Records Volume 78: An I.B.V.M. Biographical Dictionary of the English Members and Major Benefactors

CATHOLIC RECORD SOCIETY

PUBLICATIONS (RECORDSSERIES) VOLUME 78

VolumesEditor: Editorial Committee :

MOITA MichaelHodgetts HTAD

V. A. McClelland

P. R. Harris

T. A. Birrell

TheChapelofthe Bar Convent,York

An I.B.V.M. Biographical Dictionary of the English Members and Major Benefactors (1667-2000)

by

SR GREGORY KIRKUS, I.B.V.M.

CATHOLIC RECORD SOCIETY

The CatholicRecord Society

ISBN 0 902832 20 9

Published 2001

Information about the Catholic Record Society and its publications may be obtained from the Hon Secretary, c/o 114 Mount St, London WIX 6AH or from the Society's web-site, www.catholic-history.org.uk/crs . Back issues are available from St Philip's Books, 85 Lock Crescent, Kidlington, Oxfordshire OX5 1HG (01865-377578 , fax 01865-375439 )

Printed in Great Britainby Hobbs the Printers Ltd, Totton , Hampshire SO403WX

Introduction

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my manyfriends, living and dead, in the world-wide Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book is greatly indebted to Sister Cecilia Goodman, Provincial Superior, who encouraged its undertaking and supported it by her faith in its potential worth My thanks are due also to members of the Institute who have shown a lively interest, supplied valuable information and indicated, sometimes by a chance remark, where the reader's interest might lie.

The work could never have been brought to publication without the vital help of Professor V. A. McClelland, the kindliest of critics, whose advice and expertise have guided it through every stage.

I offer sincere thanks to my friend Mrs. Beryl Helps, whose masterly typing and computinghave always been accompanied by supportive enthusiasm and cheerful patience in the face of endless secondthoughtsand changes of text

INTRODUCTION

Th'his work spans nearly four centuries of apostolic endeavour . It is tempting to describe it succinctly as a biographical dictionary of the English Province, I.B.V.M., but the word Province would be anachronistic For three hundred years there was no organisation in England that merited the term Province, and not until 1929 was the title bestowed on the English houses . Theearly history ofthe Institute in this country is played on a stage where transient actors come and go, some speaking significant lines, others shadowy supernumeraries - making brief, silent appearances. This book records the individual history of those members whose religious life was spent in England though some had made their noviceship on the continent , and some few died abroad. Taken together, the entries relate the fortunes of the Institute in England, but by their very nature only in a fragmentaryway, so that a cohesive summary seems called for, and is therefore attempted in this introduction

In 1609 Mary Ward began to develop her new form ofreligious life for women, shaping a congregation that was to have no enclosure and was to be self-governing, free of episcopal control and independent of the rules of existing Orders As penal laws were strictly in force in her own country, she chose St. Omer as the cradle of her Institute, its easy access to the Channel Ports making it a convenient place of assembly for English Catholic refugees From Flanders she made visits to London where some of her early members were working whether individually or in groups is not clear, though there is mention of a house in Spitalfields. We know, too, of a single member who was ploughing a lonely apostolic furrow in East Anglia during Mary Ward's lifetime This is the mysterious Sister Dorothea , whose own account of her mission takes pains to conceal her identity and place of residence , but gives full details of her underground activity There is no firm evidence that others were pursuing a similar course in the country, but the York Castle Depositions of 1678 state that Mary and Margaret More were arrested 'on a farm of their mother's' in South Yorkshire; this raises the questions 'What were they doing there? Were they, too, on a singular apostolic mission? Were there others such, spanning the lateryears ofthe seventeenthcentury?" We do not know.

The first settlements that could be called English foundations were linked to Mary Ward's return to her own country in 1639 . By then she had founded nine houses on the continent and had lived through the trauma of the suppression of the Institute in 1631 and the closure of all the houses except that in Rome and

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

the Paradeiserhaus in Munich Of the once flourishing communities only a handful of members remained faithful to Mary. She came to London broken in health and with her life's work seemingly in ruins, but still hopingto found a school in 'the great citie ' The fulfilment of this ambition, too, was denied her, as London lay under the threat of civil war and anti-Catholic feeling was running high; so instead she travelled north with 'three coachfuls' of nuns and children entrusted to her care. Hutton Rudby, a village in that part ofYorkshire then known as Cleveland, offered a temporary shelter, but though it was conveniently an obscure and solitary place' with Royalist sympathies, it proved too remote for easy communication . So within a few months a further move was made to Heworth, a village just outside York, where Sir George Thwing offered the refugees hospitality in Heworth Manor Here the companions achieved a degree of stability that might win for the borrowed house the term 'foundation' . The Manor is no longer standing, but is for ever memorable because there, on 30 January (O.S.) 1645, Mary Ward died in the presence of Winifred Wigmore, Mary Poyntz, Catherine Smith, Frances Bedingfield and Anne Turner She was buried in the little churchyard of nearby Osbaldwick, where the vicar, 'honest enough to be bribed, ' was willing to accept the body ofa knownpapist.

The bereavedcommunityremained in Heworth for anotherfive years , earning their living and fulfillingtheir apostolic mission by keeping a small school After the execution of Charles I in 1649 they were unhappy under the Cromwellian regime, but lacked the means to leave the country until circumstances came to their rescue . In 1650 Sir George Thwing, with a growing family and dwindling income, claimed back the Manor House for his own use , and simultaneously a stroke offortune broughtMaryPoyntz five hundred pistoles from her cousin the Marquis ofWorcester . This timely gift enabled the companions to move to Paris and set up a school, probably in the Rue du Vieux Colombier . Winifred Wigmore and Catherine Smith were destined to die there . Mary Poyntz was to become the third Chief Superior and to die in Augsburg. Anne Turner had returned to Germany before 1650 and probably died in Munich Only Frances Bedingfield, who belonged to the second generation of companions, was to return to England.

She served for some years in Paris and in Munich and then, probably in 1667, was sent by the Chief Superior, Catherine Dawson, to make a permanent foundation in England. An old chronicle relates gloomily that 'for a long succession of years suffering and persecution were the portion of the first members of

INTRODUCTION

our Institute who ventured over from Germany in the year 1669 [sic]. Certainly the times were not auspicious, but a robust and cheerful spirit pervades those early years and is personified in Frances Bedingfield herself. She was already fifty years old on her return to England but, to judge by events and by her portrait, she was still in full vigour and possessed of a good measure of self confidence. Optimistically , the members came over in their religious habits, and were promptly clapped into gaol. Upon release they were cautioned not to instruct young people and not to keep a priest. They had every intentionof doingboth, but they prudently exchanged their habits for matronly dresses and thus equipped entered upon their apostolic mission "

They found a house in St. Martin's Lane, near St. Paul's, and it was here that St. Claude de la Colombière visited them and wrote enthusiastically to his brother: 'Oh! What holy women I have met here! If only I could tell you of their manner of life you would be astounded!' But neither holiness of life nor the patronage of Mary of Modena , Duchess of York, could guarantee safety in the inner city location, where spies and informers abounded. The school seems initially to have done well, but we then hear of its failure in a self-deprecatory letter written by the Superior, Mary Portington: 'The beginnings of St. Martin's Lane London was the effect of her [Frances Bedingfield's] zeal and credit, which had subsisted perhaps if it had remained in her hands, but it perished in mine. '

Meanwhile, as early as 1669, Mother Frances had moved part of the community to Hammersmith and made a more secure foundation by renting (and later buying) the Great House, next door to Queen Catherine of Braganza's holiday residence , the Cupola House. This new home did not belie its name, being so large that it was later rebuilt to avoid attention by looking like three separate houses ; but Frances 'entered [it] without the least furniture or any moneys to buy necessaries with. ' Only as childrenwere presented for the school did she 'get credit so as to get the house a little furnished for the entertaining such' With the help of that golden fund-raiser, Sister Isabella Layton, she purchased the property and for some fifty years the school flourished , weathering even the storm of the Titus Oates 'plot.' But in 1685 Frances Bedingfield left Hammersmith to found the Bar Convent, and Cecily Cornwallis was appointed Superior in her place. Cecily was an intellectual and holy woman who had often deputised for Frances, but she lacked the qualities necessary for a successfulSuperior, and, bereft of Frances's wise guidance she fell a prey to scruples and indecision. She suffered agonies of doubt as to whether an Institute that was under the ban of the

I.B.V.M.BIOGRAPHIES

Church could exercise lawful authority, and her dilemma was sharpened by the difficulty of communicating with the Chief Superior on the continent , since her letters were opened by spies and her coded communications could lead to misunderstandings Obsessed by scruples, she disastrously placed the community under the jurisdiction of Bishop Bonaventure Giffard, despite all MaryWard's legislation on freedom from episcopal control The Bishop accepted his new role with enthusiasm, declaring thathis relationship with the communitywas 'a new creation, ' and taking pains to ensure that his successors should maintainit Cecily soon began to have doubts about the wisdom of her action, but the community, enjoying a sense of security, accepted the situation whole-heartedly Two successive Chief Superiors, Anna Barbara Babthorpe (1697-1711) and her sister Agnes Babthorpe (17111720) did their utmost to bring the wayward members back to obedience. 'It were perhaps good' wrote Anna Barbara on 30 January 1709 , ifI wrote to this Mrs. Winifrid [Arundell], and send her the Rule, that she might see that I own the charge imposed upon me, and fear her not. ' In vain did she point out that Pope Clement XI had approved the eighty-one rules, and might well be expected to give approbationto the Institute in the near future The community only hardened in its oppositionand drew up two defiant documents seemingly in about 1709 and 1712. The first, in form reminiscent of a vow formula, chooses the Bishop as 'Community Chief Superior' , and bears the signatures of eight of the twelve members of the community. Only Cecily Cornwallis's name is missing from the second document, in which the community presents a united front and declares unequivocally: 'We do most fully acknowledge your Lordship's full power and jurisdiction over us ... ' The situation was so serious that in 1713 Reverend Mother Agnes Babthorpe appointed a Visitor, Sister Mary Cramlington, anddispatched her to Hammersmith with legal and ecclesiastical documents that supported the office and authority of the Chief Superior. Cecily Cornwalliswould willingly have withdrawnfrom her allegianceto the Bishop, but the community would have no such retraction, and the situation was confounded by the development of an emotional friendship between Cecily and Mary Cramlington. A malicious, unsigned letter from members of the communitymakes much of this, complaining that the Visitor 'caused great expense when she stayed in this house' and describes her 'secret conferenceswith Madam Cornwallis , four hours together, and in times of Publick Conversation they were so entirely wrapped up in one another that Madam seemed to have neither eyes nor ears nor tongue for any but Mrs. Cramblington[sic], so excessive a

particularity may easily be believed to cause sufficient trouble in Community . In 1714 Mother Agnes made a final and poignant appeal, addressing the obdurate community as 'Dearest beloved hearts, ' but it was of no avail; her words fell on deaf ears. Finally Mary Cramlington(whose code name was ironically Concordia) having reaped a harvest of discord, left for a visit to the Bar Convent where she won great acclaim before returningto oblivion in Germany. Cecily Cornwallis remained at her post until 1715, when, heart-broken over the situation she had unwittingly created, she too took the road to York, and died as a member ofthe communitythere in 1723.The haunted features of her portrait are a fitting illustration of her melancholy story. Victory seemed to lie with the Hammersmith rebels, but time took a curious revenge; only five newcomersentered the convent after 1703, the school was closed in 1781 for lack of members, and by 1795 the sisters numbered only three. Bishop Douglass suggested that accommodation in the almost empty house should be offered to refugees from the French Revolution, so a community of Benedictine nuns from Dunkirk moved in, and a tiny scrap of paper, now yellowed with age, served as a contract between the Bishop and the Tenants. Headed 'May 6th, 1795 , Memorandum , ' it reads: 'The Bishop gives us the three Houses at Hammersmith on condition that we pay taxes and expenses, and board the three ladys of the house without payment, he finding them in clothes and in all extraordinary Phisitions [?] etc. and also that we board the confessor at our expense and he will pay his salary We also board Mrs. Taylour his Servant' The Benedictinesfulfilled their part of the bargain, cared for the three Institute sisters and finally buried them in the new cemetery they had laid out. They had no title-deeds to the house, however, so when they left Hammersmith for Teignmouth in 1865 Archbishop Manning requisitioned the property for a seminary It eventually passed into the possession of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Three crumblinggravestonesare the only survivingmonument of the ill-starred I.B.V.M. community.

The future lay in York, but it was no sudden impulse that directed Frances Bedingfield to the north . Some years previously a group of Yorkshire Catholic land-owners, headed by Sir Thomas Gascoigne, had announced 'We must have a school for our daughters ' These words were to constitute the charter ofthe Bar Convent, but their implementation was not immediate The first location suggested was Heworth; then Broughton Hall, the home ofThomas Gascoigne's widowed daughter, was considered.

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Eventually the choice fell on Dolebank, a property some three miles from Fountains Abbey and recently purchased by Sir Thomas Everyeffort was made to secure Frances Bedingfield as the Superior, but she refused to accept the post on the grounds that she was committed to Hammersmith She promised, however, to procure members from Germany who would undertake the foundation These were Catherine Lascelles , née Thwing (Superior), Ann Beckwith, née Thwing (Assistant Superior), Ellen Thwing, Mary Root (or Rooke) and Elizabeth Butcher. On 29 September 1677 this little company assembledat the gates of Barnbow Hall, and 'rode forth' to take possession of their new home.

The venture was short-lived. The 'discovery' of the Titus Oates and Yorkshire Plots led to a rounding up of Catholics and the members ofthe Dolebankcommunitywere arrested or dispersed. Seven years later, with a Catholic on the throne, the prisoners were released and it was time to think again about 'a school for our daughters. Frances Bedingfield judged that the Hammersmith community could be safely left in Cecily Cornwallis's hands and so, with a gift from SirThomas of £450 (intended for three schools), she left the south and began househunting in York. She favoured the area outside MicklegateBar 'for air, ' and on 5 November 1686 purchased a property on the site where the Bar Convent now stands It was exactly one hundred and fifty years since the Benedictine Convent of St. Clement's, at the other end of Nunnery Lane, had been dissolved by order of Henry VIII. But this was no triumphant return of religious life; Frances was incognito, wearing a nondescript 'slate coloured gown and hood, ' and signing the contract with the assumed name of Frances Long. For at least half a century the status of the community seems to have remained ambiguous, because as late as 1736 the historian Francis Drake (whom one suspects of knowing the truth) wrote: "There are a few remarkablygood houses out of this gate; the best is a large old brick building, which has born for some years last past the name of the Nunnery This occasioned some disaster at the Revolution [of 1688], but was really then, as now, no more than a boarding school for young ladies ofRoman Catholicfamilies '

The house, as shown in a contemporary print, was unassuming but did not escape the prying eyes of informers who reported it as full of papists Searchers harassed the inhabitants , confiscated books and vestments, and on one occasion bore off Frances and her great-niece, Dorothy, to imprisonment in the infamous Ousebridge Gaol A few years later the house was attacked by a violent, fanatical mob Poverty and isolation emphasised its

INTRODUCTION

plight, but a school was established in defiance of the law , and was soon accepting the daughters of the Catholicgentry.

