Walsingham is much visited by tourists of all kinds as it is an attractive place with a lot of history. However, it has had a special importance as a destination for Catholic pilgrims for almost 1000 years.

In the middle of the 11th century a young Saxon aristocratic woman called Richeldis de Faverches is said to have had a vision of the Virgin Mary. In this vision, Mary showed her the house that she was living in in Nazareth when the Angel Gabriel visited her to announce that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Inspired by this dream, Richeldis, who was a very religious woman, created a wooden building resembling the one she had seen. This was housed in Walsingham Priory and became known as the Holy House. It is sometimes called England's Nazareth and became a site for pilgrimages.

The structure was destroyed under Henry VIII but in the 20th century it was restored and became an attraction both for Catholics and people interested in history.