The Old Bakehouse

A historic home in the heart of Little Walsingham, England’s “Nazareth”, a place of pilgrimage since 1061.

“Impossible not to like it, we were enthralled.”

Our rooms…

Welcome to Little Walsingham and life at The Old Bakehouse, halfway up the sunny side of the High Street, where pilgrims have been coming to the village since 1061 to seek “help in time of need” through the intercession of Our Lady and the Saints.

This is a Catholic family home, and we aim to welcome you warmly, whatever your reason for coming to this beautiful corner of North Norfolk; bird-watchers, Thursford visitors, cyclists, dog-walkers, weekend breakers; history buffs, Priests, religious, retreatants, writers looking for inspiration… we hope you find here the atmosphere of a traditional country house… a cup of tea in the sunlit breakfast room… a glass of wine by the log burner in the evening… a very quiet and peaceful night’s sleep with the sound of an owl nearby perhaps.

There has been a building on this site for at least 700 of those 1000 or so years, since the Lady of the Manor at the time, Richeldis de Faverches, was favoured with visions of the House of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

The Georgian facade of the building has been in place since the mid-18th century, but there are parts of the house which are much older. The great humanist scholar, Erasmus, visited the Shrine twice in the early 1500’s and stayed at “The Falcon Inn” - records indicate that that building was originally a large premises that included parts of our building and our neighbours, next door at what is now called “Falcon House”. Elizabeth Fry stayed here in the 1900’s - a relative of the Gurney family, whose descendants own Walsingham Abbey.

We have one Tudor room dating from the early 1500’s (Nelson) that can be a super-king or have an extra proper single bed. This room has a small bath with shower hose: the en-suite is down 2 steps with a handrail. Nelson is the biggest of the main 3 guest rooms and has its own locked corridor, suitable for a dog cage.

We have two other, comfortable, first-floor rooms (Walpole and Cavel) from the mid 18th century. These can be super-king double or twin. These rooms have en-suite showers.

1 extra fold-up bed can be placed in all 3 of these rooms. Max adult occupancy is 3 persons per room - plus one child per room on a z bed. All our ‘proper’ beds have electric blankets.

All these rooms have their own loos and two sets of sinks

We have a further two linked rooms, St Joseph’s and the Cabin, which share a Jack-and-Jill linked bathroom with shower. These are also on the first floor. St Joseph’s has a very high, super-king, four-poster bed. The Cabin has a small double bed. The two rooms can be rented together, with space in St Joseph’s for an extra single bed and a floor z bed. Max occupancy of these two rooms together is 5 adults and 1 child.

Breakfast…

Self-service continental breakfast in the drawing room is included and is usually bread / a choice of plain croissants, pain au chocolat or almond / jams / cereal / fruit / fruit juice and tea and coffee.

Guests are welcome to use the small kitchenette to prepare simple meals and store food should you wish. We are able to offer gf and dairy free options for bread, cereal and milk. Breakfast can be taken at any time. Our rooms have kettles and a small fridge for your morning milk for tea and coffee in your room.

The dining table in the sitting-room is communal to all guests, like a continental “pensione” arrangement, but depending on numbers in the house, we may open up an additional breakfast room. You are welcome to eat in your room as well as downstairs. With notice the night before, we are able to arrange for a cooked breakfast at the local Pilgrim bureau during the season, or book you in at the pub - the Black Lion is a 100 yards away: they serve from 8:30am-11am. Mention you are staying at The Old Bakehouse for a discount!

Cycling…

We have secure, overnight storage indoors for all guest cycles and tandems, and a locked outdoor yard for any dog trailers or similar. Guests who are cycling the Rebellion Way are very welcome - access for all bikes and trailers is through the front door of the house. Please let us know in advance if you are bringing bikes. We are happy to wash lycra for you and leave it to air dry overnight or tumble as you prefer. We also have heated racks. Bike batteries can be plugged in directly from your bike.

Eating out locally…

The Black Lion is the best option locally for a good dinner. We are happy to book for you in advance, as it gets busy.

Vined-Me often have Friday and Saturday night pop-up food events, 5 mins walk from The Bakehouse. Pizzas; steak; seafood; Brazilian theme: these were the offerings in late 2024. They serve an excellent choice of wines all year round, many of them Portugese.

Epiphany cafe is 3 doors away - a central hub to watch Walsingham life pass by their sunny windows and enjoy a delicious cake.

For evening canteen style meals, we can arrange for you to eat at the Elmham House Pilgrim Bureau restaurant. 2 course meals are served there at 6:30pm.

The Anglican Shrine restaurant is 250 yards away for snacks during the day and evening food also.

Read and Digest cafe is nearby, with an excellent selection of teas and cakes.

The Bull pub in the village has very recently reopened too. Excellent 0.0% Guinness for that late night, dog walk. Often a log burner going too, and a range of chocolates on sale. Plus “mic and mingle” nights.

We also recommend the following, all of which are only a few miles away:

The Three Horseshoes, Wighton;

The Carpenters Arms, Warham;

The Globe, Wells-next-the-sea;

or… fish ‘n’ chips at French’s or Plattens in Wells-next-the-sea, overlooking the harbour - there’s often a big queue: it’s a 10 minute drive away.

Fakenham has numerous take-aways which are open late: 10 mins drive away.

Socius in Burnham Market is about 15 mins drive away: it won English Restaurant of the Year in 2023. It’s amazing. Jesus is their chef. (He’s from Spain though, not the Middle East, in case you were wondering).

Sculthorpe Mill is also pretty darn good.

Do(g)s and don’ts…

We are doggy friendly but like to know in advance if you are bringing a pet: we make a small, per-night charge per dog of £5.

We don’t have any TV’s or permit live TV access in the house, but you are of course welcome to use the Wi-fi to keep up to speed.