Mother Frances resigned from her office in 1698 and was recalled to Germany in 1699. Her intended successor was Mother Mary Portington, a member well able to face the difficulties of the situation; but her family, prominent in Holderness , was involved in a lawsuit and it was judged that her presence in Yorkshire would be 'imprudent. So it fell to Dorothy Bedingfield, better known by her alias of Madam Paston, to be the second Superior of the Bar Convent As recounted in her biographical entry, her qualities fell short of those demanded by her circumstances, but she filled the post for thirty-five years and saw the house through a period of intense poverty.

Persecution and lack of material means haunted thecommunity through the middle years of the eighteenth century. Its known Jacobite sympathies laid it open to attack, and it is thought that the page torn out of the register of pupils was destroyed because it carried names of Stuart supporters and so might have implicated the convent in an unpopular cause . It was certainly ambition backed by politics , not religion, that led Dr. Jacques Sterne to the convent door one day early in 1748. This greedy place-seeker, who was already Precentor of York Minster, a Canon Residentiary, Prebendary ofYork, Prebendary ofDurham and Rectorof Rise and Hornsey-cum-Riston, hoped to add to his string of benefices by proving himself an ardent Hanoverian, and an attack on the defenceless convent seemed an easy option. Without explanation he ordered that the pupils should be dismissed and the house evacuated, threatening to bring all the penal laws to bear on the communityif he were not obeyed. His defeat by a combinationof Sister Eleonora Clifton's spiritedreply and the indolence of the local vicar is told in the text Active persecution ended with this episode, but poverty remained the nuns' constant companion Frugality ruled every aspect of their lives and is artlessly mirrored in the Procuratrix's log-book of 1735-1761 , where the reader looks in vain for any hint of luxury or superfluity and finds only such entries as a tin for candle ends' , 'the brewing copper mended again' and 'a new footforthe Infirmary screen '

The situation improved in the last decades of the century. Dr. Sterne's attitude veered round to friendship and, ever spoilingfor a fight, he was eager to do battle on the community'sbehalf: 'I shall not think it any trouble, ' he wrote, 'ifI can be so happy as to settle the dispute between you and Mr. Topham .' On the economic front, solvency was at last established by the business acumen of Mother Ann Aspinall, whose letters speak for

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

themselves. 'At the close of the year, ' she wrote in 1766 , 'I have found the accounts very satisfactory'; and on 10 January 1767 there is the further good news that 'the school has never flourished as it does now. ' With forty fee-paying pupils and the modest support of her friends , Mother Aspinall began to build The first relevant entry in the log-book gives the reader a frisson of anticipation: 'The garden wall was broke down at the corner, and two large gates put up to let in the carriages which brought in materials for building The next year'The old house was begun to be demolished and we removed into Mrs. Smith's house which was taken for two years The rent was £26 per annum. " Foremost of Ann Aspinall's achievements was, of course, the chapel, a gem of neo-classical architecture and a testimony of the courage of a handful of Catholic women in penal days. But the chapel was by no means all. Many of the community were 'of very delicate constitution, ' so improved accommodation was provided for them The school was enlarged by what Francis Drake's second edition described as 'elegant buildings backwards, ' and the convent as we know it today was completed by 'a new front wall' , i.e. the Georgian façade, for which 'Ann Aspinall, spinster of the suburbs of York, ' was granted a licence in 1787 . It was not, however, only the achievements in bricks and mortar and the well-balanced account books that created a golden age for the Bar Convent in the later years of the eighteenth century The archives provide a picture of an active community, liberal and generous in spirit. The 'misses' find a home from home in the school and go out to the Fair or Assembly Rooms, resplendent in brightly coloured cloaks, silk hats, cambric ruffles and ear-rings Sister Eleanora Clifton runs a sort of clinic in the front porch, and courteously parries a wellmeant offer of marriage. Mr. Bedingfield is not rebuffed although he outstays his welcome by spending two hours in the parlour, and Mother Davis bustles off to purchase a mahogany tray and tea-cups with handles for 'strangers. ' Charity pervadesevery page of the Customs Book, where those who do not get up when called are referred to as 'slow risers, ' where the weakest must be allowed to set the pace on a journey and in school the teachers are to make sure 'that those who are backward be not neglected. ' This spirit of charity was put fully into execution in Mother Catherine Rouby's term of office, when the warm-hearted Superior opened the convent doors to individual French girls, at least one family, and whole communities of nuns in flight from the French Revolution, as well as caring for the exiled priests who flooded into York.

INTRODUCTION

With the death of this 'bonne mère' in 1810 the sun seemed to set over the Bar Convent and for nearly a century it lived in the shadow of misfortune and the misrepresentation of Mary Ward's ideals Mother Elizabeth Coyney's years of office were full of disasters, but not all the blame is to be laid at her door Benedict XIV's Bull Quamvis Justo, denying Mary Ward the title of foundress, did not reach England until the second decade of the nineteenth century; it was received by Mother Coyney with dismay and a show of obedience expressed in the destruction of every vestige of Mary Ward's influence on the community. It was a sadly misjudged response, ascribable to rash zeal and the isolation of the Bar Convent, for the continental houses made no such holocaust of books and pictures. It was isolation, again, that led Mother Coyney to take an even more disastrous step. The Napoleonic Wars disrupted all communication between York and Munich, and Mother Coyney, receiving no answer to any of her letters, feared that the Institute had been suppressed in the secularization of Joseph II. She dispatched a friend to make personal enquiries and on hearing from him that the Paradeiserhaus had been requisitioned by the government she assumedher fears were realised, and with papal authorisationshe placed the Bar Convent under the authority of the Bishop. Then followed a train of events reminiscent of the Hammersmith tragedy. Neither Mother Coyney nor the community had ever been enthusiastic about government from a central authority, and at first they rejoiced in their new-found freedom . They then followed up the papal rescript with a further fundamentalchange of constitution, a self-inflicted rule of enclosure, giving as their reason that the sisters wished to be considered not merely 'pious ladies' but real religious living under solemn vows. Episcopal control had its ups and downs of fortune The communitywas fond of the genial, avuncular Bishop John Briggs whose tall figure with its long locks and benign smile was always welcomed by sisters and pupils alike But even his government had its casualty in Mother Agnes Dunn, who felt obliged in conscienceto leave a house so disloyal to the constitutions ofthe Institute.

With the advent of Bishop Robert Cornthwaite in 1861 the nuns came face to face with the realities of episcopal control, for something approaching a reign of terror set in, as the Bishop insisted on ruling every detail of community life Every letter written by the Superior had to be submitted to him Devotions, diet and clothing had to have his approval, and baths were forbidden unless ordered by the doctor. In conjunction with enclosure, this severe regime was totally at enmitywith the spirit

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

of Mary Ward, for what sort of apostles could be formed in religious who were forbidden to look out of street-facing windows, and were cautioned against even thinking of events outside the convent walls? The nineteenth-century Customs Book, with its almost exclusive attention to the details of table-laying, bell-ringing and other trivialities, its discouragement of visitors and insistence on the feeding of the poor in silence, reflects the poverty of spirit and narrowness of outlook imposed upon the sisters But though these constitutions remained nominally in force for nearly a century, they perhaps wore thin in places, for the community included some surprisingly original figures, such as Juliana Martin, Hilda Haigh, Salome Oates and Loyola Giles and some great developments took place Mother Coyney undertook the religious formation of Frances Ball and Mary Aikenhead very grudgingly, but their training in the Bar Convent led to the foundation of the Loreto branch of the Institute and the Irish Sisters of Charity, both of world-wide expansion. On a much smaller scale, Mother Angela Browne founded a house in Scarborough which bid fair to do good work until it was destroyed by Bishop Cornthwaite , who disliked 'branch houses. ' Most remarkable of all was Mother Juliana Martin's success in reversing the ban of 1631 by obtaining papal approbationfor the Institute in 1877. Thus a small house, geographically on the periphery of the Institute and even refusing obedience to the General Superior, triumphed where crowned and other mitred heads had failed It was an achievement to be proud of, and heralded the slow but eventual return of the Bar Convent to its proper spirit and rightful place in theInstitute. **

While the York communitywas emerging from its Dark Ages, the charism ofMaryWard was active elsewhere The first stepsin the return of the Institute to the south of England are coincident with the life of Mother Ignatius Barratt and so are recorded in the text which takes the story to Gloucester There in 1862 attention is focussed upon Malvern House, a Regency property almost next door to the Catholic church The communitytaking possession of it numbered five: Mother Ignatius herself, Sister Joseph Edwards (a young Irish nun who had joined Mother Ignatius in Balbriggan) a postulant called Anne Whyte who was later to be Sister Paul, and two German sisters who seem to have been on loan fromAugsburg. The work force was small and the material resources meagre, but Mother Ignatius's plan was ambitious There were to be three schools, a parish school for the poor, a 'middle school' for the daughters of the shop-keeping

class and a boarding school for 'young ladies ' Theenvironment proved hostile; the 'middle school' failed from lackofpupils, and the parish school returned to clerical control, so that only the boarding school survived for the sisters. It merits a detailed description. A handbill, strangely headed 'A.M.D.G. Les Dames Anglaises of the German Institute of Mary' announces the opening of the school and describes what it has to offer for thirty guineas a year 'Young ladies of the upper class will be instructed in all branches of a useful and accomplished Education, together with every description of Plain and Fancy work ' Pianoforte , singing and dancing were extras, while Italian and lessons on the organ and harp could be arranged Overleaf, parents were assured that 'Etiquette and general politeness are strictly enforced ' The phrasing grates on the ear, with its arrogant overtones of classconsciousness , but the school must have had a happyatmosphere, for three of the pupils (Mary and Julia McDonough and Mary Blagden) and a maid (Agatha Wheeler) all entered the Institute. There was success too for the numbers increased and within six years larger accommodation was needed Mother Ignatius signed the lease of Suffolk House, Greyfriars , in the centre of the city, in 1868, but she did not live to see the move from Malvern House. She died in January 1869 and the responsibilities she had carried fell on the sturdy shoulders of Sister Joseph Edwards who effected the move to Greyfriars Three years later the new Superior had to face a very important decision when she received Father Bertrand Wilberforce's abrupt invitation to Haverstock Hill, London. 'My dear Sister' , the letter read, 'What do you think ofmigrating here and setting up your school in our parish?

I think you would have a far better opening here than Gloucester There are many Catholic children in want of a good school. 'Itwas a temptingsuggestion, offeringan escape from the anti-Catholicism of Gloucester and an assurance of co-operation with the Dominicanfathers, whose members in Woodchester had been her good friends But there were obstacles ; Father Bertrand's zeal had outrun all prudence and he had to admit that he had not consulted his Provincial Superior, nor his community (who would have preferred Dominican sisters), nor the formidable Archbishop Manning. Eventually, however, the Provincial was encouraging; there were no Dominican sisters available, and the Archbishop, though cautiously unwilling to accept into his diocese a community with no certain means of support, finally gave his consent, and Mother Joseph Edwards took the brave step of accepting the invitation 'I shall welcome you with all my heart, ' wrote the exuberant Father Wilberforce ' , and do all I can to help the good work. ' With these heart-

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

warmingwords in their ears , Mother Joseph and her community set out for London The cost of removal was met by raffling a crochet quilt made by the industrious fingers of Sister Francis McDonough The household moved into a small house opposite the Priory, and after several exchanges of propertyfinally settled down in Gifford's Lodge, in England's Lane There was never any lesseningof activity; as well as a fee-paying day and boarding school that attracted as many pupils as the nuns could deal with, poor children were taught in the Friary, and a printing-press was set up nextdoor to Gifford's Lodge to train working-class girls in the printing trade Lastly, a novitiatewas established and had the distinction of including Sister Catherine Chambers among its novices.

The future looked rosy for the community, with its flourishing school, newly-built Gothic chapel (of which it was inordinately proud) and promising novitiate But events took an unexpected turn The Head Mistress, Sister Francis McDonough, fell seriously ill, and in an attempt to save her life Mother Joseph Edwards rented The Glebe, a house in Ascot, where the pine trees were thought to be health-giving Unhappily Sister Francis was beyond the help of country air and pine trees, but the summer spent in Ascot and the persuasion of influential local Catholics led Mother Joseph Edwards to found a house there in 1885. To ensure its success, she took with her half the London communityand the entire boarding school What was left of the community had to rebuild their school, and did so with such success that extra accommodation had to be provided in 1895 . But the site was cramped and was further truncated when the local authorities requisitioned the orchard and half the garden in order to widen England's Lane and build Antrim Road. This was, however , a happy misfortune , as it led to the transfer of the London community and school to Fitzjohn's Avenue In the sunny uplands of Hampstead children and nuns alike found all that they had lacked in Haverstock Hill; a large house, at once imposing and homely, it offered spacious accommodation, and the garden with its lawns, trees, flower beds and overgrown 'dell' promised endless delights to street-bound children

There a very happy school was established, but it must be admitted that the academic standard was not high, and whilethe Kindergarten was overflowingwith little girls and boys, the Sixth Form was woefully small In the Autumn of 1939 new buildings were ready to provide further amenities and receive an increased number of children , but all hopes were dashed by the outbreak of World War II.

In the Bar Convent, meanwhile, life was pulsating more rapidly asthe nineteenth century drew to a close In 1883 Mother Francis Pope was elected Superior, and her genial, cheerful features, seen todayin her portrait, must have seemed an earnestof better times to come. Born in Whitby of Anglican parents, and converted to Catholicism through her brother's correspondence with Cardinal Newman, she lived above the plane of trivialities that had long bedevilled the lives of the enclosed community. Though she did not abolish enclosure she reduced its effects, bringing more sunshine and less gloom into religious life She kept up a correspondence with the Loreto nuns, and paid at least one visit to Rathfarnham Two great achievementsstand to her credit: the return of the York communityto obediencein the mainstream of the Institute and the foundation of a house in Cambridge.

