England holds a singular place in Catholic history—a nation that was once called "Mary's Dowry" for its fervent Marian devotion, then experienced one of Christianity's most dramatic ruptures during the Reformation, and today witnesses a quiet but steady Catholic renewal. For over a millennium before Henry VIII's break with Rome in 1534, England was a thoroughly Catholic realm that produced towering saints, magnificent cathedrals, and pilgrimage traditions that drew visitors from across Europe.
The English Reformation created a unique category of holiness: the English Martyrs. Between 1535 and 1679, over 300 Catholics were executed for their faith—priests who secretly celebrated Mass, laypeople who harbored them, and men and women who refused to deny papal authority. Forty-two of these martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970, with many others beatified. Their sacrifice sites—Tyburn in London, York, Lancaster, and elsewhere—remain places of profound pilgrimage today.
Modern Catholic England has experienced remarkable growth, particularly through immigration from Ireland, Poland, and the Commonwealth. Westminster Cathedral stands as the mother church of Catholicism in England and Wales, while the restored Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham draws hundreds of thousands annually, reclaiming a medieval pilgrimage that once rivaled Canterbury. From ancient abbey ruins to vibrant urban parishes, England offers pilgrims a journey through persecution, perseverance, and renewal.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham represents England's most important Marian pilgrimage, with origins in 1061 when the Saxon noblewoman Richeldis de Faverches experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. According to tradition, Mary showed Richeldis the house in Nazareth where the Annunciation occurred and instructed her to build a replica—the Holy House—in Walsingham. The shrine became one of medieval Europe's greatest pilgrimage destinations, visited by every English king from Henry III to Henry VIII.
The Reformation brought destruction in 1538 when the Holy House was dismantled and the miraculous statue of Our Lady burned at Chelsea. For nearly 400 years, Walsingham lay dormant until Catholic restoration began in 1934 with the building of the Slipper Chapel, a 14th-century wayside chapel where medieval pilgrims removed their shoes for the final barefoot mile. Today the Catholic National Shrine encompasses the Slipper Chapel, the Chapel of Reconciliation, and extensive grounds for outdoor Masses accommodating thousands.
The Holy Mile from the Slipper Chapel to the original shrine site in the village remains a powerful devotional walk. Annual events include the National Pilgrimage (late May bank holiday weekend), the Student Cross pilgrimage during Holy Week, and the Dowry Tour which processes a statue of Our Lady throughout England. The Anglican Shrine, restored separately in the village, reflects the ecumenical dimension of Walsingham's appeal.
Westminster Cathedral stands as the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, built between 1895 and 1903 in striking neo-Byzantine style with its distinctive striped brick exterior and 284-foot campanile. The interior features magnificent marble work, Eric Gill's Stations of the Cross, and ongoing mosaic decoration. The relics of St. John Southworth, a martyred priest whose body was recovered from Douai and returned to England, rest in a side chapel. Daily Masses, Vespers, and confessions maintain Westminster as a living center of Catholic worship in the capital.
Tyburn Convent occupies a site of profound significance—adjacent to the historic Tyburn Tree where 105 Catholic martyrs were executed between 1535 and 1681. The Benedictine Adorers of the Sacred Heart maintain perpetual adoration in the crypt shrine, which contains relics of many martyrs. The Tyburn Walk, organized on the last Sunday of each month, processes from the site of Newgate Prison to Tyburn, retracing the martyrs' final journey. Visitors can venerate relics and pray in the martyrs' crypt where their names line the walls.
The Brompton Oratory (London Oratory), built in Italian Baroque style and consecrated in 1884, serves as the principal church of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England. Known for its solemn liturgies, including the Traditional Latin Mass, and exceptional sacred music, the Oratory attracts pilgrims seeking reverent worship. St. John Henry Newman, founder of the Birmingham Oratory, was closely associated with the Oratorian movement in England.
St. Etheldreda's Church in Ely Place, Holborn, is one of only two surviving buildings in London from the reign of Edward I and the oldest Catholic church in England. Built around 1290 as the chapel of the Bishops of Ely's London palace, it was returned to Catholic use in 1874. The church honors St. Etheldreda (Æthelthryth), the 7th-century Anglo-Saxon princess who founded Ely Cathedral.
The Birmingham Oratory holds immense significance as the home of St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890), the great convert from Anglicanism who was created Cardinal in 1879 and canonized by Pope Francis in 2019. Newman founded the Birmingham Oratory in 1848 and spent over 40 years there until his death. His tomb in the Oratory's Rednal cemetery became a major pilgrimage site, though his remains were found to have returned to earth when the grave was opened for his beatification. The Oratory church, community, and Newman's personal effects remain powerful connections to this Doctor of the Church.
Oscott College near Birmingham served as the seminary where Newman and other Oxford Movement converts were received and trained. The college chapel, designed by Pugin, and the museum containing significant Catholic artifacts make Oscott an important site for understanding the 19th-century Catholic revival.
