Students from Dr. F. Cannell's 'Anthropology of Christianity' class (AN221/419) visited Walsingham, North Norfolk in February this year on a fieldtrip to investigate the experience and meaning of contemporary Christian pilgrimage. The shrine was the major destination for English Roman Catholics in the 15th Century, but was dissolved in the Reformation, although Norfolk remained an area with a high population of recusant Catholics. The shrine was revived in the 1920's and 1930's as part of the wider movement within the Church of England which revalorised the 'catholic' elements of Anglican worship. It is now a major centre for both Anglican and Roman Catholic pilgrims, as well as those of other faiths or none who wish to make a spiritual journey. Our party stayed in the Anglican pilgrimage centre accommodation, and took part in the major Anglican weekend pilgrimage events including healing services and sprinking at the miraculous well. We also split up to visit a range of other sites and events in Walsingham which illustrate the wide range of religious and leisure activities which are often combined for pilgrims. Small focussed field reports were undertaken by groups of students, and some of these are posted here, as well as photos of the weekend. It was a surprising, enlightening and enjoyable weekend for us all, and a wide range of reflections and reactions are noted in our reports.
We would like to thank everyone at the Anglican and Roman Catholic shrines in Walsingham, who made us very welcome and took time to help us and explain many aspects of the pilgrimage to us. We would also like to thank Professor Simon Coleman of Sussex University, who came to brief us on the history of Walsingham and his own research there, before our fieldtrip, and the LSE's Teaching and Learning Centre, whose Innovative Teaching Award funded this fieldtrip.
Many thanks to Chloe Evans for these photos.
With thanks to the LSE's Innovative Teaching Award, from the Teaching and Learning Centre|.