Visiting the Shrine
The Julian Shrine Today
Julian of Norwich is known and loved throughout the world for her book The Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest known book written in English by a woman. Written near the turn of the 15th century, Revelations has inspired generations of people for its groundbreaking theological understanding of God's love and radical perception of grace.
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After receiving a series of sixteen revelations from God during a near-death experience, Julian chose a life of hermitic solitude as an anchoress attached to St Julian's Church in Norwich, spending the remainder of her life locked in a single, small cell. Here she wrote the book for which she has become so loved.
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After a devastating bomb destroyed St Julian's Church in WWII, the church was faithfully rebuilt, during which time the newly discovered foundations of what is believed to be Julian's Cell (lost in the centuries after Julian's death) were also rebuilt so that visitors can make pilgrimage to this holy place.
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Over six centuries after Julian was born, the Julian Shrine continues to be a place of peace, contemplation and spiritual discovery. Julian's Cell, set within the lively parish church of St Julian's, draws visitors from every corner of the world from casual tourists to lifelong pilgrims. The Shrine consists of the church, walled garden, visitor centre with book and giftshop, and a newly refurbished retreat house offering environmentally-friendly hospitality to guests.