The York Journal relates the homelydetailthat at 6.30 a.m. on 1 September 1898, the Bar Convent communityassembledin the hall to say Good-bye to five sisters who were making their way to the railway station. The story is then taken up in a dog-eared exercise book with a shabby marbled cover. 'Sept. 1st, it begins laconically , M. M. Stanislaus, Sister M. Bernard and 3 lay sisters, Sr. M. Berchmans, Sr. M. Magdalen and Sr. M. Aloysius left York by the 6.50 a.m. train for Cambridge, arrived at their destination about 11.30. The furniture arrived at 2 p.m.' This destination was Furness Lodge, overlooking Parker's Piece in Cambridge. Three contemporary water-colours portray a charming, four-square house covered with brightly-tinted creeper. It has a classical porch with a little balcony above it The front garden is separated from the road by an iron railing, also hung with creeper, and iron gate. A lawn and flower beds extend from one side of the house

The purpose ofthe foundation is not altogether clear. Certainly a boarding school was intended, for the Bar Convent accounts record 'ten beds and bedding complete for the children's dormitories at Cambridge, ' together with 'eight wash-stands with drawers. But there seems to have been some further, hidden agenda The nuns vaguely assured the Bishop that their aims were educational' , and when the university authorities enquired suspiciously about their 'purpose' , the reply was evasive and mentioned only 'receiving a few young ladies who would benefit from the lectures in Cambridge ' It seems almostcertain that they hoped to open a hostel for Catholic students attending the Training College, perhaps in succession to Miss Anna Maria Donelan , who had such a hostel in Queen Anne's Terrace and who was nearing retirement age It is significant that the community was very anxious to win the approval of Miss

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Hughes, the Principal of the Training College. The entry in the Journal for 17 September records: 'Miss Hughes paid us a visit, went over the house, seemed satisfied with everything. ' And on the next day, 'At five o'clock we went over to the Training College. Miss Hughes very gracious ' She continued to be the nuns' good friend, but gave no hint of encouragement to a hostel. Nor did the advertisement in The Tablet, announcing the opening of'A High Class Boarding School, to be opened on September 29th 1898 tempt any pupils to Furness Lodge. 29 September came and went, and if the communityfelt any dejection it did not record it. But it must have been relieved when at last, on 3 October 'We admitted two little children as Day pupils, Dorothy and Daisy More of Chesterton. They come from 9 o'clock to 1 . They are quaint little children . ' There were no more entries that year, but the seed was sown.

The York accounts show modest sums of money sent to Cambridge from time to time, but these amounted to only £105 in the first year, and the cash flow in Furness Lodge can hardly have kept the sisters above the bread line. The gifts brought by well-wishers must have seemed sadly inappropriateto the hungry community. They included: 'A handsome engraving of the Queen of Sheba, a set of art journals of which two are missing, some plants, an altar missal, a statue and some dark crimson velvet curtains for the hall. ' One day 'the Baroness von Hügel and her niece called to see us The Baroness has promised to send us some beds . ' But with ten empty beds 'complete with bedding' upstairs, this too was an unhelpfulpresent With reliefthe reader learns that at Christmas Sister Xavier's father, Mr. O'Donaghue, 'sent us a Christmas Box consisting of a turkey, a cake and a box ofchocolates'

In January 1893 four more day pupils and, at last, two boarders, 'the Miss Hardings' , presented themselves and the school began to grow, but with various turns of fortune . A lay woman, acclaimed in the advertisement as a 'Resident Head Mistress B.A.' and a French girl ( diplomée ') gave a semblance of professionalism to the staff, but much of the teaching was undertaken by the nuns, who were dismallyunqualified. Aided by Canon Scott and his curate, they studied the basic subjects and took Higher Local Examinations , but their results made a poor showing. Disastrously, the lay staff both left in July 1899 and do not seem to have been replaced Nevertheless, though numbers fluctuated, the school grew. To our great loss the Cambridge journals covering the years 1901 to 1910 are missing, and we have only fragmentarydetails of why and how the communitymoved from Parker's Piece to Bateman Street The casual observer

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15

would have thought Furness Lodge a good property with a very pleasant outlook, but it seems to have had hidden disadvantages. Perhaps the drains were bad (there is mention of sore throats) and the location less favourable than appears. Our only clue is a single sheet of paper inscribed 'Memo 11 Oct. 1906. Furness Lodge was purchased for our first foundation in Cambridge for £3000. It was too small, was surrounded by Theatre, Printing offices and objectionable Parker's Piece Sold to the Fishmonger from whom we purchased it for £2000. We purchased The Elms, a freehold property for £6000 ' The shortfall of £4000 was made good by a grant of £ 1000 from the Bishop and by the Bar Convent's sale of its Mexican stock, as is shown in the York accounts. The Bar Convent Journal describes the rapid exchange of house On 9 February 1904 Mother Francis Pope 'went to Cambridge to view a new property, was delighted with the place and decided on taking it ' Furness Lodge was sold on 25 February and on 29 March 'the nuns at Camb. took up their abode at The Elms ' Their new home had a fascinating history From 1869 to 1889 it had belonged to Dr. B. H. Kennedy, Regius Professor of Greek in the University He was described as 'a fine scholar and a kind and energetic man' who had compiled several Latin grammars, turned Gray's Elegy into Latin hexameters for fun, worked on a revised edition of the Greek New Testament, and was much in favour of the higher education of women. He was one of the liberal dons who repeated their university lectures to women in their own colleges , and these students were always welcome at The Elms When he thought they were ready to sit the Tripos Examinations (from which they were officially excluded), it was in his drawing-room that they worked the papers He then begged the Senate to consider the admittance of women to the Tripos, and in the teeth of fierce opposition he won the day by a combination of eloquence and the running of a special train to bring supporters to Cambridge He had been dead fifteen years when the community took possession of The Elms, but his spirit seems to have lived on in the house , for when the Cambridge journal re-opens in 1910 it is clear that the community has a small but well-established school There were twenty-four boarders and nineteen day pupils; the latter were already accommodated and taught separately in the neighbouring property ofPaston House, which had been acquired in January 1909. The Elms had been enlarged by a top storey that spoiled the proportions of the original building but provided extra living space; here the boarders were housed, fed, taught and generally cared for by a community of eight devoted nuns

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described by Robert Hugh Benson as 'so reasonable and humorous ' The admittance register reveals that the majority of girls entered the school at the age of fourteen , fifteen or even sixteen, and stayed only two or three years , thus suggesting that the convent was more of a finishing school than a boarding school in the modern sense The pupils were not troubled by examinations ('Cambridge Locals' are only occasionally mentioned), and though their class-room lessons were probably not of a high standard they profited greatly by the cultural advantages of the University A seemingly endless supply of kindly dons put their knowledge and enthusiasm at the disposal of the children Mr. Conybeare brought his microscope and showed them a spider's foot and the dust on a butterfly's wing, and with the aid of a magic lantern made them familiar with Gothic architecture and the Pharaohs of Egypt Everyone attended Dom Bede Camm's talks on the English martyrs and, though a stern ukase from York still insisted on some aspects of enclosure, the nuns took the children to hear Pachman play, Dame Nellie Melba sing, and Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch lecture on Shakespeare . Young Fellows took parties to see Trinity College Library and the Parker manuscripts at Corpus Christi College, and to the joy of all there were expeditions to see the May Bumps on the river The Edwardian mammas were probably pleased that their daughters returned home qualified to converse on such a variety of subjects In time the community came to include two graduate membersSister Gabriel Wakelin (who was more humorous than pedagogical) and the brilliant teacher , Mother Elizabeth Dunn, but the school suffered from two fatal weaknesses . It was always too small to give an all-round education and it had a strong class-consciousness , betrayed by too many photographs of past pupils arrayed for presentation at court It was saved from extinction, however, by absorptioninto Paston House, where the foundations were being laid of a very successfulgrammar school Employinga fully qualified lay staff, Mother Paul Murphy introduced a note of professionalism by aiming at high academic standards and efficient administration. Under her headship entrance to public examinations becamethe norm rather than the exception and soon her pupils were being accepted in Oxbridge and other universities. It would be tedious to trace here the steady increase in the size of the school and its academic achievements. But the miracle of the successful development of a large school on a small site deserves mention. The two properties, Paston House and The Elms, each stoodin a garden no bigger than that befitting a Victorian town dwelling, and in time the space available was exploited to its reasonable

INTRODUCTION

limits. Betweenthe two properties, and precluding anyconnection between them, ran a wide entry to the Botanical Gardens so , among other inconveniences, the school dinners, cooked in The Elms' kitchen , had to be trundled daily down Bateman Street, come hail or storm, to Paston House . For years the University was adamant in its refusal to sell the intervening piece of land, but eventually in the 1950's an exchangewas agreed upon; a strip of The Elms garden provided a new entrance to the Botanics, and the convent acquired its coveted area A burst of building activity followed in the 1960's with the erection of modern class-rooms, dining hall and laboratories round a central cortile and a magnificent magnolia tree. Over the years the old land-marks had had to go; the tin gymnasium where the children had acted the Nativity Play written for them by R.H. Benson had been demolished years ago; and lastly the developer's eye fell on the old coach house. It had originally housed a handsome carriage and pair together with 'a yellowand black trap drawn by a frisky young horse with a habit of bolting ' Then it was the venue for Mother Salome Oates' C.W.L. activities and Sister Xavier's Boys Brigade meetings. Finally there was a quaint art-room upstairs, while Sister Sebastian laundered below, with a canary and budgerigars to keep her company. But it had to be sacrificed to provide the site for a spacious gymnasium Upwards and sideways the expansion continued, while modern equipment was installed within, and teaching worthy of a grammar school in a university city was provided.

Furness Lodge still stands on Parker's Piece; shorn of its creeper and with a truncated garden it is a sorry sight, butifthe ghost of Mother Francis Pope should ever visit Bateman Street with Dorothy and Daisy More, they would be astounded at what they saw

The development at Ascot was very different. The search for healthy surroundings gave the initial impulse, but the foundation was made in response to the pressure of influential local Catholics, notably Charles Stonor, Mr. and Mrs. Standish and E. F. Devenish Walshe, who were anxious to have a convent and school in their area Assured of some financial support and legal advice from these wealthy neighbours, Mother Joseph Edwards negotiated loans and obtained further help from Nymphenburg Edward Goldie , of the second generation of Goldie architects, was employed to draw up plans, and building began on thirty acres of land. As advertised, the school opened punctuallyon 15

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September 1885, but with the builders still on site and the equipment embarrassingly incomplete.

There is no contemporary list of the original community, butit seems to have numbered eight, as follows: Reverend Mother Joseph Edwards with Sisters Paul Whyte, Magdalen Grémion, Veronica and Gabriel Lund, Agatha Wheeler, Crescentia Drexĺ and John Baptist Montgomery; Sister Ignatius Poultonjoined as a ninth member in 1886. With only eighteen boarders, there was a pupil-staff ratio such as a modern head mistress dreams of; but every aspect of the work in class-room, house and garden was undertaken by the sisters . Most of the children came from the England's Lane school and they included the eleven year-old Cecilia Marshall, who was to become the very personification of St. Mary's Convent , Ascot There is a photograph of this early group, clad in dark dresses but looking very relaxed; one child holds a doll, another a racquet and a third has a dog in her lap. As they settled into their new surroundings and played merciless tricks on the nuns, they had no idea that the poverty of the community obliged the older members to ration their bread and butter in orderto provide enough for the younger ones .

For the first ten years survival was the main goal, and survival was achieved with various turns of fortune. With the coming of the Franciscan friars in 1887 a partnership was formed, destined to last for nearly a century and to give a stability to both foundations In 1896 Cecilia Marshall joined the novitiate, against the fierce opposition of her relatives, and made a significant addition to the community Much emphasis has been laid upon her spending part of her fortune on building the chapel and contributing to the general expansion of the school, but her gifts of mind and government proved more important than her purse Success, in fact, was built upon the vision, ability and unremitting toil of the nuns. At first Sister Veronica Lund was put in charge of the school, but she was soon replaced by Mother Gertrude Blagden who insisted on high standards and laid the foundationsof good teaching Sister Cecilia succeeded her in 1904 and in 1913 became and long remained the Superior ofthe house . She was supported over the years by a succession of notable members, including Mothers Teresa Blagden, Ignatius Beveridge, Aquinas Duran and Campion Davenport. It was the insistence of these and others upon excellence that saved the school from becoming just a fashionable academy preparing girls for entry into society and built up a school with a 'success history. But success stories tend to make tedious reading, so the Ascot achievementswill not be recorded here. They can be traced through the school magazinesand in Roy Wake's book St. Mary's -

INTRODUCTION

School, Ascot. For an illustration to the story, however , future historians would do well to study the aerial view that shows the school looking like a small town set in pleasant rural surroundings. Thefoundation of two schools by no means exhausted Mother Joseph Edwards's creative energy. In response to a plea from Rome for nuns to teach English to Italian adults, she founded an English house there in 1897. Mother Magdalen Grémion was installed as Sister-in-charge, but she was under the direct control of Mother Joseph, and sometimes under the lash of her tongue. The foundation, with several changes of address , survived as a filiation of Ascot until 1948, when its members, still fulfilling their original task, were absorbed into the community of the Roman Generalate.

Dedicated as she was to these activities, this busy foundress did not hold them ofparamount importance in her life's mission. She was ardently devoted to Mary Ward, and nothing lay closer to her loyal heart than her rehabilitationand her recognition by the Church as foundress of the Institute Hence Mother Joseph's tireless journeying in Germany and her fostering of Catherine Chambers's literary gifts so that she might write a biographyto expose the truth Hence, too, her bold correspondence with Father John Morris, S.J. 'You tell me' she wrote to that formidable Jesuit, 'that you do not consider Mary Ward our Foundress; then who is our Foundress?" The same pen dismissed a note on Mary Ward in Tierney-Dodd's learned history as 'disreputable.'

Mother Joseph died in 1901 and so did not live to see the telegram of 1909 bearing the triumphant words 'Foundress recognised by Pope ' Logic then demanded further development in the form of a union of the English houses . This was a goal by no means easy to attain, for as late as 1893 the York constitutions had declared: 'The Bar Convent is a branch of the Institute of Mary. This congregation is united under the jurisdiction of one Superior General, its Mother House being in York, which is the residence of the General Superior and her Council. ' Supporting this canonical document was allthepride of two hundred years of history and the consciousness of having borne the burden and the heat oftheday.

But once again Mother Francis Pope's liberal spirit came to the rescue From 1903 onwards she exchanged occcasional letters with Mother Teresa Blagden, referring to union as a matter manyof us have much at heart. ' But though she had the support of Mother Loyola Giles and Mother Salome Oates, she does not seem to have made much headway for nearly a decade Then, as

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briefly recorded in the York Journal, events moved rapidly and the drama drew to a close . In January 1911 a letter from the newly elected Mother General, Isabella Wild in Nymphenburg , expressed a desire for union, and significantlythe letter is pasted into the Journal Just what happened next we do not know, but on 3 February 'Mother Teresa of Ascot arrived for a short stay, ' and on 4 February 'Mother Teresa read to the Council the newly approved [Nymphenburg ] constitutions . All thought them most suitable. Two days later 'Reverend Mother read the constitutions to the community. ' Opposition was evidently overcome, for the entry for 11 May reads : 'Received a letter from Nymphenburg asking us to apply directly to Rome for permission to adopt the new constitutions and to place ourselves again under Nymphenburg . The petition was duly drawn up and signed by every member ofthe York and Cambridge communities. Thus the schism was ended and for eighteen years the houses ofthe north and south ran parallel to one another, without one claiming precedence over the other. In 1929, however, the wholeInstitute was divided into Provinces and Mother Cecilia Marshall was appointed Provincial Superior of the newly-formed English Province Ascot became the Provincial House, and proud York had to cede a further measure of its independence. It did so with agoodgrace, but the organic union took years to accomplish.