The Old Bakehouse is a family home and we live on the premises: we aim to make our guests feel very warmly welcomed and many of our online reviews particularly testify to that. Our rooms are quiet and the beds are comfortable. Walsingham is a peaceful medieval village in the area known as the “Golden Triangle” of North Norfolk. There are plenty of sandy beaches and abundant countryside nearby, plus wonderful wildlife of international importance, (and definitely no motorways here) in this AONB and conservation zone.

Thursford Spectacular and wedding guest accommodation…

Guests wishing to arrive early in the day who are attending a wedding or the Thursford Spectacular are welcome. We will hope to accommodate you if you need to shower or change or have a cup of tea before heading to your event. We guarantee that your allocated room will be ready by 3pm so you might be asked to use a different room if arriving earlier. You will be able to return and let yourself in at any time and we can usually arrange transport if taxis are hard to come by. Tiny’s Taxis are on: 01328 888 888. Do book ahead. We may have options if they are booked up.

Check-in and check-out…

Our preferred check-in time is after 3pm - please let us know a one hour window of when to expect you and update us if you are delayed. We are happy for couriers to leave luggage before you arrive. We can almost always arrange an earlier time on request

Our preferred check-out (of room) time is by 1030am. You are very welcome to leave your bags downstairs and linger over breakfast. Bags can be collected later in the day on request. You are welcome to make a cup of tea / coffee back at the house before heading homeward.

“We felt very privileged to simply see the place, let alone stay there…”

The Old Bakehouse dates back to the Tudor period, with the basement possibly from the 1480’s when the street was laid out. Guest accommodation is in the Tudor, Georgian and Victorian parts of the building from the 1500’s, 1740's, and mid 19th century, including use of the lofty drawing room with its stunning inglenook fireplace at one end. Guests may also use the private chapel in the basement by arrangement. Our furnishings are generally antique, and many of the paintings are “homegrown” by Charlotte Harmer.

Parking…

We have solutions! We have no dedicated parking of our own but there are local options which you may not find online. For those who prefer, the Mill Car Park is 200 yards away and charges 7.00 for 24 hours. Parking is also available for free - when available - in Friday Market and on Church Street. Overnight parking is also possible on yellow lines in the High Street, free and legal from 5pm to 930am - please avoid domestic doorways and stairs though. The shops open around 9am; please be mindful!

Pilgrimage…

Little Walsingham has been welcoming pilgrims since the reign of Edward the Confessor, when in 1061, Richeldis de Faverches, Lady of the Manor, was blessed with a vision of the Holy House of the Annunciation. In response to heavenly command, Richeldis began building a copy of the house, equipped with the measurements she had received from the hand of the Mother of God, yet her workmen found the work supernaturally constrained and abandoned the attempt. A further miracle constructed the house by angelic hands and translated it several hundred yards overnight.

Make of the story what you will, but Walsingham was one of the 4 great pilgrimage sites in medieval Europe with Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Campostela. The Walsingham “Camino” (the old route from London to North Norfolk) reopened last year and we welcome walkers retracing the ancient pilgrimage path. The village as a whole still welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to this day. It has been known as “England’s Nazareth” for almost a thousand years.

To book a room at The Old Bakehouse contact Justin or Charlotte directly by phone or email: we welcome pilgrims and Religious wishing to make a retreat in Walsingham, and you would be welcome to use our private chapel, St Kolbe’s, whilst you are here.

Whole house bookings are possible also, for wedding parties etc and we are also available as a venue for filming and mini conferences. Our main sitting room seats around 35.

Wend your way to Walsingham and follow in the footsteps of a 1000 years of pilgrims: there are many blessings and much beauty to be found here.

Justin

07950882824

harperharmer@aol.co.uk

“About as far removed from a Travelodge as you can get!” Graham

“The Old Bakehouse is quite out of the run of ordinary B&Bs and frankly hard to describe. The house is a stunning, historic, eclectic mix that we were trusted with and given the run of in the temporary absence of the owners. We were welcomed by their delightful friend and neighbour Clair-Mary, who then left us to it. We felt very privileged to simply see the place let alone stay there. In short we loved it. Breakfast was self service but with plenty of choice… Impossible not to like it, we were enthralled.” Peter

“Perfect location, accommodation was a beautiful characterful house.” Alison

“The location is excellent! In the middle of the village. Close to the Anglican Shrine and the Roman Catholic church. Nearby shops for groceries and souvenirs. Very welcoming hosts, felt like a friend, not just a paying guest.” Linda

“The house is full of history, the bedroom (Nelson suite) was a Tudor-style room, with the furniture being decades or centuries old. The historical vibes in the whole place are amazing, if you like history or architecture. The hotel is ideally placed at a central location, across the street from the Abbey Grounds, so it allows for quick access to the village.” Charalampos

“very comfortable and made to feel very welcome in their family home.” Helen

“lovely property, spacious and the hosts were very friendly and welcoming. Will definitely return … the home feeling as soon as you enter and the fireplace. Tasty croissants for breakfast.” Belinda

“Excellent sized room coupled with a very comfortable bed. The room was very well appointed. The hosts were very accommodating with our young Jack Russell dog who was enjoying his first mini break. Overall a good experience at The Old Bakehouse and would thoroughly recommend a stay there.” Stephen

“It is a lovely old house. We were very warmly welcomed there by our hosts. They were very flexible about what time we came and went. Their communications with us were excellent.” Rupert

“A home away from home, friendly hosts where nothing was too much trouble… it had a very homely feel. I felt safe as a solo traveller.” Online review by Beverley, 2022

To book a room at The Old Bakehouse contact Justin or Charlotte directly by phone or email:

07950 882824

harperharmer@aol.co.uk