A church connected with a 14th century female mystic has begun a campaign to ensure its long term future as a both a parish community and a pilgrimage destination.
Mother Julian of Norwich was an anchoress attached to St Julian’s Church and scholars believe she took her name from it. Born in the mid-thirteen hundreds, Mother Julian took vows of poverty and chastity, and to be anchored to one place.
An “anchoress” would live in a cell and typically have minimal contact with other people, instead devoting their lives to prayer, and sometimes even being physically sealed in.
Julian is credited with writing the first known book in the English language authored by a woman. Revelations of Divine Love details a series of visions or revelations Julian received while seriously ill.
St Julian’s Church has said that “significant structural work” is needed to preserve the building and has estimated the cost of phase one of the project to be around £400,000, reports Network Norwich. The project will begin by expanding the guesthouse, creating a new visitor entrance for the shrine and improving wheelchair accessibility.
Hospitality manager Josiah English said, “Work is also needed to make the whole shrine wheelchair-accessible, enable toilet access in the church, and more.
"We also plan to improve and beautify the upper shrine entrance, and expand and make the most of All Hallows Guesthouse to safeguard our future financially, while providing adequate housing for the resident steward of our visitor centre and retreat house.”
He said that work would be phased.
"Because Phase Two, which focusses on St Julian’s Church and churchyard, is a much more complex and sensitive project requiring additional attention, we will begin by securing our future financially by investing in the upper Shrine works which will help us facilitate visitors and pilgrims during the much longer and more costly work at St Julian’s, which may at times require the church to close to visitors," he said.
The church has £200,000 in matched funding already in place, but is appealing to members of the public to make donations. It is also applying for grants.