In the 1920's and 1930's St. Mary's Convent, Ascot was considered outstandinglymodern in its outlook and development. The nuns lived up to their reputation by driving a car and opening a holiday house near Bognor Regis , where theybathed in the sea, discreetly before breakfast. More important was their foundation of Errollston in 1935. This was a 'finishing school'of domestic science where girls were taught to enjoy cooking, dressmaking and laundering and were prepared to run their own homes without the help ofthe rapidly dwindling servant class .At the same time they continued their education in art and literature, and enjoyed a freedom they had never known in boarding school.

By a strange quirk ofhistory this same Ascot convent parented a foundation that could be described as a Victorian vignette or, in Ofsted language, a 'failed school' Very little documentation has survived, but the story evidently began with an appeal from Father (later Canon) Thomas Walmsley-Carter for a religious order to run his elementary school in Sheringham, Norfolk. In response Mother Cecilia Marshall purchased The Close, a house next door to the Church, and in 1921 established a small community there Sister Teresa McCabe was installed as head mistress, and remained at her post until December 1934, when the school was closed for lack of Catholic pupils. It is apparent,

however, that from the start Mother Cecilia had a second purpose in view, namely to provide for the overflow of pupils from the now very popular and over-subscribed school at Ascot Mother Dominic Davis was appointed Superior and the community consisted of Sister Teresa McCabe, Sister Martha Reaney who (true to her name) shouldered all the domestic work and Sister Winifrid Cornelius who, though totally unqualified , was put in charge of the independent school The honour of being the first pupils fell to Patsy and Ronnie Hewett, whose family had already given five members to the Institute Patsy, entering in Italy, was to be the sixth.

The school never flourished . Established in a quiet, pleasant town on the healthy east coast, it had advantages that should have favoured its development, and money was poured out generously on further amenities. The accommodation was more than doubled by a large extension built in the bland contemporary style, providing a panelled chapel, a small concert hall and a music room, as well as class-rooms and bed-rooms Tennis courts were laid down, each child had her own garden to cultivate, and a beach chalet was rented every summer. Several Catholic families in the area had plentiful children, so day pupils were available as well as boarders Why, then, was success so elusive? Responsibility must lie primarily with the appointments, especially that of Mother Dominic This valiant, cultured woman is not to be belittled ; but when sent to Sheringham she was in her sixty-fourth year and was a religious of nearly forty years' standing, with her tastes, principles and scale of social values firmly set in a Victorian mould Two other factors militated against the healthy development of the school First, it was geographically distant and isolated from the founding house at Ascot, and communication , which should have included advice and criticism , seems hardly to have existed. Secondly, the highly successfulAscot school turned over to Sheringham only children of lesser ability These were welcomed with open arms if they bore illustrious names, for there was no entrance examination, but the pedigree and social standing of would-be pupils were carefully scrutinised Mother Dominic's avowed intent, in a note written in her own hand, was to educate 'the Catholic élite, ' and an advertisement in the Catholic Directory of 1924 describesthe school as 'for Catholic girls of the higher classes. ' This was the canker that stunted all growth .

There is no register of the school, but an album ofphotographs serves the purpose Here the whole school is lined up year by year and we can count the numbers, judge the age range and reflect on the families represented , for the names of the children

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are recorded below each photograph . The average number of pupils (including day-children) was fourteen, the ages appear to have varied from about six to sixteen, and the ability range must have been very wide, for the slow learners received their whole education at the convent, while the brighter ones (such as the many little sons and daughters of the philosopher E. I. Watkin) put in only a short appearance there The standard of teaching was deplorably low, but the nuns were dedicated and hardworking and the children happy Life in this period-piece setting was usually uneventful, but on one occasion it was enlivened bya Victorian-style elopement, when the daughter of an eminent family ran away with the riding master!

World War II dealt a death-blow, mercifully swift, to this anachronistic establishment. When the enemy planes crossed the east coast Sheringham was judged to be a danger zone; so the school was closed, and after the war the house became first a babies' home and eventually a Youth Hostel.

But Sheringham had not seen the last of the I.B.V.M. In the wake of Vatican II a 'holidays for all' ruling was issued from the Generalate, and in response the Cambridge community in 1966 bought Inglewood , a property in Cramer's Drift, as a holiday house. There is no space here to describe the endless pleasure the place provided , as the nuns painted and papered the rooms themselves , and equipped them with refurbished pieces of old furniture, supplemented by items found in forays to the local junk shop. But with the advent of 'home leave' a few years later the house was not used to capacity, and by the late 80's it was obvious that Inglewood was at the top of a list of probable closures There was a short stay of execution when it was made into a House ofPrayer, but in 1998 it was regretfullysold Sister Helen Butterworth continued her parish work from a flat, until her sudden death in 1999 finally broke the link between Sheringham and the Institute. Nothing remains ofit except happy memories, an occasional visit and a little model of Inglewood , standing on a shelf in the Bar Convent archives room.

The history of the Bar Convent must be resumed Though the communityclung to its traditions and to many worn-out customs into the twentieth century, it showed itself remarkably resilient. During World War I it accepted and cared for a small school of Belgian children , and turned the concert hall into a hospital ward where the sisters helped to nurse the wounded soldiers Those who remembered the days of enclosure must have marvelled at thesight.

INTRODUCTION

The scholastic scene was also changing As country boarding schools becamepopular, the demand for boarding places in town schools diminished; so in 1921 the Bar Convent day and boarding schools were united to form a single Grammar School that in time won direct grant status. The boarding places were largely taken up by children - many of them farmers' daughters who lived just too far away for daily journeys , and so returned home for the week-ends When the details of these changesreached the ears of two old ladies, former pupils, living in their stately home in Cumbria, they shook their heads sadly and said that they could never visit the Bar Convent again

But the school did well in its new guise and the community, freed from its ninetenth-century fetters, grew till it numbered over thirty members. In 1924 it had the confidence to make a filiation in Egton Bridge in North Yorkshire by purchasing Esk Villa for £1,010. This was intended primarily as a holiday house but there was always a small community there, and in 1926 Bishop Lacy suggested that it should take over the parish school with its fifty children. The offer was accepted and Sister ThérèseFitzsimmons became the head mistress; a photographtaken in the late 1930's shows her almost eclipsed by a group of happy and healthylooking boys and girls She was recalled to Yorkafterthe Blitz of 1942 and the house was closed at about the same time. It had had an undistinguished history, and to judge by thejournal little ever happened there except the coming and going of a stream of visitors (the time of their trains carefully recorded) and the occasional flooding of the river But the ingenuous reminiscences of Sister Denis (Winifred) Diamond, recently discovered in an old exercise book, add homelydetails of life in the village and in Esk Villa One annual event was Berry Week, when all entered their gooseberries for measurement and a prize was awarded to the berry of largest girth. For the ladies, the Needlewoman Competition was popular until Sister Thérèse won the prizefor so many consecutive years that the event was abandoned In the community 'Honey Week' had pride of place. 'The kitchen fire was piled up blazing' says the account, 'and all the bees' frames were set on trays before it, and we all crowded into the back kitchen and sweltered. We cut up and extracted the honey by hand . It was then put into jars, and sold The whole house smelled of honey and was sticky for a week! My nextjob was to boil all the wax in the laundry copper, skim it off and put it into moulds to be sent to the Bar Convent and to Cambridge to be made into beeswax for polishing floors' Sister Denis's memory runs on, with tales of the convent duck falling prey to an otter and the nuns' washing, laid on a hedge to dry, allegedly eaten by

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cows. But the history of the Egton Bridge foundation must end with recording the vocation to religious life that stands to its credit Esk Villa overlooked the stepping-stones across the river, and on the opposite bank stood the village post-office; the nuns soon made friends with the post-mistress's daughter, Mary Margaret Harrison, who eventually became a member of the Institute.

In the Bar Convent life ran smoothly in the 1930's, but with the outbreak of World War II disaster struck Six members ofthe community were official air-raid wardens, so when the sirens sounded on the night of 29 April 1942 they stayed ondutyabove ground. The rest ofthe community ushered the children into the cellars where the well-built foundations of the old house seemed to offer security. But a falling bomb dislodged some masonry that blocked the exit of one cellar, and a broken pipe leaked gas into the confined area. After what one member described as 'the longest twenty minutes of our lives, ' the cries of the party were heard and it was rescued. Above, Sister Agnes Clayton remembered that Sister Bernard McClaughlin, old and blind, was in a room at the far end of the East Wing. She began to make her way there and in the dark fell into a crater made by a bomb that had ripped its way from roofto basement She called out to caution the others, warning them not to try to rescue her because she had broken her leg and was sitting on a bomb which she could hear ticking Five set off, nevertheless , in search of a ladder; but the bomb exploded, killing Sister Agnes and four of the would -be rescuers

Each of the five Sister Agnes Clayton, Sister Vincent Jordan, Sister Gerard McClorry, Sister Brendan Murphy and Sister Patricia O'Connorhad come to the Institute by her own faithjourney, all to be together on that fatal night and to die together in an act of charity Only when a roll-call was taken at dawn did the survivors realise their loss. -

Warm -hearted neighbours rallied round the stricken community; the butcher delivered meat ready-cooked, housewives offered to do laundry, and the convent at Holme-on-Spalding Moor gave hospitality to the old nuns who were badly shaken . Another little group of elderly sisters made their way to Egton Bridge, arriving unannounced as all communications were broken; 'they were all dirty, bedraggled and white-faced , ' and they brought the news ofthe tragedy at York. ' Within a few days the school re-opened; but the East Wing had almost disappeared, there was a huge gaping hole in the corner of the Nunnery Lane building, and there were gaps in the communitythat could never be filled.

Normality returned, but it was no time for complacency or inertia Within a few years there was talk everywhere of comprehensive schools; 'direct grant' and 'eleven plus' were under threat The City of York underwent a long agony of indecision before opting to 'go comprehensive,' and the Bar Convent had to follow the same course in order to continue its service to the local CatholiccommunitySo in July 1985 the nuns closed the doors of the Bar Convent GrammarSchool, thus ending their 299 years of independent education there . The doors re-opened in September; part of All Saints Comprehensive' stood on the same site, a grant-maintained establishment with a lay head-master, composed of a union of the old grammar school with two other local Catholic schools Three sisters taught there for a time, giving a semblance of continuity. In fact the disruption of the old way of life was complete, but the Bar Convent again manifested a phoenix-like vitality, as a great diversification of ministries developed, and new uses were found for the Georgian buildings whichthe school, mercifully, did not require.

The history of St. Mary's, Shaftesbury, finds its place at the end of this saga as the last I.B.V.M. school to be founded in England Its origins in World War II are unique

The year 1938-39 was a gloomy one, with constant rumoursof war offset by promises of peace supported by littlegood will. The Hampstead communityprepared for the worst by arranging that in the event of an outbreak of hostilities , it would evacuate the school to Ashburnham Place, near Battle in Sussex . So, instead of opening the autumn term of 1939 in Fitzjohn's Avenue, with extensive new buildings and a roll call of 100 children , the nuns found themselves in exile, caring, initially, for some thirty children entrusted to their care Ashburnham Place, nowpartially demolished, was a huge edifice of forbidding aspect It was made even more spine-chilling by the cold reception accorded by the lady of the house to the poor, homesick refugees . It was clear that she looked upon them as intruders , preferable only to the East -Enders who were the alternative evil

The parts ofthe house allotted to these unwelcome guestswere the old kitchen quarters, stone-flagged and mullion-windowed, and a wing of rooms whose grand names on the doors such as the Gun Room and St. Asaph's Room belied their bare and shabby interiors Everywhere was totally unheated and in each room grudgingly allowed for the school's use the carpet was rolled up and the nuns were bid to take care ofthe wall-paper as it was a William Morris though sometimes it was hanging in

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strips from the wall The one remaining sash-cord in St. Asaph's room was so rotten that in the middle of one windy night it finally snapped and the huge window crashed into the room scattering glass over the bare boards and nearly frightening out of her wits the nun who was sleeping on a corner of the fourposter bed. The children took their meals in a medieval-looking refectory that had been the servants' hall before they moved into warmer quarters The nuns ate in a small room looking on to the churchyard In one corner stood a primitive refrigerator which , when hungwith venison, emitted an unpleasant smell thatseemed to suit the graveyard prospect.

In happier times the evacuees might have delighted in the massivepieces offurniture that were too big to be moved, and in the old-fashioned water-closets decorated with blue pastoral and sylvan scenes . They would have been proud to live near the site of the Battle of Hastings, and to have Battle Abbey as a next door neighbour. As it was, however, day-to-day survival was the only aim , and it was difficult to suppress French Revolutionary feelings when every morning a cart-load of logs was driven into the kitchen courtyard for use in the private apartments and the servants' quarters, yet never a single log was given to the evacuees. This meant that much time and strength had to be expended in collecting dead wood, pine cones and chips left strewn about by tree-fellers, in order to provide a modicum of warmth and to keep the laundry in action

But it was not all misery. In September 1939 the house had an indoor staff of fifteen men and women who, with the onset of black-out regulations, found it difficult to make expeditions into Hastings for entertainment . They were delighted when Mother Michael Baines, the head mistress, occupied the children by producing a series of small shows for them The theatrical circumstances could hardly have been more primitive, with army blankets used as back-drops and stage curtains . At Christmas a Nativity Play was performed with touching simplicity and in January the children presented Father Bassett's Cinderella . In time the staff, led by the butler and the one-eyed chef, decided to reciprocate and so prepared a variety show for the school and community.

Lessons did not play a very important part in life at Ashburnham, but some local Catholics joined the classes . A family of the ubiquitous Hewetts lived nearby and sent a little boy called Billy and his sister Jessica to be taught by the nuns. Father Philip Hughes, the historian, had evacuated to a neighbouring cottage and cycled over unpunctuallyeach morning to say Mass in the morgue-like chapel

INTRODUCTION

After a bitter winter with snow that cloaked the landscape till mid-February, spring came at last and the evacuees found themselves in another world Ashburnham Place was set in an estate of great beauty. There were three lakes and countless grassy banks covered with primroses, woods carpeted with bluebells and aconites, and fields where little lambs suddenly appeared. Chilblains and frozen feet were forgotten as every walk, every bicycle ride, was a source ofjoy. But the war news was bad and when the Germans reached the Channel Portsit was no longer safe for the children to be within a few miles of the Sussex coast. Preparations were made for immediate reevacuation, as the communityspent a whole night collecting and packing its few possessions - folding-beds, desks and chairs, jugs and basins, some books and each one's scanty wardrobe. They left behind, without regret, the little bedsteads made of rough wood and chicken-wire. At dawn everything was loaded into a horse-box and a motor-coach, and in this strange cortège the school and community travelled to Ascot, where a temporary haven was offered

Here the nuns were in familiar surroundings, but the children were again in a strange world; and when a group was shown its sleeping quarters, newly painted, the ungracious reactionwas a tearful 'I wish it was shabby old Hampstead.' Wherethere was space the newcomers were amalgamated into existing classes and dormitories . The overflow was accommodated in neighbouring houses and given lessons in a hayloft. Local problems, however, were dwarfed by news from the war zone, where the great drama of Dunkirk was being played out. Prayer and fasting were the order ofthe day. But the question of the future of the school had to be faced Mother Cecilia Marshall, dismayed at the panicinspired loss ofpupils from Ascot, suggested that the Hampstead children should be absorbed into the Ascot school Realising the incompatibility of the two elements, Mother Imelda theSuperior and Mother Michaelbegged to keep the two schools separateand were given permission to look for another house in a safe area After scouring the countryside Mother Imelda was at last offered Bratton House near Westbury, Wiltshire, a home ofthe Seymour family, whose two daughters had been educated at Ascot Once again thecommunityhad a home, even though it was not its own.

