THE
P RTAL
May 2019
Page 18
The Shrines of Britain
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane visit Fernyhalgh in Lancashire
F rom time
to time at T he P ortal we like to have an over-all theme. You will remember that last year
we visited the Shrine of St Augustine at Ramsgate. You will have guessed then that we are looking at the
shrines in our country. There are some that are obvious, Walsingham, Iona, Lindisfarne and so on. We shall
visit them of course, but we are also interested in the not-so-well-known shrines.
For this visit we travelled to Lancashire to a shrine
better known in that county than in other parts of the
UK; Our Lady of Fernyhalgh, just outside Preston.
Devotion to Our Lady of Fernyhalgh goes back
through the ages to the 11th century. Since the
Reformation a devotion to Our Lady as Queen of
Martyrs has developed, which is reflected at Ladyewell
in the reliquary, the presence of the Burgess Altar and
the chapel of the English Martyrs. There has never
been an apparition of Our Lady at Fernyhalgh, just
continued prayer and petition over seven centuries.
Even during penal times, apart from a period of five
years, the shrine attracted pilgrims and was the focus
of local Catholic prayer. A secluded spot, only four
miles from the centre of Preston and in close proximity
to a very busy motorway, surrounded on three sides
by ancient and protected woodland, Fernyhalgh has
retained its tranquil charm.
the present house in 1685. There was another Ladywell
in the centre of Preston, which has long ceased to exist,
although the site of an old friary is remembered by the
present day Ladyewell Street.
Local people tend to refer to Our Lady of Fernyhalgh,
which is correct, but over the years the term Ladyewell
has become used by those who visit particularly by
non-locals.
Pilgrims continue to make their way to this beautiful
shrine where they intercede with Our Blessed Lady,
bring their petitions and leave unburdened and
spiritually renewed.
Fernyhalgh is the Diocesan Shrine of Lancaster. The
main pilgrimage season runs from May to the end of
October, during which time the dioceses of Lancaster,
Liverpool and Salford hold their annual pilgrimages.
Pilgrims attend in large numbers. The devotion at
Ladyewell is ecumenical, attracting non-Catholics.
The name Fernyhalgh the name probably means a The Anglican community come all year round and
usually hold a large pilgrimage at the beginning of
watery meadow abounding in ferns.
June (Forward in Faith and the Society of Mary).
The name Ladyewell, spelt originally Ladye Well, Members of the Orthodox churches also visit for
appears to have developed following the rebuilding of their worship.
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