Black Madonna Statue

Willesden was once a medieval pilgrimage site associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary until the Reformation. The parish church in Willesden is dedicated to her, with a report from 1249 mentioning two statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St Mary's Church. One of these statues was the revered "Black Madonna" image of Our Lady of Willesden, adorned with gold, silver, and precious jewels, believed to hold miraculous powers.

The term ‘Black Madonna’ or ‘Black Virgin’ tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. Examples of the Black Madonna can be found both in Catholic and Orthodox countries.

During the Reformation, all English shrines of Mary were destroyed, including the "Black Madonna" image of Our Lady of Willesden, which was taken to Chelsea in 1538 and burned. Centuries later, the shrine was reinstated in both Anglican and Catholic churches in Willesden. The Anglican shrine was restored in the early twentieth century, and a new "Black Madonna" statue was commissioned in 1972. In the Catholic church, a new statue was blessed by Cardinal Vaughan in 1892.

A well in Willesden was associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary, and with the church dedicated to her, St Mary's, Willesden. The church and well are of great antiquity, being mentioned in a royal charter of 939 and had been an important site of pilgrimage.