Bratton is one of a series of spring-line villages, strung along the fluted downs Above it is a great hill on which one can discern the remains of a prehistoric fortification known as Bratton Castle; on the hillside looking towards Westbury a white horse has been cut out of the chalk, making so striking a landmark that it had to be covered with brushwood during the

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

war. Bratton House stands only a few feet from the village street; dating from the reign of William and Mary, it is a square stone building with a parapet roof and an attractive doorway approached by semi-circular steps The interior, in 1940 , was decorated in good taste, but was authentically rather shabby. The Seymour family, when they made an appearance, were friendly and helpful

Extra nunsjoined the communityand a new heart cameintothe situation , as school life began to take shape Class-rooms were set up in the 'A.R.P.' room and the stone-flagged entrance hall, the garage was converted into a gym, a piano was perilously dragged up to a room above the stable yard, and an unconventional but efficient laundrywas establishedin an out-house

The war had by now become a reality and as air-raids in London increased, many more children were sent to the school. Overcrowding became a serious problem; every inch of Bratton House was put to use by day and by night, for there were bunks in the children's bedrooms and the nuns slept in the class-rooms and on sofas in the library. Further accommodation was found by taking rooms in the village where the older children 'sleptout' in Luccombe Mill and small houses, one curiously named 'The Cuckoo's Nest ' A school curriculum was set up, and lessons becamemore serious than at Ashburnham , but the lovely autumn afternoons were often spent supplementing the larder by blackberrying, mushrooming or (with the help ofa ladder carried some half a mile) gathering bullaces Nettles were picked and the leaves stripped off for cooking, but that was not a rewarding task as a huge amount boiled away to almost nothing Otheractivities helped to integrate the school into village life. On one occasion the Women's Institute received a grant of sugar and appealed for jam jars for its communal jam making. So the children scoured the local rubbish dumps, rescued hundreds of discarded jars, washed them and tookthem to the village hall

Bratton was surprisinglyrich in social life. It was the home of two cultured ladies with Victorian-sounding names , Dorothea Dalrymple and Theodora Isaacs, who persuaded local celebrities to give lectures on subjects as diverse as book illustration, poetry and wild life. Such social gatherings and Mother Michael's productionof plays helped to while away the winter months, and in the summer there were ample opportunities for bird watching , butterfly hunting, picnics and rambles over the downs in search of roman-purple violets, orchids and fritilleries There were few books but manyother ways of acquiringknowledge. It was a life far removed from air raids and the worst realities of war. In return for this immunity the nuns' war work was to

care for the children in term and holiday alike; they knew no privacy and no 'times off and were rewarded with a close relationship and affectionate understanding between themselves and the children that became one of the greatest treasures bequeathed by the war. They learnt too to appreciate in real life that happiness has nothing to do with consumer goods, nor with present security, nor even with hope for the future.

Few had ever doubted that the Allies would win the war eventually, for even in the darkest hour Churchill's broadcast speeches, which all listened to spell-bound, created a conviction that transcended rationality. In 1944 it was obvious that victory was imminent and planning for the future was a matter of urgency. There were children who wanted to remain in a country boarding school, and there were cogent arguments in favour ofa return to London Eventually it was decided to re-open the Hampstead house as a junior school staffed by a community from Ascot, and the war-time community whose members had weathered so many storms together was left intact to make a new foundation in the west country After much house hunting Coombe House near Shaftesbury in Dorset was discovered. It was a stone, Tudor-style mansion built by Mark Beaufoy, a Victorian wine- and vinegar- manufacturer turned country gentleman. Set in fifty acres of ground and surrounded by country of unspoilt beauty, it had much to commend it to the rural community. In Ascot the more conservative members ofthe Provincial Council raised objections to its isolated position and somewhat neglected state, but the obstacles were eventually overcome and the property was purchased by the Institute

Peace came at last, the children all went home for the summer holidays and the nuns spent their final August in Bratton putting the house to rights and obliterating all traces of its recent occupation by the school. The evenings were warm and sunny, and after supper the community would sit in the garden, watching the daylight fade, enjoying the peace and beauty of the landscape, and indulging in a sense of 'mission accomplished.' But a further and more arduous mission awaited them, for a new school had to be founded , a school where the children would not only be cared for, but educated up to a high academic standard in a competitive world.

On 28 August a spearhead group moved into the new foundation. It was not a very spectacular event, just a handful of nuns travelling by bus to Shaftesbury and then by bicycle to Coombe House As the bus made its way through Warminster , the youngest member watched the local housewives intent on their shopping and thought 'For all those people this is just an

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

ordinary day, but for us it is very special' And so it was . But there was no time for fantasy; rats had to be expelled, the waterpumping system set in order, and acres of floor and window cleaned. The worst holes in the long drive had to be filled in before the local taxi driver would venture up in the dark, and finally every piece of furniture and equipment had to be put in place by the community as no man-power was available.

The children returned to school in October and were delighted with their new surrounds 'It's nice here, don't let's move again' said young Christianne Ardizzone, who had experienced the whole war-time Odyssey and was the child who had been so homesick for 'shabby old Hampstead ' The community and children alike enjoyed the happiness of having a home of their own and were proud of the dignified house set in a beautiful estate

Graduallyand with immense exertion, generations of nuns built up the new foundation, and in fifty years created a school such as the founder -members hardly dreamt of But though Christianne Ardizzonehad not been obliged to 'move again' , the members of an apostolic order have no abiding city here, and the last decades of the old millenium saw a fundamental change in the mission of the Institute. While vocations diminished in numbers, new conceptions of the apostolic life, born of Vatican II, were entertained by the younger members None of the Institute's schools in England was closed , but the nuns graduallywithdrew, handing them over in good working condition to lay management. The old communities remained, though shrunken in numbers, and new, small foundations were made in Norwich, Tufnell Park and Kentish Town In all the houses the members were as active as ever, engaged in a diversity of ministries that included parish work, prison and hospital visiting, the care of drug addicts and the homeless , university chaplaincies, adult education, counselling and running of pastoral centres. This was the Institute'stwenty-first century interpretationof Mary Ward's aim to meet the needs of the Church and oftheworld.

This introduction is intended as a setting for the entries that follow, so that the reader, lingering in imagination over each story, may see the individuals come to life and play their part on the stage of the Institute's history The achievements described, however, could not have been accomplished by the members alone; many other figures shared in the drama of God's creative work This is acknowledged by the inclusion of the more prominentbenefactors in the dictionary

AN I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY

OF THE ENGLISH MEMBERS AND MAJOR BENEFACTORS

There have been so many changes ofpolicywith regard to the terms 'Sister' and 'Mother' that it has seemed advisable to give the title 'Sister'to all except those Superiors who were universally known as 'Mother' .

AGAR, Sister M. Teresa 1802-1836

Anna Agar was born in 1802, in or near York, and was baptised in the Little Blake Street chapel that was the forerunner of St. Wilfrid's Church. In 1824 she was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate and served the community successively as Mistress of Linen, Infirmarian to the communityand Infirmarian to the school . She died on 10 December 1836 at the age ofthirty- four, ofwhat was described as 'a decline. '

Sheis buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

ALLANSON , Sister Teresa 17261806

Teresa Allanson was born in York in 1726 and was said to 'come of a good family. ' She joined the Institute at the advanced age offorty-seven and the annals of her life in religion are short but happy. As was common in those days of non-specialisation, she not only taught in the school but held the offices of Keeper of Linen, Dispenser, Assistant and Consultress, and at the same time was charged with the directionof the whole domestic workforce, an office she filled 'to the general contentment of all, ' for cheerfulness and activity of mind were the conspicuous traits of her character. She continued in office even when she had to be wheeled in an invalid chair, and when she died on 12 May 1806 at the age ofeighty her death was a 'singularly joyful one" She is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate

ANDERTON, Sister Christina, alias Hastings d . 1711

Christina Hastings was born in Ashby, Leicestershire, the daughter of Henry Anderton, a small landowner. She was distantly related to Cecily Cornwallis and sometimes used her name as an alias. She was educated by the Institute in Paris and Munich and then followed Mary Poyntz to Augsburgwhere she entered the novitiate in 1662. In 1669 she was sent over to England where she assisted Frances Bedingfield in the foundation of the Hammersmithhouse. She was a member of the Dolebank foundation in 1677, sharing arrest with Father Pracid and Cecily

BIOGRAPHIES

Cornwallis in December 1678. After two cross-examinations she was imprisoned in York Castle, but a few years later was allowed to live in Castlegate under a sort of house-arrest She had a good measure offreedom there and ran a small school in her lodgings (one of her pupils being 'More's niece') as well as attending Father Pracid's daily Mass in the Castle On her release in 1685 she joined the little community in Heworth, and she was probably a foundation member of the Bar Convent in 1686. She returned to Germany with Frances Bedingfield in 1699 and died in Augsburg in 1711 .

* ANDERTON, Sister M. Ursula 1803-1879

A Lancashire woman born at Hoghton Tower, Helen Anderton was educated at the Bar Convent, but did not join the novitiate there until 1832, when she was given the name of Sister Ursula She acted successively as Dispenser, Infirmarian, Consultress, Mistress of Novices and Vice-Assistant before being sent to Scarborough in April 1863 to replace Mother Walburga as Superior Her term of office there was very short as the house was closed in December of that year, on the insistenceof Bishop Cornthwaite. She returned to York and spent the remaining years ofher life as Librarian and Prefect ofReading. She died on the 18 February 1879 at the age of seventy-five and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

ANDRADE, Sister M. Philippa 1835-1913

Agnes Andrade , in religion Sister Philippa, was born in Liverpool in 1835. Her parents died during her early childhood and she was brought up by a grandmother who sent her to be educated at the Bar Convent when she was only seven years old; she found a second home there, but she did not enter the novitiate until she was twenty-one After profession she took part in the short-lived foundation in Scarborough, and on its closure returned to the Bar Convent to hold the offices of Keeper of Linen and Librarian She was a fine needlewoman, but above all a bookish person She loved the library and translated some of St. Bernard's sermons from the 1508 black-letter edition of his works. Her interest in the English martyrs led her to write a pamphlet on them and also resulted in her partnership with Father John Morris, S.J. She did much research for him and copied out long passages, in the early days by hand and later with the aid ofthe 'typograph' she acquired as a jubileepresent She was outstanding as a good community nun; her sense of fun and readiness to provide entertainment for any celebration

ANDERTON ASPINAL 33

must have been welcome assets during the period of enclosure and rather joyless religious life in the Bar Convent,

She died on 29 January 1913 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

ARUNDEL, Sister Winefried d. 1749

Winefried Arundel, sometimes referred to as Sister Dorothy, was of the family of Lord Arundel and was a close relation (perhaps niece) of Cecily Cornwallis Formidable by birth, and by nature self-assertive even when not actually rebellious, she was a force to be reckoned with and was a member such as any Superior would prefer not to have in her community. In 1709 she earned a sharp, rebuke from Anna Barbara Babthorpe, the Superior General: 'It were perhaps good', runs the letter , 'ifI write to this Mistress Winefried and send her the Rules that she might see that I own the charge imposed upon me, and fear her not. It may have been these stern words that deterred Sister Winefried from signing the first of the schismatic documents supporting Bishop Giffard's authority over the community; but when the second document was drawn up the effect ofthe rebuke had evidently worn off, and she was one of those who declared 'we do most fully acknowledge your Lordship's full powers and jurisdiction over us ' The contest between episcopal and Institute authority rumbled on, and when Mother Cecily Cornwallis retired to York, defeated, Mistress Winefried was left on the temporarily victorious field But, as the old French proverb has it, 'Qui gagne perd,' and she died on 23 April 1749, a member of a communitydoomed to extinction

The mortal remains ofthis sister, who was 'so contradictory ' lie buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith .

ASPINAL , Mother Ann 17101789

Ann Aspinal was born in Lancashire in 1710 and became a pupil at the Bar Convent in 1724. She entered the novitiate in 1727 and, proving herself a person of prayer, artistic vision and business acumen, she subsequently occupied nearly every office in the house. In 1760 she was installed as Superior, a position she held for twenty-nine years It was a period of peace for the Convent, for though Catholic schools and chapels were still forbidden there was no active persecution Under her guidance the number of pupils increased and the finances of the house improved Soon she decided that the time had come for ambitious building plans Though she was later to obtain a licence for 'Ann Aspinal spinster of the suburbs of York, ' to 'build a new front wall for her house, ' she decided first to build

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

a chapel, without leave or licence. Financial help and encouragement were offered by her friends, and she chose as her architect Thomas Atkinson who had recently been engaged on Gothic Revival work at Bishopthorpe Palace Mother Aspinal's taste, however, lay in another direction ; it is said that the model for her beautiful neo-classical chapel was a church - possiblySta . Constanza outside Rome But since the penal laws were still on the statute book and there was danger too from fanatical mobs, she made three precautionary modifications ; the dome was completely hidden from outside viewers, eight exits provided escape routes in the case of sudden incursion by magistrates, and a priest's hiding-hole was constructed under the floor. Mother Aspinal was justly proud of her chapel, and wroteto the General Superior on 26 January 1769: 'Our chapel is not yet finished; itis said that, when completed, it will be the handsomest and most commodious in these parts ' The first Mass was said there on 27 April 1769.It must have been the happiest day of Ann Aspinal's life.

The building projects continued until, with the façade on Blossom Street (the 'new front wall') the Georgian core of the Convent as we now know it wascompleted.

She died on 14 November 1789 and was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity, Micklegate. Her grave has disappeared but her memorialis the Bar Convent and its Chapel

ASQUITH, Lady Helen, Benefactress

19082000

Helen Asquith, born in October 1908, was the grand-daughter of Herbert Asquith the Prime Minister, and the daughter of his brilliant son Raymond, who was killed in the Battle of the Somme. Her mother was a Horner, descended from the Little Jack Horner of nursery rhyme fame; and Mells Manor, now the Asquith home, was the 'plum' acquired by Jack from Henry VIII at the dissolution ofthe monasteries

Helen was educated at St. Paul's Girls School and Somerville College, Oxford, where she read Greats. She then embarked upon a career in education, teaching for a few years in Clapham High School before joining the Schools Inspectorate in 1938. As an Inspector her standards were high and her demands sometimes impracticable , but her criticisms were always couched in courteous terms and were usually prefaced by 'I should have expected ... ' or 'I am surprised that.

