18/08/2026
This post nicely follows on from yesterday's post regarding Southwark Cathedral's new badge...
Another of London's places of pilgrimage can now offer their pilgrims and visitors an appropriate badge. This one is from Willesden; now a northern suburb, but to medieval Londoners it was a just an easy day's walk from the city. Willesden pilgrim badges are just about the most common in terms of surviving artefacts and all date to the early 16th century or thereabouts, suggesting an extraordinary level of popularity with Londoners at that time. That’s not to say that the pilgrimage itself only appeared this late, as a shrine and holy well had been attracting pilgrims to Willesden since at least the 13th century. But something clearly happened to spawn this great quantity of badges late in the shrine’s life - a miracle or two perhaps, or maybe someone simply decided that they needed badges.
And just the same has happened today: I added this badge to my range very recently (item P57 on the website & copied from an original in my collection), but a lovely customer promised to speak to the current RC priest and shrine keeper and it worked nicely, as he collected a large box of them from the workshop yesterday. So, once again, Willesden's pilgrims and visitors will be able to take a pilgrim badge away with them. I'm happy to sell badges for any purpose, but when it touches on the medieval tradition, even better.
