Walsingham Way: Alfred Hope Pattern and the Restoration of the Shrine of Our Lady

by Colin Stephenson

Alfred Hope Patten was a larger than life figure, terrifying to some, but determined to realise his vision of restoring the medieval shrine in the Norfolk countryside that had been closed at the Reformation. Colin Stephenson's account of his ambitious enterprise, his successes and failures (including a failed attempt to establish religious communities of men and women at Walsingham), his penchant for flamboyant clerical dress, his love of the Roman Church but his dislike of Roman Catholics, does not claim to be the last word in historical scholarship, but is a warm, engaging and entertaining account of one the highest achievements of Anglo-Catholicism in the last century and of one of its most colourful and controversial personalities.

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating history of the rise, fall, and resurrection of the Shrine to Our Lady of Walshingham. Particularly interesting is the profound impact of a parish priest on not only the shrine but those around him. Truly a quaint English story for American Christians.

[Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and detailed account of the restoration of the shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham through the death of Fr Hope Patten. The modern portion includes some amusing anecdotes (familiar to those who have read the author's "Merrily on High"!) but the historical section (the shrine through the end of the 19th century) is also informative and worth reading. Fr Patten's efforts in the parish, the shrine, and surrounding ventures is treated kindly, but honestly--Stephenson is quite fair in pointing out areas in which Patten was less than successful; like Anson's treatment of Carlyle, charity prevails, but not at the expense of truth.