Her first contact with the Institute was during World War II when she was asked to inspect the evacuated school at Bratton. The convent newsletter recorded the event, concluding, 'Lady Helen was very kind, but we were all relieved when she mounted

her bicycle and rode away ' Predictably the school (which lacked everything except a good spirit) failed to reach the standard required for efficiency, but some years later, when established in Shaftesbury, it was declared 'efficient' by Lady Helen and her team She soon became the very good friend of the Ascot, Cambridge and Shaftesbury communities, but the schools never escaped criticism where deficiences were observed Shaftesbury was her favourite school, and when she retired from the Inspectorate in 1970 she was persuaded to undertake part-time tuition there . Her teaching of Classics was much appreciated, and she was always a gracious and helpfulmember ofthestaff

Helen's mother was received into the Catholic Church in 1924 , followed by her daughter four years later. Though reticent in speaking of her faith, Helen was deeply and actively religious As Chief Handmaid(and later Secretary) of the Society of Our Lady of Lourdes, she planned pilgrimages and organised the voluntary workers' care for the sick pilgrims , serving long hours herself in the baths . At home she cared for the private chapel in Mells Manor, often acting as sacristan, and she helped to make Mells a hospitable centre for distinguished writers such as Evelyn Waugh, Douglas Woodruff, Siegfried Sassoon, Martin D'Arcyand RonaldKnox, whose home it was for the last years of his life

She never married , but was very close to her many nephews, nieces, great-nephews , great-nieces and god-children (among whom was Bishop Crispin Hollis). Her friends will best remember her for the affection she extended to them and the value she put upon their affectionfor her .

She died on 25 May 2000 and is buried, beside her mother , in the Mells country churchyard.

ATKINSON , Sister Elizabeth 1717-1779

Elizabeth Atkinson was the only daughter ofJohnAtkinson of Ilkley After education at the Bar Convent she was admitted to the novitiateand was later employed in the schools.

She died of tuberculosis on 1 April 1779 and is buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate .

ATKINSON, Sister Teresa 1790-1813

MargaretAtkinson was born in Leeds in 1790 and entered the York novitiate (where she became Sister Teresa) in 1809. Her health was so poor that she was sent home, but was later readmitted and professed in 1811. For less than two years she taught in the schools and served as Under-Sacristan before she died on 28 March 1813, aged only twenty-three. Sheis buried in Holy Trinitychurchyard, Micklegate .

AUDAS , Sister Frances d. 1722

All we know of the earlyhistory of this sister is thatshe served as portress and collected the rents from Sister Elizabeth Stanfield's estate When 'weakly and aged' she nevertheless attended Sister Dorothy Lodge, often sitting with her all day long. She died on 2 January 1722, the very day after Sister Dorothy, who had said to her, 'Fanny dear, ifI die before you and find favour with God, you shall soon follow me'

She is buried in Holy Trinitychurchyard , Micklegate .

AUSTIN, Sister Mary d. 1687

All we know of this nebulous figure is that she was a member of the original Hammersmith community and so presumably entered abroad and travelled to England with Frances Bedingfield, in 1667 .

She died on or about 7 Septemberand was buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith , on 9 September, 1687 .

BALL, Sister M.Alphonsa

1825-1867

Mary Isabella Ball, or Sister Alphonsa, is another member of whom we know tantalisingly little She was born in Dublin in 1825 and was one of the increasing number of Irish girls who came to the Bar Convent for their education At the age of nineteen she was admitted into the novitiate there and in due course served as Consultress and Mistress of Novices. She was greatly loved and trusted by Reverend Mother Angela Browne, who described her as 'the perfect religious' and addressedher as 'My beloved Alphonsa' when she sent her to the the short-lived Scarborough foundation, where she was first a member of the community and then, briefly, the Superior. She contracted tuberculosis and died on 6 March 1867 at the age of forty-two. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BALL, Mother Teresa 1794-1861

Frances Ball, known world-wide as Mother Teresa Ball, deserves more space than she can be allotted here, but her achievements are chronicled elsewhere , and this entry is concerned only with her early life She was born in 1794, into a well-to-do Dublin family, and in 1803 was sent as were many other Irish girls includingher two elder sistersto be educated at the Bar Convent There she heard little of Mary Ward, but she grew to love the Institute. She returned home with no thought of a vocation, but after a few years of social gaiety in Dublin she realised, unwillingly at first, that she was called to religious life. She consulted ArchbishopMurray who, conceiving the idea ofan

I.B.V.M. foundation in Dublin, but subject to York, advised her to go back there. The timid Mother Coyney rejected the frightening responsibility of a filiation, but agreed to accept Frances into the novitiate In the event, Sister Teresa (as she became) spent nearly seven years in formation in York, returning to Dublin in 1821 with the Constitutions and Rules of the Institute all copied out in long hand Archbishop Murray had bought Rathfarnham House for her, and the crumblingmansion became the cradle of the Loreto branch of the Institute; after a life-time of labour she died in Dalkey on 19 May 1861 and was buried in 1861 in the new cemetery of Loreto Abbey, Rathfarmham .

BAINES, Mother M. Michael 1892-1962

Claire Baines, known to many generations of children as Mother Michael, was born in Liverpool in 1892, but she always claimed to be a Yorkshire woman on account of her father's relationship with that county. On her mother's side she was a direct descendant of Daniel O'Connell and niece to the four Hewett sisters who were all educated at England's Lane and became early members of the Ascot foundation. Claire's mother died when she was very young and her early childhood was not happy, but she found the Holy Child school, to which she eventually went, very congenial After leaving school she spent a year learning German in the I.B.V.M. house in Aschaffenburg, and on her return (guided, no doubt, by her aunts) she acted as an 'au pair' in England's Lane; and then, in 1912 , entered the Ascot novitiate By this time the Institute had realised the importance of professional training for its members, so Sister Michael (as she then was) was sent to Bedford College where she took a degree in English Shortly afterwards she was appointed Head Mistress of the new school in Hampstead, and there, finding the ideal setting for her gifts, she was blissfullyhappy.It was a small, homely school, the roll-call never reaching the hundred mark and the boarders numbering about thirty. The parents and the staff were her personal friends and the establishment was run on family lines with little regard for efficiency. Mother Michael's kindness and gaiety, her love of producing plays, organising parties and reading to the children , all enhanced the homely and happy atmosphere of the school She was, however, subject to fits of pessimism and she suffered great anxiety in the year 1938-1939 when war threatened. In September 1939 hostilities broke out and the community , with some thirty or forty children committed to its care, found a refuge in Asburnham Place, Sussex. There they had to face all the

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

trials and deprivations of evacuation and Mother Michael'sgifts again came into use, in totally different conditions With army blankets as a back-drop she erected a makeshift stage and produced first a Nativity play and then a pantomime for the domestic staff of the house, and organised hockey matches against them . In the spring of 1940 the success of the German army in reaching the Channel Ports necessitatedfurther moves , first to Ascot and then to Bratton in Wiltshire, where life became a little more regular, though scholastically quite unorthodox, and where Mother Michael further developed her deep and abiding love ofthe countryside , its birds and its animals.

When peace came at last, it was decided to found a country boarding-school, and she became the first Head Mistress of St. Mary's, Shaftesbury There, with growing numbers in the school and rising academic standards elsewhere , her professional shortcomings were accentuated; records were not kept, parents fidgeted in the parlour while she, forgetting the appointment , was feeding the birds or watching the rabbits, and examination syllabuses were not completed because too much lessontime was spent going out to admire glistening dewdrops or caring for a broken-down old horse. With all her illogicalities and obsession with theworld offur and feather, she was lovable but not easyto work under , and one frustratedyoung member was heard to say: 'I think Mother Michaelwould be much nicer to me ifI had four legs and a tail ' Nevertheless it was a sad day for all, and the saddest day of her life, when this typically English woman was appointed an Assistant General and had to leave the school and country she loved, to take up residence in Rome. She died in exile there on4 March 1962 and, as the English cemetery was full, was buried in the German cemetery under the shadow of St. Peter's. It might be said of her rule that discipline was lax, but she knew where and how to draw the line. Children in other schools might pour hated custard out of the window, but Mother Michael would brook no ingratitude to the cooks, and dishes rejected with derogatory remarks at one meal appeared on the table at the next When the children complained of alleged injustice in the school, she would hear both sides patiently, and judge as impartially as she could She once quelled a near-riot and calmed the dissidents by assembling them and reading to them St. John's Passion. Her past pupils were devoted to her , and one declared that she owed her vocation to the Institute to 'Mother Michael's utter unworldliness. '

BAINES BARRATT

BARNARD , Mother Francis

39 d . 1753

Francis Barnard entered the Hammersmith convent in 1683 and was therefore familiar with Cecily Cornwallis and her method of government. When the controversy over authority racked the community she was a mature religious and her decision not to sign the first of the schismatic documents that chose Bishop Giffard as 'Chief CommunitySuperior' should have carried some weight. She did, however, sign the second document confirming the choice and she may by then have been an active supporter of the ringleader, 'Mrs. Arundel who is so contrary' , because she accepted the post of Superior when Cecily Cornwallis left for York in July 1715. She resigned from the post in 1739 and must have been a very old lady when she died on 7 November 1753 . There is no record of her place of burial.

BARRATT

, Mother Ignatius

1812-1869

This remarkable woman played a very creative part in the history of the Institute. She was born Petronilla Barratt on 1 April 1812 and was the daughter of a Protestant doctor in Belfast . At the age of twenty-one she became a Catholic and may have been something of an embarrassment to the Protestant household, for she left home and took a teaching post in a Loreto convent In 1843 she accepted an invitation to teach English in the I.B.V.M. convent in Augsburg She was a great success there, charming the children with her interesting lessons , singing in the choir and making friends with the nuns. Within a few months she had fallen in love with the religious life as she saw it practised in the oldest house in the Institute, and in 1844 she asked to be received into the noviceship. She was clothed in the religious habit on 10 September 1844 as Sister Petronilla, but her name was later changed to Sister Ignatius She was very happy in Augsburg and did not suffer from homesickness , even when an Irish nun, Rev. Mother Paul Finn, visited the house and was put under her charge. But a friendship sprang up between the two Irishwomen and was fostered by an exchange of letters over the next five years. Then a delayed homesickness seems to have set in, and when Mother Paul wrote to the Superior General and to the Superior in Augsburg , begging them to allow Sister Petronilla to come to help her in Ireland, Sister Petronilla considered the matter seriously After prayer, consultation with her superior, and an interviewwith the Bishop of Augsburg, she agreed to return to Ireland, furnished with an assurance that she would find the same structure of daily life and prayer there as she had so much enjoyed in Augsburg . Success followed Sister

Ignatius (as she was now called) to Navan, where she helped in the reconstruction of the school with such expertise that when a filiation was opened in Balbriggan in 1859, she was sent there as Superior. But success was not what she looked for and it gave her little satisfaction She was disappointed to find the manner of life in Ireland was different from that in Augsburg , and she finally took issue over the question of the authority of the bishops in the structure of the Institute In 1862, after acute mental suffering, she reached the decision to leave Ireland Correspondence with Bishop Clifford of Clifton led to an agreement that she should make a foundation in his diocese , in the city of Gloucester. On 29 August 1862 she left Balbriggan for ever, taking with her a novice, Sister Joseph Edwards, a postulant called Mary Ann Whyte and two German sisters who had joined the Balbriggan community from Augsburg They went first to Nymphenburg and then to Augsburg , where they spent six weeks. In October they travelled to Gloucester and settled into Malvern House, London Road, almost next door to the Catholic Church. Here no fewer than three schools were openeda boarding school, a day school and a 'poor school But the atmosphere was hostile and the 'poor school ' was soon abandoned, though the nuns' care for the sick poor continued . The other schools were kept open with a struggle and within a few years the community was looking for a larger property Before any move was made, however, Mother Ignatius fell seriously ill of an abscess at the base of her left lung. She was devotedly nursed by Sister Paul (Ann Whyte of Balbriggan days) but she died on 27 January 1869. She is the only I.B.V.M. nun to be buried in Gloucester Her grave is obliterated by a recreation ground, but it is recorded that the epitaph on her tombstone read: 'I have placed hope and trust in the Lord '

BARTON , Sister M. Ancilla 1905-1996

Doris Barton, though born in London, was proud of her Scottish ancestry and always considered Lossiemouth to be her homeland. She was educated at St. Mary's Convent, Ascot, and then studied music at the Royal Academy of Music where she took her L.R.A.M. When she entered the novitiate in 1928 several of her school friends (Sister Felicity Gilbert, Sister John Gilbert, Sister Margaret Mary Littlehales and Sister Raphael Blagden) were already there After a period of ill-health and a threat of tuberculosis, she played an important part, under Mother Campion Davenport, in the musical education of the school and in the development of the choir Meanwhile the novitiate was increasing in numbers, so in 1935 she was

appointed Assistant Novice Mistress and in 1945 NoviceMistress -the last holder of that office to rule over a crowded noviceship. She not only gave her novices a thorough grounding in spirituality, but imparted to them the joy of religious life.

She was very much part of the establishment in both school and community, and it came as a great shock to everyone when in 1961 she was appointed Superior in Cambridge. Three years later she moved even further from Ascot, when she replaced Mother Gertrude in York There, in partnership with Andrew Carter, she continued to develop and use her musical talent, but also new dimensions came into her life; she bought and furnished a holiday house in Whitby, followed Peter Wenham's excavations at Osbaldwick , and enjoyed foreign travel when she was elected a delegate to two General Congregations She lived a very full life during her six years in York, and returned to Ascot in 1970 greatly enriched by her experiences . There followed nearly nineteen years of service in the school and choir, but old age (or possibly incipient Alzheimer's Disease) led to retirement in Errollston, and finally she returned to York, as an invalid in St. Joseph's, where she won all hearts by her gentleness and courtesy. She died on 17 September 1996 and her funeral was attended by many of her former novices .

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BATTLES , Sister M. Catherine 1911-1986

Brigid Battles, or Sister Catherine, was born in Co . Cavan and, like a considerable number of our Irish sisters, was educated at St. Clare's Convent. She was clothed at Ascot in 1934 and after twelve years divided between Hampstead, Egton Bridge and York, she spent the last forty years of her life in Cambridge, where she was a pillar of the domestic staff and was always ready to give a helping hand in caring for sick or infirm membersofthe community.

She died of a sudden heart attack on 16 January 1986 and is buried in the Cambridge city cemetery.

BEAUREGARD , Sister M. de Sales

1784-1881

Leonita Beauregard was the daughter of the Governorof one of the West Indian Islands . She began her education in Paris and then, at the age of eleven , was sent to the Bar Convent. It is surprising to find the nuns at that date accepting a child who belonged to an ethnic minority and was moreover unbaptised. The community must soon have questioned the wisdom of this unusual step, for the Annals relate that: 'Seldom had the nuns

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

been entrusted with the care of a more turbulent child than Leonita. A dark-skinned little Indian, she was the terror of her companions in her moments of easily excited fury' She was baptised in the convent chapel in 1800 and then 'before she had finished her education' tragedy struck. Her parents wrote to say theywere comingto visit her and they duly set sail from the West Indies but, alas! the ship was never heard of again. Mother Coyney, who was not on the whole a very sympathetic figure, showed great compassion for the poor orphan and when her school days came to an end Leonita continued to live in the children's quarters Her decision to seek admission to the novitiate was not an unconsidered reaction to her bereavement, for she was twenty-five before she took the step. After profession she taught arithmetic, needle-work, flower-arrangement and 'Bar hand-writing in the school, and was said to be very good at dealing with difficult children and those who needed special sympathy

She died on 3 December 1821, aged fifty-six; her place ofburial is unrecorded .

