Walsingham Abbey Grounds, Shirehall Museum, medieval Priory ruins and place of pilgrimage
From Monday 6th November to Tuesday 23rd January 2024, the Grounds and Museum will be closed.
The Abbey Grounds and the Shirehall will reopen on Wednesday 24th January 2023 which is also when the snowdrop season begins.
Throughout the snowdrop season, from Wednesday 23rd January to Sunday 3rd March, we will be open daily, 10am-4pm
Opening hours for the rest of March yet to be confirmed.
As the snowdrops come to an end each year, the daffodils and other lovely signs of spring start to take over.
Each day we see a few more of our huge collection of daffodils first starting to pop up with green shoots, and then starting to open. The first to flower is a little one called February Gold. Right on time for St David’s Day is a lovely patch in bloom in a sunny sheltered spot.
Wild garlic shoots emerge from among the snowdrops in the woods, bluebells start to come up.
The daffodil and narcissus season is with us from early March and lasts into early May.
We are delighted to say that we have already seen the first green snowdrop shoots above the ground, and that we will be open for snowdrops from Monday 23rd January. Please see our visitor information for more details.
We are also pleased to announce that our charity day this year will be on Saturday 11th February, in aid of the Benjamin Foundation.
The Benjamin Foundation is a charity working in Norfolk and Suffolk, supporting local young people to overcome challenges in their lives by providing opportunity, stability and independence, to help them feel hopeful of a better future. The Foundation is the regional partner for the End Youth Homelessness campaign.
The Estate is undertaking major tree works in the Dell as part of our programme of woodland management.
For safety reasons there will be no public access to the Dell from Monday 31st October.
The work is a mix of felling of diseased trees affected by ash die back, thinning, and safety work on large trees and boughs which overhang the road.
Fortunately we will be able to use much of the felled material as fuel for the biomass (wood chip) boiler at the Abbey. This boiler truly earns its keep, providing heating and hot water for six households both within and adjacent to the Abbey.
We are pleased to say that the Shirehall Museum will be open again from Saturday 30th July.
Museum entry is included with Abbey Grounds admission, with the entrance to the Museum accessible from inside the Abbey Grounds.
The Shirehall houses Walsingham’s completely original Georgian court room, you are free to explore it and to sit in the judge’s chair or imagine yourself a member of the jury, or the accused!
Pop upstairs (narrow staircase) to the public gallery to get a good view of the courtroom scene.
Also on display, an overview history of Walsingham pilgrimage and its revival, plus a snapshot of local village history together with items from the Norfolk Constabulary’s collections relating to 18th and 19th century policing, law and order.
We are in the last few days of our snowdrop season and the flowers are just beginning to fade. There is still plenty to see with lots of beautiful hellebores in full bloom and the earliest of the daffodils just beginning to come through.
Our opening hours are changing after Sunday 6th March. From Monday 7th March to Sunday 3rd April our opening hours will be Thursday-Sunday, 11am-4pm. (Closed Monday-Wednesday.) Entry at the High Street Gate.
Snowdrop season 2022
We are delighted to say we have spotted the first snowdrops in the grounds, and that we will be open for snowdrop walks from Monday 24th January-Sunday 6th March, daily 10am-4pm.
Admission will be at the High Street Gate. We will be operating a one-way system to avoid congestion, with exit through The Shirehall Museum. Admission is £6 adult, £2.50 child 6-16 (under 6 free).
We are especially pleased to be opening the museum (and shop!) for the first time since March 2020.
Wearing face coverings is no longer a legal requirement indoors, but we would appreciate it if you would kindly wear a mask in the Museum and shop. Mask wearing is still recommended in confined spaces.
Dogs on leads are welcome.
The Abbey Grounds, Shirehall Museum and Prison are now closed for the winter.
We look forward to reopening at the earliest sign of spring, with the snowdrops, from Monday 24th January.
From Friday 5th November to Monday 29th November inclusive, we will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11am-4pm and Monday 11am-3.30pm.
The Abbey Grounds will be closed from Tuesday 30th November to Sunday 23rd January 2022.
We expect to be able to reopen for our 2022 snowdrop season from Monday 24th January but this will be confirmed nearer the time.
Due to unforeseen circumstances Walsingham Abbey Grounds will be closed on Tuesday 24th August.
The Grounds will be open as usual the rest of the week. We apologise for any inconvenience.