20 July 2007
SHRINE TO BE MADE MORE WELCOMING.
The Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham is normally a sacred place of calm and serenity but for the next 12 months it will echo to the sounds of a construction site.
Work has just begun on a major £2m redevelopment of facilities in part of the shrine grounds aimed at making it more attractive and accessible to pilgrims and visitors.
The scheme, which includes an undercover walkway to remove the need for people to walk along the roadway, where there is no pavement, and upgrading of accommodation, has attracted a £630,000 grant form the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The work is being carried out by construction company JS HAY of Lingwood, near Norwich. The firm is getting quite familiar with the village of Walsingham having recently completed work on a new Roman Catholic Parish Church of the Annunciation and a major restoration scheme on the Walsingham Almshouses.
The company’s construction manager, Keith Catton, said that because there is extremely limited access to the site, a 27-metre-high crane has been brought in to lift heavy iron girders, sections of concrete and steelwork on to the site.
“We are now into the fourth week of a 50-week contract and it is going as planned so far. I am in charge of the site and I and my workforce are very much aware of the religious nature of this area and are always mindful of that.
“The people of Walsingham have been very understanding towards us since we began work,” added Mr Catton.
He said that it was a prestigious contract and in places the working spaces, within what is to be known as the Milner Wing, are quite limited.
“With such an important complex of buildings we have to get it right and there is some fancy and intricate brickwork involved,” said Mr Catton.
Contributions towards the fundraising appeal for the scheme have come from a variety of sources including £100,000 from member of a parish in the US capital of Washington DC which has strong links with Walsingham.
One of the most significant single donations has come from shrine guardian and investment banker John Booth, who in May was given the honour of performing the sod-cutting ceremony on the site.
Recently the Anglican shrine administrator Father Philip North and shrine priest Father Philip Barnes completed a sponsored cycle ride from St Paul’s Cathedral in London to Walsingham in two days. People had paid £10 to vote for the challenge which they most wanted the two men to undertake.
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