BEDINGFIELD , Mother Dorothy c . 16571734

Dorothy Bedingfield, alias Madame Paston (from her mother's family name) was the daughter of Francis Bedingfield of Redlingfield , Suffolk, and the great-niece of Mother Frances Bedingfield There is no mention of her belonging to the Hammersmith community, so she almost certainly came over from Germany for the purpose of being a founder-member of the Bar Convent We first hear of her as sharing Frances's horrible imprisonment in the Ousebridge Gaol, and she must also have experiencedthe attackmade on the Convent a few years later.

When Frances returned to Germany in 1699, the Superior designate was Mary Portington, who was said to be of 'excellent judgement' and to possess every virtue But a family lawsuit made her presence in the north 'imprudent, ' and it fell to Dorothy to be the second Superior of the Bar Convent An examination of her portrait suggests that she lacked the robustness and selfconfidence of her great-aunt, and that she was nervous, indecisive and even lacking in personality Her history bears out this judgement; she was not a success as a Superior, and suffered the indignity of being the subject of letters of complaintfrom three members of the community to the Superior General. The letters reveal her as autocratic , yet constantly yielding to pressure, and clinging to an authority she could not properly wield. The household was evidently in a parlous state and Mary Cramlington was sent as a Visitor to set matters right. The

community was loud in Mary's praise; history does not relate how Dorothy reacted to the humiliating situation , but she certainly learnt how to keep the house accounts, and she remained at her post until her death on 14 October 1734. Credit must be given to her for seeing the communitythrough a period of poverty so intense that at one time closure of the house seemed almost inevitable. At the moment of crisis, however, Elizabeth Stanfield joined the Institute and paid the debts, so that Madame Paston was able to die solvent

She is buried somewhere in the Osbaldwick churchyard and is commemorated on a stone there.

(See also Family Notes, pp 180-1).

BEDINGFIELD , Mother Frances

1616-1704

Frances Bedingfield was one of the younger members of a family ofthree sons and eleven daughters, the children of Francis Bedingfield of Redlingfield Hall in Suffolk. Ten of the girls of this remarkable family became nuns, three of them in the Institute. The eleventh, Elizabeth, married Sir Alexander Hamilton and was mother of yet another member ofthe Institute , Catherine Hamilton Francesjoined MaryWard in Rome in 1632 when she was only sixteen and took her vows on 8 September 1633 in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. She returned to England with Mary Ward in 1639 and was present at her death-bed in Heworth in 1645. The bereaved community remained for some time in Heworth before leaving for Paris Shortlyafterwards Frances was summoned from France to Rome and thence to Munich, returning to England, probably in 1667, to become Superiorof the newly established house in Hammersmith . She was then fifty years of age and we can form a vivid picture of her from very varied pieces of information. She was said to be learned in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, but she wore her learning lightly and was better known as a woman of practical ability than a scholar , often to be found at the wash-tub (washing, once, from 12 midnight to 8 a.m.) and well able to deal with inquisitive magistrates, one of whom spoke of her 'majestical presence' that 'cast an awe upon him.' But the majestical presence was not able to save her from harassment and persecution, and from at least one term ofimprisonment before she left London

Her friend Sir Thomas Gascoigne wanted her to be a member of the Dolebank community . Though her commitment to Hammersmith made it impossible then, in 1686 she was able to accept Sir Thomas's commission to found a school for our daughters' in the North, and with his gift of £450 she bought a

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

house and garden outside the Micklegate Bar, York. It is indicativeofthe dangers of the times that she signed the deed of purchase with an assumed name, Frances Long, an alias she retained all the time she was in York. For eight years nothing worse happened than the occasional visit of a pursuivant, but in 1694 Frances and her great niece were arrested and committed to Ousebridge gaol, a 'loathsome hole' that lay under the level of the river. From here she wrote a letter to Dr. John Sharp, the Archbishop of York, begging him, with great courtesy, to use his influence to procure their 'releasement' and pleading her seventyeight years of age 'besides being so weak and infirm. ' They were eventually set free, through whose mediation we do not know , but their troubles were by no means over. A few years later , probably in 1696, a crowd of Protestant fanatics set upon the Convent , evidently resolved upon its complete destruction . The nuns put themselves under the protection of St. Michael and knelt in the hall, awaiting the battering -in of the front door and the invasion of the mob But there came a sudden calm and the assailants melted away, under the influence, it is believed, of St. Michael

Shortly afterwards Mother Frances resigned her office and then, at the age of eighty-four, she was summoned to Bavaria. The indomitable old lady packed her bags and set out for Munich, where she died in the Paradeiserhaus on 4 May 1704. She was almost certainly buried in the vault under the house, but in 1809 the house was seized by the State and all the bodies taken to the public cemetery for anonymous re-burial. Thus Frances Bedingfield has no marked grave a fate she shares with Mary Ward and many of her early companions Her portrait, with its homely features and genial smile, speaks of the kindliness and humour that made her such a greatlyloved member ofthe Institute.

(See also Family Notes, pp 180-1)

BELLIS, Sister Dolores 19051982

Florence Bellis was one of the few Welsh members numbered in the Institute. She was born in Flintshire in 1905, educated in England's Lane and entered the Ascot novitiate in 1924, taking the name Dolores Immediately after her profession, in 1926 , she was sent to the English I.B.V.M. house in Rome, to teach English to Italians Returning to England on the outbreak of World War II, she spent the years 1940 to 1945 sharing the hardships and happiness of the evacuated Hampstead community in Ashburnham Place and Bratton House. In 1945 she was an early member of the new foundation in Shaftesbury, where she

BEDINGFIELD BERTINI

45

continued to look after the school uniform during the difficult period of rationingand general shortages. She was in Rome again from 1949 to 1953, when she returned to Shaftesbury to add the duties of Sacristan to those of caring for the children's clothes. She was rather a timid little person and, fearful ofnot being able to control the children, she was for many years strict and rigid with them . But as she grew older, and especially when she had retired from her posts, she becamegentle and affectionate In her old age she would sit, needles and cottons in hand, watchingthe children going into class or chapel and she would beckon any one whose hem was hanging down, or whose cardigan lacked a button; and after applying the necessary stitches would dismiss the child with a kind word

She died in a nursing home near Shaftesbury, on 4 April 1982 , and is buried in the lovelyWardour cemetery.

BERTINI, Sister Barbara

1901-1987

Born in Bournemouth in 1901 , Lilian Bertini was the daughter ofItalian parents and it seemed fitting that her fathershouldbea Professor of Music and leader of an orchestra, and that she herself should have a beautifulsinging voice She waseducated at the Holy Cross Convent in Bournemouth and at the I.B.V.M. school in the Via Nomentana , Rome It was in Rome that she decided to enter the Institute, but she made her noviceship in Ascot and there she spent the best years of her life. As well as being an important member of the choir, under the redoubtable Mother Campion , she taught in the Lower School and, from 1940 to 1962, was in charge of it It was probably her child-like qualities that appealed so much to the children, for her naiveté, zest for life, her affection and expectation of affection in return, all made her something of a Peter Pan. Many generations of children remember 'Mother Ba's' quick, bird-like movements and the lovely voice that sang their favourite songs in the dormitory at night. In 1962 she went out to Rome, to teach English, returning in 1970 to be posted to Cambridge. There, in spite of advancing years and failing eyesight, she taught Italian in the school, visited Italian families , helped Italian immigrants in the parish and sang in the English Martyrs' Church choir She contracted cancer in the mid-80's, but never lost her love of life She died in the Cancer Hospice on 11 April 1987 and is buried in the Cambridge City cemetery, remembered by all who knew her with great affection.

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

BEVAN , Sister M. Bernardine 1883-1969

Mary Bevan, in religion Sister Bernardine, was the younger sister of Sr. Catherine. She was born in Madras in 1883 and like Catherine she entered the Anglican convent in East Grinstead She was sent out to South Africa where the order ran an orphanage, but she eventually followed her sister into the Catholic Church and, in 1933, into the Ascot novitiate She spent two years in Rome and one in the ill-starred Santiago mission in Chile: the rest of her life was given to teaching younger children, and sometimes acting as Infirmarian, in Ascot, Sheringham and Hampstead. Towards the end of her life she was disastrously vague, but she always retained the whimsical sense of humour that made her a delightfulcompanion.

She died on 2 January 1969 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery (See also Family Notes, p. 181).

BEVAN, Sister M. Catherine 1878-1951

Sister Catherine was born in Bury St. Edmunds on 15 July 1878, into a large Anglican family. She entered the Anglican sisterhood in East Grinstead but left it in 1918 to become a Catholic. A year later she joined the noviceship in Ascot, where she took her final vows in 1924. She taught music and was eventually made choir mistress, then served terms of office as Superior in Hampstead, Cambridge and Rome, and was invalided home to Ascot in 1943. She died in Hampstead on 1 January 1951 and is buried in Kensal Green

(See also Family Notes, p 181).

BEVERIDGE , Mother M. Ignatius 1891-1965

Georgina Beveridgeknown to thousands as Mother Ignatiuswas born in Dublin in 1891 and began her education in the Sacred Heart Convent in Roscrea. In 1902 she was sent to school in England's Lane, where the convent annals have an extraordinarily prophetic entry for that day. It reads 'At 7 a.m. the wall between our playground and the Antrim Road flats collapsed As a new boarder from Ireland, Georgina Beveridge, arrived a few minutes after, some said it was to announce her arrival and was a sign she would do great things. ' But years were to pass before 'Mother Ignatius' became a household name in thousands of homes. She entered the Ascot novitiatein 1910 and after her profession took some examinations, including a Teacher's Certificate, but the days of University training for all teaching sisters had not quite arrived After some seven years of successful work in the class-room she was appointed Head

Mistress and began her 'reign' of twenty-seven years. It was a critical moment Was Ascot to be just a fashionable school that providedan entrée into Mayfair society, or was it to givea good education with possibilities of academic success? Mother Ignatius chose the latter, and gradually built up a staff that was both efficient and cultured. She was also a great disciplinarian , and with her steely grey eyes, curved nostrils, firm chin and upright carriage, she was a formidable figure But beneath the stern exteriorthere beat a very kind and compassionateheart.

Under her administration the school grew in numbers and the increasewas matched by impressive buildings and the additionof amenities such as a swimming pool and Errollston, the domestic science finishing school

In 1950, after a period of ill-health, she resigned her position and went to Hampsteadbut by no means into retirement. She soon had a new career, as Head Mistress of the Junior School and pillar ofthe Independent School Association .

In 1964 she suffered a coronary thrombosis and, shortly afterwards, returned to Ascot, where she died of a severe stroke, on 3 June 1965

This great figure of the English Province is fittingly buried at Ascot

BISHOPRICK , Sister Mary 1727-1814

Mary Bishoprick was born in Yorkshire in 1727 and entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1753. She spent sixty-one years in the community, teaching in the Poor School, serving as Procuratrix for twenty-one years, acting as Consultress and Mistress of Novices, and earning the title 'good old Mistress Bishoprick As well might be expected of so long-serving a member, she was reported to be 'zealous in the preservation of old traditions' , and it seems almost certain that she was one of the successors of Mother Davies as co-author of the invaluable Black Log-Book. After five years of failing health shedied on 20 March 1814 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate.

BLAGDEN, Mother M. Gertrude 1867-1937

Catherine Blagden, later Mother Gertrude, was one of the younger daughters of the convert Dr. Robert Blagden. She was educated in England's Lane and entered the novitiate there in 1883. Two years later she was a member of the founding community at Ascot and though still very young she was soon appointed Mistress of Schools It was she who first presented candidates for public examinations and it must have seemed that

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

her future lay in developing the Ascot school, but in 1899 she was sent to the English house in Rome, recently founded by Mother Joseph Edwards, and she spent thirty six years there. The storyis told that she had an audience with Pope Pius X who asked her whether she loved souls 'With all my heart, Holy Father , ' she replied. 'Then' , said he, placing one hand on her head and the other on his own heart, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ I promise you eternal life.'

She returned to Ascot in 1935 for about two years before movingto York, where she died on 8 September 1937

Sheis buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BLAGDEN , SisterM. Raphael 1904-1992

Dorothy Blagden, born in Twickenham in 1904, was the niece of Mothers Gertrude and Teresa Blagden. She was educated at St. Mary's Convent, Ascot and entered the novitiate there in 1925, together with several of her former class-mates Though possessed of a lively personality she was not academic and was not given any professional training, but for sixty years she devoted all her energy to teaching junior classes in Ascot and Hampstead and adults in Rome She retired only in 1985, atthe age of eighty, and in 1991 she was invalided to St. Joseph's, York, where she died on 13 September 1992 .

She did not share the intellectual ability of her aunts, but she was a striking figure with a dark skin, aquiline nose and a very courteous manner

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

BLAGDEN , Mother Teresa 1856-1918

Mary Blagden was born in Cricklade, Wiltshire, the eldest daughter of Dr. Robert Blagden's eight children. She was receivedinto the Catholic Church, with her parents, at the age of eleven and then, to ensure a good Catholic education, she was sent to the I.B.V.M. school in Gloucester. She accompanied the school to Haverstock Hill in 1872 and two years later entered the novitiate, taking the name Teresa when she received the habit She was trained by Mother Joseph Edwards and under her she taught in the school in England's Lane. When the new foundation in Ascot swept away half the community and the entire boarding school, Mother Teresa was made Superior in England's Lane and had to face the task of rebuilding the diminished school and community She accomplished this so successfully that two wings had to be built on to the existing building, and then in 1895 or 1896 she was moved to Ascot where for about a year she was in charge of St. Francis's

elementary school. She was in Rome from 1897 to 1901 and on her return to Ascot was appointed Superior and Novice Mistress, and seems to have acted briefly as Mistress of Schools. During the first decade of the twentieth century she was responsible for much expansion at Ascot; the playing fields were laid down and the building projects included the gym, concert-hall, private bedrooms and kitchen. She must have felt deeply rooted in the place she had done so much to develop, but when Mother Magdalen Gremion died in Rome and Sister Cecilia Marshall was nominated to replace her, Mother Teresa offered to go to Rome so that Sister Cecilia could stay in Ascot.

She died in Rome on 30 August 1918. An oral tradition relates that a few minutes before her death she opened her eyes, looked round the room above the heads of her companions, gave little smiles as ifofrecognition and then, her eyes resting on one spot, she gave a gasp of joy and said, 'And Mary Ward.' Her spirit thus welcomed into heaven, her body was buried in the Agro Verano, Rome

BLUNDELL, Sister M. Aloysia 1785-1862

Helen Blundellwas born in 1785 , the daughter of a prosperous Preston corn merchant. She was sent to school at the Bar Convent and entered the novitiate there in 1804. In those days no professional training was provided for anyone, and each was expected to turn her hand to a variety of tasks, but even by contemporary standards Sister Aloysia's versatility and flexibility must have been well stretched, for she began as a teacher in the schools and then was successively Consultress, School Procuratrix, Infirmarian, Sacristan, Assistant to the Superior, Librarian and Mistress of Novices.

