Lyndall Phelps

King’s Lynn Pilgrimage Trail 2008

Commissioned by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk

King’s Lynn has one of the finest collections of medieval pilgrim badges in England. They were produced cheaply in large numbers and sold to visiting pilgrims to promote individual sites of worship. The Pilgrimage Trail celebrates these badges, together with King’s Lynn’s medieval religious sites.

I created five designs for the commission, all derived from medieval details from key religious buildings in King’s Lynn. They reflected the kind of designs that appeared on medieval pilgrim badges: a carved ship from a wooden bench end from St Nicholas’ Chapel, encircled quatrefoils motifs from the fan-vaulted ceiling at Red Mount Chapel, a figurative gargoyle from Greyfriars, a dog from a monumental brass at St Margaret’s Church and a wooden ceiling bosse showing the seated figure of Christ surrounded by clouds in All Saints Church.

A series of brushed stainless steel plaques, with the designs photo etched into the surface, are sited throughout the town. A set of smaller plaques sit alongside the medieval pilgrim badges in Lynn Museum. In order to reflect the marketing function of the original badges, the designs also appeared on two sets of multiples: stickers and recycled paper bags. These were given away free of charge at numerous outlets throughout King’s Lynn.