work has to be done to this magnificent 200-year-old cedar to make it safe. Fun for crane enthusiasts.

Meanwhile the scaffolding you see is to enable repairs to the stonework above the Crypt. Unlike the rest of the house which is rendered, the Music Room, added in the 1840s, and built over the Crypt, was clad in stone. This started to crack and fall off some time ago so it’s very pleasing to finally be able to repair it. With luck we should be able to reopen the Crypt by the end of July.

22/05/2026

Walk the Walsingham Way from King’s Lynn

01/05/2026

A further update from the Walsingham Estate on the works to the Guild House in Bridewell Street.

The scaffold will soon be removed. The last of the reinforcement works remains to be completed at the lower levels. A mild soot wash to soften the colour of the new lime mortars will be applied. Bridewell Street is scheduled to reopen by Friday 8th May.

Shows the recently repaired weaver's window, with knapped flint gallets and lime mortar pointing below the window, the pointing brought to the face of flintwork as it was likely to have been constructed originally, the lime mortar had been eroded by weather and vibration leading to its current recessed appearance in turn leading to flints becoming loose and falling out in various locations.

24/04/2026

It’s always sad to see a big old tree fall. This beech was felled by one of the recent big winds. It had two trunks and a full crown so was perhaps a bit top heavy.

Fortunately this happened out of hours, and the tree also came down conveniently alongside rather than across the path!

As it’s too difficult to extricate the tree from the Dell, we asked .addison to come and cut out some seats. Hope you agree these will be a nice place to sit and enjoy the quiet greenery in the woodland.

16/04/2026

Big tree safety works today on the cedar on the corner of the main lawn near the refectory ruins. It is around 200 years old, and unfortunately it is suffering from old age with the potential to shed branches. Some specimens of cedar can live for many hundreds of years without deteriorating, but sadly ours is not one of those. It’s a pity to see it lose branches but obviously It would be a disaster if anything fell on either a person or the ancient masonry.

Cedars were introduced to Britain and became popular from around the 17th century. They were planted in many a landscaped park including those designed by Capability Brown and Humphry Repton and have become a familiar feature in the English landscape.

Ours could have been planted at the suggestion of John Haverfield, who laid out the grounds here around the ruins in the early 1800s.

In several religions, these magnificent trees are referred to as ‘trees of God’. Tradition has it that the Temple of Solomon was built from cedar.

15/04/2026

Update on the repair works to the Grade II* listed Guild House in Bridewell Street, which is necessitating the road closure.

Unfortunately the start of works was delayed due to waiting for listed building consent to be granted by NNDC's conservation officers.

Our best guess at present and weather permitting, is that there will be 2-3 more weeks of masonry repairs with the scaffold being removed during the week of 27th April.

The photos show the careful work, using traditional skills and materials, that is being undertaken.

30/03/2026

The Ecumenical Blessing of Palms yesterday here in the Abbey Grounds