Harvington Hall in Worcestershire preserves the finest collection of priest holes in England—seven hiding places designed by the legendary Nicholas Owen (St. Nicholas Owen), a Jesuit lay brother executed in 1606 who created ingenious concealment spaces in Catholic houses throughout England. The Tudor manor house with its secret chapel and hiding places vividly illustrates the dangers faced by recusant Catholics.
York witnessed the martyrdom of St. Margaret Clitherow (1556-1586), "the Pearl of York," who was pressed to death for harboring priests. Her shrine is maintained at the Bar Convent, the oldest surviving Catholic convent in England, founded in 1686 and operating continuously despite the Penal Laws. The Bar Convent includes a hidden chapel ingeniously disguised to avoid detection, a museum of Catholic history, and Margaret Clitherow's house on the Shambles (now a shrine). York Minster, though Anglican, preserves magnificent medieval Catholic heritage.
St. Mary's Bishophill Junior and other York sites connected to the Catholic martyrs make the city essential for understanding the English Reformation's human cost. The Micklegate Bar displayed the heads of executed Catholics as warnings.
Durham Cathedral, though now Anglican, remains one of Europe's finest Romanesque buildings and houses the shrine of St. Cuthbert (c.634-687), the beloved monk-bishop of Lindisfarne whose incorrupt body was translated to Durham in 995. The Venerable Bede (673-735), Doctor of the Church and "Father of English History," is also enshrined at Durham. These pre-Reformation saints belong to the common Christian heritage.
Lancashire maintained the highest concentration of Catholic recusancy during the Penal era, earning its designation as "the Catholic county." Isolated valleys, loyal gentry families, and strong community bonds preserved the faith when it was effectively illegal elsewhere.
Stonyhurst College in the Ribble Valley, founded by English Jesuits in exile at Saint-Omer (1593) and relocated to Lancashire in 1794, preserves extraordinary treasures including a cope worn by Thomas Becket, relics of Thomas More and other martyrs, and the Stonyhurst Gospel—a 7th-century manuscript of St. John that was found in St. Cuthbert's coffin. The college chapel and grounds are visitable.
Lancaster saw numerous martyrdoms; the Lancaster Martyrs include ten Catholics executed between 1584 and 1646. St. Peter's Cathedral Lancaster honors their memory.
Ladyewell near Preston maintains an ancient holy well associated with Marian apparitions, restored as a pilgrimage shrine.
Canterbury Cathedral draws pilgrims to the site of St. Thomas Becket's martyrdom in 1170. Though the cathedral is now Anglican and Becket's shrine was destroyed in 1538, the spot where the Archbishop was murdered remains marked in the northwest transept. The Martyrdom, as it is called, witnessed Becket's famous words as the knights' swords fell: "For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death." The medieval pilgrimage to Canterbury, immortalized in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, was England's most popular until the Reformation.
St. Augustine's Abbey ruins mark where the Roman mission under Augustine landed in 597 and established Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England. Pope Gregory the Great had sent Augustine to convert the English; within a century, England was thoroughly Christian and sending missionaries back to the Continent.
Glastonbury represents England's most ancient Christian site, though its legends mix history with mythology. Tradition holds that Joseph of Arimathea brought Christianity to Britain shortly after the Crucifixion and founded the first church at Glastonbury—claims impossible to verify but deeply embedded in English Catholic consciousness. The Glastonbury Thorn, said to have sprouted from Joseph's staff, blooms at Christmas. The magnificent abbey ruins, destroyed at the Reformation, include the supposed burial site of King Arthur. The site maintains a powerful atmosphere of ancient sanctity.
The English Martyrs represent one of the largest groups of Catholics killed for their faith during the Reformation era. They fall into several categories:
The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales (canonized 1970): This group, chosen to represent all who died, includes priests, religious, and laypeople. Among them:
Other Significant Martyrs:
Martyrs of the Reformation:
Pre-Reformation Saints:
Modern Saints:
The Pilgrims' Way stretches approximately 120 miles from Winchester to Canterbury, following an ancient trackway along the North Downs. Medieval pilgrims traveling to Thomas Becket's shrine used this route; today it is waymarked and walkable, passing through Surrey and Kent countryside.
The Walsingham Way encompasses various traditional routes converging on the Marian shrine. The most significant runs from London through the historic pilgrimage towns of Ware and Brandon. The modern Walsingham Pilgrim Way from Ely covers 60 miles through the fenlands to the shrine. The Student Cross walks during Holy Week bring hundreds of young pilgrims on foot from across Britain.
The St. Cuthbert's Way runs 62 miles from Melrose in Scotland to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) in Northumberland, following the footsteps of the great northern saint. Holy Island, accessible only at low tide across a causeway, preserves the atmospheric ruins of the medieval priory and the spirit of Celtic Christianity.
The Tyburn Walk occurs monthly in London, processing from the Old Bailey (site of Newgate Prison) to Tyburn Convent near Marble Arch, commemorating the martyrs' final journey.