Walsingham House at Abbotswick has served as a house of prayer for more than thirty years. The facilities were fully refurbished in 2018 – and the photographs scrolling on your screen show you the wonderful rooms we have here, along with the newly created chapel built into the two hundred year old garden wall: a haven of prayerful tranquillity. We enjoy fourteen acres of glorious grounds, full of natural beauty.

For 40 years Walsingham House has run as a Catholic retreat house, with a young adult residential team who can offer retreats for young people: we warmly welcome Confirmation and School groups for retreat days, and Parish adult groups are welcome to hire the House to run their own retreat days.

Walsingham House began in Chingford sixty years ago, with young people attending retreats there. In 1984 the first residential retreat began; from 1995-2017 the home of Walsingham House was the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Canvey Island. We are very grateful to the Sisters for their generosity throughout that period.

Abbotswick was founded as a House of Prayer by Sr Agatha in 1987; from 2004-2017 it was run by the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham (COLW).

In 2017, when COLW moved to the Shrine of Walsingham, in Norfolk, the heritage of Walsingham House was fused with the heritage of Abbotswick and – with the extensive refurbishment complete – the house reopened again in January 2018, as “Walsingham House at Abbotswick.”

We welcome groups to Walsingham House from Wednesday to Saturday. It is a the perfect setting for a day retreat for both young people and adults.  We encourage schools and parishes to continue using this wonderful resource whether that is for class retreats, staff INSET days, confirmation days, adult groups such as parish readings or Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. Walsingham House at Abbotswick is a wonderful place to enjoy the tranquillity of nature in times of personal prayer and reflection.

The house is a magnificent resource for our diocese.

Please telephone or email ([email protected])  for any further information, and we will happily help you.

With every blessing

Claire Bailey and the BCYS and Walsingham House at Abbotwsick staff and team.