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The Madonna and Child painting thought to be by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi which hangs in the Chapel of S. Francis has returned after painstaking restoration at the Hamilton Kerr Institute (part of the Fitzwilliam Museum) in Cambridge. The painting - given to the Shrine in 1950 by Frida Brackley - was suffering from an excess of incense and general old age, not surprising as it was painted in 1510! Emma Boyce, the restorer, spoke to members of the Walsingham Partnership about her on-going work in February this year. As she completed the work she had doubts about the attribution to Bazzi; experts from the National Gallery and the Fitzwilliam agreed and now think the painting is by Martino Piazza, a contemporary of Bazzi working in Lombardy, northern Italy. The conservation work was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. THE MILNER WING OPENS
The new building - the Milner Wing and the Welcome Centre
- was handed
On the ground floor/basement level (the ground level rises
steeply along the length of the Milner Wing so that what is
the ground floor at the south
Access to the bedroom floor is by staircase (built in the semi-circular apse which pushes out from the front of the building) or by lift. The bedroom first floor can be entered (at ground level) from the St Joseph's end of the building. The window in the staircase apse will be of specially made stained glass (Michael Coles - he also made the stained glass in the refectory and the garden round tower). The window is due to be completed and fitted in late April 2009. At the lower level this will depict the earliest days of the Shrine - the Lady Richeldis welcoming a group of the first pilgrims to the Holy House. At first floor level rich dark blue hues will convey the dark night of the destruction of the Holy House and the Priory in 1538. An owl and a serpent (imagery from the famous poem "In the wrack of Walsingham . . . " thought to be by Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel and written circa 1578*) surround the broken Priory seal; stars and a new moon provide the only light. Above this we see Fr Patten with Sir William Milner (with his Labrador dog, Bracken) kneeling beside him, looking at the new built Shrine Church of 1931. High above, surrounded by a radiant orb of yellow light is Our Lady of Walsingham with Jesus on her knee.
One important aspect of the architect's designs for the building was to create an extra storey on the archway tower. This room - the highest in the Shrine - is a comfortably furnished sitting room, named after the Oratory of the Good Shepherd. Lower down the tower, the archway is in the process of being completely refurbished. Painted lime plaster walls, a York stone 'extra' arch and an oak diamond patterned ceiling plus sensitive lighting will completely transform this main entrance into the Shrine grounds. It is due to be completed mid-March.
In the narrow space behind the Milner Wing and the wall of
Mileham House there is an intriguing piece of horticultural
planting - two swirls of box with yellow coronilla, blue
salvia, miscanthus grasses and vines. It has been designed to be viewed
from the upper windows of the Milner Wing * The full text of this Lament for Walsingham can be found in the Walsingham online Archive. Welcome!The Shrine's Visitor Centre - known as the Welcome Centre - opened to the public in November 2008. It is staffed for most of the day by a team of volunteer stewards and, to everyone's surprise, during the winter months a stream of visitors to Walsingham have passed through the doors. The comments from visitors have been very positive many suggesting that "at last - we now know what Walsingham is all about!" The four large wall display panels will give visitors sufficient basic information about the rise, fall and restoration of the Shrine. Underneath each display is a Delve Deeper book which gives more information on the history of Christianity and the Shrine. Between each of the displays is a quiver of scrolls - each scroll when unrolled gives a little more information, helping to build up a complete picture of the development of Walsingham.
The architects have created a small video room off the
main room. Running on a continuous loop is an eight minute
film which traces the history of the Shrine from 1061 to the
present day. The film - made by the Shrine's Visitor
Services Officer, Claire Wheeler - has entranced everyone
who has seen it. Using assorted members of Shrine staff to
play the parts of medieval and Tudor characters plus archive
and modern film footage,
By the doors is displayed a large scale version of Enid Chadwick's map of the village of Walsingham, first produced in 1935 and then updated on several occasions. The version on display dates from 1963. The Welcome Centre was largely funded from a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
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over to the Shrine by the builders (J S Hay of
Norwich) in October 2008. Work had taken 16 months. And what
do we have? An amazing L-shaped building that beautifully
completes the various ranges of buildings which encircle the
Shrine gardens. Entering through the tower archway (renamed
The Brandie Gate) the visitor finds him or herself on a open
space, flanked on the left by the Milner Wing. Simple finger
post signs point to the Welcome Centre, the new Reception
Area, to the Shrine Church. Previously this area had been a
very neglected area (once home to the old pre-fab refectory)
full of odd sheds, dustbins and the Shrine's original public
lavatories. All is now transformed.
This
development (Phase II of the 'Big Plan') comes eight years
after the new refectory, St Anne's House and the Barn Chapel
were built or renovated (Phase I). Designed by architects
Cowper Griffith of Whittlesford, Cambridge, building started
in June 2007 and the contractors - plus the giant crane -
coped magnificently with the small site and lack of access.
end has become the basement at the north) is the Welcome
Centre lying parallel with the street, the Hospitality and
Development offices and a large Reception area for Pilgrim
arrivals and a Membership desk. Both the Welcome Centre and
Reception have power-assisted doors to help wheel-chair
users. At the 'basement' end are generously proportioned
public lavatories - including facilities for the disabled
and a baby-changing room. 
On
the two upper floors are 27 bedrooms, a mixture of twins,
singles and disabled rooms with carer rooms interconnecting.
The interior design - wall colours, fabrics and furnishings
were the work of Kate Samengo-Turner in conjunction with the
architects. Throughout the building different shades of oak
have been used - including green oak for the outside Pergola
Balcony on the second floor. Each room contains - in
addition to a bed - a simple oak veneered console desk and a
Lloyd Loom chair plus an en suite - shower, wash hand
basin and lavatory. Several different - but colour- and
design-related - fabrics have been used for the bed-covers
and curtains. The overall effect in one of light and
airiness. All
the bedrooms are named after an angel or an angelic
appearance. Sir William Milner - the building is named after
him in thanks for his outstanding generosity to the Shrine -
was born on the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels (2nd
October) and had a life-long devotion to angels. So you
might stay in a room simply called "Seraphim" or "The Angel
of the Lions' Den".
An
important feature of the upper floor of bedrooms is the
Pergola Balcony. Four bedrooms open out on to a balcony
which is marked out by a green oak pergola. 
and is called by its creator a 'What You Will' - (make of
this what you will!) because it is thought provoking and
poses a question. Perhaps you would like to think about it when you
are next in Walsingham!
A
touch-screen Kiosk is proving very popular with both
children and adults. One can explore topics of interest
about both the village and the Shrine - just touch the
screen in the appropriate place and new information and
pictures are displayed. The images lead one on into
investigations of greater depth. There is an 'overflow'
monitor screen which acts as a secondary display and enables
standers-by to join in the the touch-screen presentations.
is perhaps the best introduction for those who have never
visited Walsingham before. And, needless to say, it is also
being enjoyed by those who have been on pilgrimage many
times! Displayed in the video room is a portrait of Father
Patten, the restorer of the Shrine and replicas of the old
Walsingham Priory seal - the design of which enabled Fr
Patten to have the present image of Our Lady of
Walsingham in the Holy House carved in the 1920's.
Younger
visitors are fascinated by the Pilgrimage Way display.
A series of large footprints (which can be lifted to reveal
displays hidden underneath) act as a pilgrimage
time-line. At the far end of the footprints one reaches a
model of the Holy House. Its roof can be lifted to reveal
the interior.
This
contains the six Shrine Masses, plus The Solemnity of OLW and the
Feast of the Trans-
Pilgrim
Manual - suggested hymn tunes