England's Nazareth

Introducing and making further work for this long term project

England’s Nazareth is the provisional title of an extended documentary photography project I’m currently working on and which I thought I’d introduce to you. The project focuses on the Christian pilgrimage village of Walsingham, just a few miles from where I live.

Window Jesus - from England’s Nazareth

I’ve long had sympathy for – and been fascinated by – the slightly surreal mix of faith, devotion, commercialism, tourism, everyday life and the many different cultures that Walsingham embraces and encompasses.

Walsingham

Walsingham is in fact two villages, Little and Great Walsingham, situated in North Norfolk, with the first being where most of the religious action takes place. There are two shrines to Our Lady (that is, Mary the mother of Jesus) in Little Walsingham, one Anglican and one Catholic, and the two work very well together to provide the devotional setting for pilgrimages to the shrines by all Christians, of whatever denominations.

In fact, during the year, pilgrimages take place from all over the UK and beyond. Particular faith communities make pilgrimage like the UK’s Filipino Catholic community, as well as specific religious orders like the Dominicans and the Cistercians, and also many dioceses and churches. Pilgrimages of thousands, and pilgrimages of tens. Personal pilgrimage is also made by private individuals and their families too, for many reasons. Some pilgrims visit one shrine, some another; most probably both. There is a ‘Holy Mile’, more or less between the sites of the two shrines, which is used for procession, and was in fact the old (now disused) railway line.

Within the Anglican shrine, there has long been established a small Orthodox chapel. In addition, the Orthodox Church of the Holy Transfiguration can be found in Great Walsingham, and the Church of St Seraphim in Little Walsingham (housed in the former Little Walsingham train station). Anglican and Catholic parish churches, and a Methodist Chapel - the oldest in East Anglia still currently being used - are also to be found in the village.

The Orthodox Church of St Seraphim (and the old railway station platform), Little Walsingham

There are a number of religious communities with a presence in the village including - amongst others - the Carmelite Community of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Little Sisters of Jesus, and the Anglican Community of St Margaret at the Priory of Our Lady.

Alongside the religious interest, there are museums, a large farm shop, antiques dealers, artists, restaurants, pubs, holiday homes, a small gauge railway, farming and agricultural businesses, shopping, wonderful historic buildings and architecture, beautiful natural surroundings, and the River Stiffkey, a protected chalk stream. And of course a strong residential population with a school, doctors surgery and all the village amenities necessary to daily life.

I think the points at which all of these many different aspects of life in Walsingham intersect, combine and diverge make for a potentially captivating photographic story. I’ve been photographing there for a few years already and I’m hoping over the next year or two to continue to explore as many aspects of the village and its people as I can. And in the fulness of time my hope is possibly to publish a book of this work.

Photographing Pilgrimages

So, for now, that means I’m making lots of visits to Walsingham and in amongst other things, this year I’m trying to concentrate on photographing some of the many pilgrimages that take place over spring, summer and autumn each year.

Filipino Pilgrimage - April 2025

You may remember from a few newsletters ago that I photographed the Filipino Pilgrimage just before Easter, and last weekend I had the privilege of observing and photographing the Dominican Pilgrimage. This is the pilgrimage made by members of the Order of Preachers (OP) - more commonly known as the Dominican Order - to the Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady, Walsingham.

Dominican Pilgrimage - May 2025

There are more pilgrimages coming up too which I hope to be able to capture in the coming weeks and months.

Project Outcomes

I’m presently thinking through the sorts of outcomes that I might be aiming for from this project because it’s quite wide in scope and there are a number of pieces that will end up (hopefully) fitting together to make the final whole. As I’ve mentioned, I think the ultimate goal will be a book of the work, but along the way, I think there may be space for some zine publications of the individual pilgrimages that I photograph. And maybe something in which I can pull together portraits of some of the individuals (be they residents, pilgrims, visitors or tourists) that I encounter on my visits to Walsingham.

Peter at The Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady, Walsingham - May 2025

I’m really excited for the progression of this project. It hits a lot of buttons for me, being about people, their beliefs and their relationships with each other and the wider world. I can’t wait to get out there and make more photographs!

In the meantime, here are a few more images from the Dominican Pilgrimage last weekend.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope, as always, you have enjoyed the work. Any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.

Until next week, take care and God bless,

Keith