Walsingham Friary – Franciscan ruins in Norfolk

Walsingham Friary, also known as Greyfriars, is the ruin of a former Franciscan friary at the entrance to Little Walsingham in North Norfolk, eastern England. It was founded in 1347 and suppressed in the 16th century during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, with 1538 usually given as the year it was dissolved.

Who founded the friary, and when?

The founder was Elizabeth de Burgh (1295–1360), Countess of Clare, a granddaughter of Edward I and one of the major landowners of England, Wales and Ireland. The licence to found the Franciscan house dates from 1 February 1347. The written record of the community itself is remarkably thin, which makes the surviving walls the main witness to its story.

What can you see today?

What survives is mostly the domestic and service buildings rather than the church. The best-preserved parts include:

• the Little Cloister,
• the Guest House, with walls standing almost to full height and its gable ends,
• the kitchen walls,
• sections of the Great Cloister, the chapter house and the precinct wall.

Very little remains of the friary church or the Great Cloister. The buildings are of flint with stone dressings, a typical Norfolk combination in a county short of good building stone.

Protected status

The ruins are a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and the remains are also listed Grade I, the highest category in England's heritage protection system.

What happened to the site afterwards?

The land did not stay empty. In 1793–1794 a Methodist chapel was built on part of the former friary grounds. The Franciscans themselves returned to the town in recent times: on 19 March 2018 a small group of friars formally settled in the centre of Walsingham.

Why visit?

Walsingham has been one of England's leading pilgrimage destinations since the Middle Ages, and the friary ruins are an easy addition to a walk around the village. They suit anyone interested in medieval architecture, monastic history and the effects of the Reformation in England.

Frequently asked questions

When was Walsingham Friary founded? In 1347, by Elizabeth de Burgh, Countess of Clare.

When did it close? It was suppressed in the 16th century during the Dissolution; 1538 is given as the year.

What survives? Mainly the Little Cloister, the Guest House, the kitchen walls and parts of the precinct wall. Little of the church remains.

Which order lived here? The Franciscans, known in England as the Greyfriars.

Where is it? At the entrance to Little Walsingham, in North Norfolk.