She died on 9 July 1862 at the age of seventy-seven , and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

BONNEUIL, Sister Mary 1769-1795

MaryCharlotteBourboulonde Bonneuil was born in France in 1769 but her family left the country in 1789, presumably to escape from the French Revolution Charlotte and her sister Volsci were sent to the Bar Convent to learn English, and what happened next is described, in perhaps exaggerated terms , in the Annals:

'Charlotte, who at her entrance was twenty years of age and the type ofa worldly, fashionable young Parisian, not merely laid aside her frivolity, but became a model of virtue, received from God the grace of a religious vocation and begged to be admitted to the novitiate From the day she began her religious life, on

BIOGRAPHIES

September 8th 1791, she so earnestly laboured to overcome her high-spirited nature that her example was a source of great edification to her fellow-novices, who said that her life appeared a perfect copy of the Rule, while her Superiors remarked on her distinguishing traits, strict observanceof silence and exact fidelity to duty' As a fitting end to this story, Sister Charlotte died a 'saintly death' on 29 November 1795 at the early age of twentysix Her place ofburial is not recorded .

BOUGH , Sister M. Josepha

1897-1987

MaryEthel Bough was born in Longton, Staffordshire in 1897; she was thus a child of the Potteries and with her friends and family she worked in the potting industry. When she felt drawn to religious life it was Father S. Myerscough, S.J. who guided her to the Bar Convent , where she became a novice in 1918. Withina few years, as Sister Josepha , she was sent to Cambridge, and she reigned in the kitchen there for the rest of her active life. On the whole she was 'a good, plain cook' , but she had two specialities that raised her above that category: her lemon curd was unsurpassable and her marmalade, famous throughout the English Province, was treasured by any house so fortunate as to receivethegift of a 7-lb. jar.

At one time she cooked indefatigablyfor the whole Cambridge establishment, but as the school grew and her energy diminished with age she latterly served the communityonly. In 1986 she was invalided to St. Joseph's and, after a back injury, had to be admitted to the York City Hospital. There the nurses took her to their hearts and called her 'Joey' She reciprocated their affection by saying that if she 'ever got out of here' she would make them some marmalade But her marmalade days were over; she died peacefully on 4 December 1987 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BRADY , Sister Carmel

1912-1981

Anne Marie Brady, or Sister Carmel, was born in Co. Cavan , Ireland, in 1912. Her family was devoutlyCatholic and she grew up a verypious youngwoman It was not surprising that shewas drawn to religious life and in 1943 she was guided to the Ascot novitiate by Sister Teresa Healy. After her profession she was posted to Shaftesbury and there spent the rest of her life working in (and eventually in charge of) the laundry She was ardently, but not always discreetly, apostolic, and tended to preach to all the workmen engaged on the premises. Her greatest joy was to collect money to send handicapped children to Lourdes, but her methods were so unorthodox that they had to be restrained

Latterly she lived a very lonely, eccentric life with her cat in the laundry, refusing all medical help for her ailments

She died ofcancer on 16 May 1981. Her cousin, Father Brady, came over from Ireland for the Requiem and to officiate at her burial in Wardour cemetery.

BRENNAN , Sister M. Liguori 1880-1961

Helen Brennan was born in Liverpool in 1880 of Irish lineage and entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1905. After her Profession she was sent to Cambridge where there is no record of her service; but an oral tradition relates that her hard work and prowess were such that she cleaned the whole of Paston House single-handeda feat indeed!

In old age she fell a prey to mental trouble and died in Burgess Hill, Sussex, on 12 December 1961. She is buried in the Cambridge citycemetery.

BROADWAY , Sister Joanna 1838-1865

Catherine Broadway, later Sister Joanna, was born in 1838 of York parentage, and educated as a boarder at the Bar Convent. She entered the novitiate in 1856 and 'was sent to a training school for one year to get a certificate of education. ' This is the first mentionof a professional training for an English member of the Institute After her religious profession this promising young nun was put in charge of the Infant School but was not able to use her scholastic skill for long, as she contracted tuberculosis and died on 16 March 1865 at the age of twenty-six . She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BROWN , Sister Christina 1767-1846

Sister Christina was born in York in 1767 and was educated in the Bar Convent day-school She was employed in the house and then entered the novitiate in 1790. For some years she held the unenviable post of 'Caller' , and then for 40 years served as cook, perhaps using the dog-eared recipe book (still extant) of 1753 . She died on 10 January 1846 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BROWN , Sister M. Elizabeth 1766-1849

Sister Elizabeth Brown was born in York in 1766 and, together with her sister Christine, was educated in the Bar Convent dayschool. She was accepted into the novitiate in 1797 and for nearly 30 years was assistant to the Infirmarian. It is recorded that about 1830 'her mind wandered and she was unable to workany

more ' She died on 13 February 1849 at the age of eighty-two and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BROWNE

, Mother Angela 1796-1874

Julia Browne, later to be known as Reverend Mother Angela, was born in 1796 in Dublin, the daughter of an eminent Irish barrister. She spent five years, from 1810 to 1815, as a pupil at the Bar Convent and the following three years at home, nursing her father who had suffered a paralytic stroke Shortly after his death she returned to York to enter the Convent as a novice. For many years she taught in the school under Mother Coyney, 'to whom no degree of enthusiasm in the sphere of education could ever appear excessive ' In 1830 Mother Angela became Mistress ofSchools and in 1840 was appointed Superior by Bishop Briggs The annals have a great deal of praise for her life ofprayer, her charity and her love ofthe children, much of it so stylised as to seem unreal But deeds speak with a more authentic voice than words and her kindness comes to life when we read, for example, that she was very inventive of excuses for giving rewards to apparently undeserving children . One had a prize for 'doing a little better' , another 'for trying' and a third 'as an encouragement.'

It was Mother Angela who helped to fund the building of St. George's Church Walmgate, and aided the running of its school for poor children She sent two nuns to teach there when it was opened in 1852, rather naively providing them with meticulous rules for dealing with what proved to be very wild little pupils.

In 1859 she made a foundationin Scarborough, and a lettershe wrote to the Superior there, Mother Mary Alphonsa , provides us with another glimpse of Mother Angela's affectionate nature . 'My beloved Alphonsa ' , she writes, . . . Let me entreatofyou withall the earnestness of an affectionate sister and old mother not to allow yourself to take fright at anything' (emphasis hers) and later, 'I am sure that I may send you a thousand loves from all, also heartfelt sympathy. ' The Scarborough foundation was shortlived as Bishop Briggs's unsympathetic successor, Bishop Cornthwaite , insisted on the closing of the house in 1861

Mother Angela resigned her office in 1862 and died on 25 August 1874. By what miscarriage ofjustice, one wonders, are we left with a portrait of a hatchet-faced, grim-featured religious that seems to bear no relation to the real Mother Angela of history, nor to an extant photograph showing a smiling, benign old lady surrounded by happy children ? She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BURGESS, Sister MaryAnn

53 d 1825

Sister Mary Ann is another very shadowy figure. She was born in York, but the date of her birth is unrecorded After being a pupil in the Bar Convent day school, she entered the Institute in 1800 and worked in the kitchen In 1820 she unfortunately becamementallyafflicted and her brother Thomas of Easingwold took her into his care. She died on 14 February 1825, probablyin Easingwold as there is no record of her burial in Holy Trinity, Micklegate.

BURGOYNE , Sister M. Francis 18711896

Henrietta Burgoyne was born in the Isle of Man in 1871. She was educated first in a day-school in Liverpool and then sent, at the age of fourteen , to Ascot. She left school in 1890, trying to suppress a vocation but admitting to it a year later with such firmness that, after asking to be admitted into the Ascot novitiate, she refused to return to Liverpool. She fell a victim to tuberculosis and died in 1896, shortly after her profession

She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

BUTTERWORTH, Sister Helen (Benedict) 19221999

Helen Butterworth was the only daughter of a strict Presbyterian father and a lively French mother. She was born in 1922 and educated at Ascot; after leaving school she took a secretarial post in the foreign department of the B.B.C. In 1943 she entered the Ascot novitiate (much against her father's will) and for many years was known as Sister Benedict, though later she reverted to her baptismal name. After profession she took a degree in English Literature in Reading University, but modern languages were her real love and she was soon teaching German as well as English and Religious Studies Her methods were totally unconventional and the subject matter of her lessons was usually quite irrelevant to the syllabus, but her enthusiasm was infectious and aroused the interest of her pupils.

With her love of foreign languages she developed a very international outlook and managed to visit Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, Italy and Sweden on missions connected with the Institute or with the Federation of Adult Education . She later added Rumania and Hungary to her known world, but Austria was always 'Paradise on earth' for her

By 1979 the class-room had become too narrow a sphere for her boundless energy and ever-widening interests and she moved into Adult Education in the diocese of Middlesbrough There she worked with priests and laity, taking on pastoral work and becoming a familiar figure, with her beaming smile, in the John

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Paul Centre, and everywhere making friends, even with the unfriendly. From Middlesbrough she went on to Dublin to takea course in ecumenism and to serve for four years on the staff of the Irish School of Ecumenics. The years 1990 to 1995 were spent practising her new skills in Cambridge and in doing important translationwork 1995 saw her in Rumania, teaching English to members of the Institute now released from Communist control.

Even in this busy life she always seemed to have time to pursue her hobbies, especially the study of the genealogy of any family even remotely connected with the early Institute. She put much hard work into this, as also into another, very demanding task, dictated by her love of the Institute namely, the translationinto English of Sister Henrietta Peters's monumental Life of Mary Ward. The English edition is a memorial to both Sister Helen and Sister Henrietta.

In 1996 she was appointed sister-in-charge of Inglewood , the Institute's house in Sheringham, Norfolk. There, in spite of heart trouble and arthritis, she threw herself energetically into parish and ecumenical work, and became so much loved, and so identified with the parish, that when Inglewood was sold and the other nuns withdrawn, a flat was bought for Sister Helen so that she could continue her apostolate With increasing infirmities her geographical sphere was narrowed, but there was no lessening of the intensity of her activity and these few years in Sheringham were among the happiest of her life. Unfortunately they came to an abrupt end when, on Maundy Thursday, 1 April 1999, she was found dead in her flat, having suffered a fatal heart attack.

Though separated from her by three centuries, she had latterly some kinshipwith the mysterious 'Sister Dorothea' , who pursued a solitary, individual apostolate in seventeenth century East Anglia. Sheis buried in the Cambridge city cemetery.

BYRNE , Sister M. de Sales

1875-1952

Margaret Byrne was born in Liverpool in 1875 and was educated by the Notre Dame sisters in Blackburn. She entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1896 and spent all the active years of her religious life teaching in the day school in York (1903 1910), in Paston House, Cambridge (1910-1913) and again in York until her retirement .

She died in York on 24 September 1952 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

BYRNE, Sister M. Teresita

55 1899-1980

Julia Byrne was born in County Kildare, Ireland and was educated by the Faithful Companions of Jesus in Holt Hall, near Dublin. She was the cousin of Sisters Mercedes and Perpetua Lawler and it was at their suggestion that she came to England and accepted a post of music teacher in Ascot She was deeply religious, so it was no surprise when in 1923 she asked to be accepted as a novice Her religious name, Teresita, was very apt for she shared her patron's childlike faith, and the diminutive form of the name suited her smallstature

Immediatelyafter Profession she was sent to Sheringham where (fond though she was of her Superior), Reverend Mother Dominic's strict régime did much to increase the nervousnessof her temperament. When World War II necessitated the closing of the house , Sister Teresita was sent to Bratton where she was very happy in the more relaxed atmosphere that prevailed She acceptedthe privationsof evacuation, and for five years slept in a box room with no properwindow. She was an endearing member of the community, and in the school she used her musical talent so successfully that the children's choir won several competitions in Bath, and Bratton hosted some very enjoyable summer schools of music. When the community moved to Shaftesbury she was responsiblefor establishing the high standard ofmusic in the new school. She chose the organ when the chapel was built, and was always happyon the organ-stool

In the 1970's, however, when the best years of her life were behind her, she became restless with a nostalgia for the past. She had a few years in Ascot, but was soon back in Shaftesbury; when her health broke down she was invalided to Ascot, and finally had to be nursed in a home in Wokingham. She died there on 9 December 1980 and is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

CALEY , Sister M. Constantia 1761-1804

ConstantiaCaley was born in Lincolnshire and educated at the Bar Convent . She was admitted as a novice in 1791 at the age of thirty, and all we know of her short life as a professednun is that she served as Assistant to the Superior, Dispenser (or keeper of the stores) and Consultress. But she most excelled as a catechist When terminally ill at the early age offorty-two, she had a great fear of death and was constantly exhorted by the chaplain, Father Anthony Plunkett, with the words 'Courage, Constantia, courage!' . But neither courage nor comfort were forthcoming until a few moments before death, when a peaceful smile broke over her features She died on 17 January 1804. There is no

record of her place of burial, but it seems not to have been Holy Trinity, Micklegate.

(See also Family Notes, p. 181).

CALEY

, Sister Mary 1743-1806

Mary Caley was the sister of Sister Constantia and like her was educated at the Bar Convent She entered the novitiate in 1763, when Ann Aspinal, as Superior, was setting the house on a firm financial basis and building up the school. Sister Mary served as Infirmarian and taught in the Junior School, but died suddenly on 15 March1806 She is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate

(See also Family Notes, p. 181).

CALEY

, Sister M. Regis 1786-1862

Susannah Caley (Sister Regis) was the niece of Sisters Constantia and Mary, and like her aunts she was educated atthe Bar Convent. She followed them into the novitiate in 1804 , and for many years she lived a busy, useful life as a Mistress in the day-school, Second Mistress in the boarding school, Sacristan and Mistress of Novices Then three years of ill-health and inactivity ended with her death on 18 January 1862. She is buried in the cemetery of the Bar Convent.

(See also Family Notes, p 181)

CALVERT , Sister M.Agnes

1835-1883

Jane Calvert was born in Manchester in March 1835; her parents were both Protestants, but she was baptised into the Catholic Church on 20 May 1858, when she was twenty-three . Three years later she joined the Bar Convent novitiate, at a time when it was unusually large, her fellow-novices including four future Superiors (Walburga Goldie, Frances Pope, Germana Noble and Stanislaus Dagnall) Unhappily her health was poor and after only seven years of active life in the communityshe was confined to the Infirmary for fourteen years. She died on 11 May 1883, at the age offorty-seven, and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

CARLON , Sister M. Magdalen

1882-1934

Annie Carlon was born in Eccles, Lancashire of Irish stock. Sheentered the Ascot novitiate in 1919 and spent herfirst twelve years after profession in Ascot and Hampstead Her health was not good, however, and she could undertake only light duties , so in the hope that sea air and work in a small communitywould improve matters, she was sent to Sheringham early in 1934. But

several heart attacks increased her frailty; finally pneumonia set in and she died on 21 December ofthat year. She is the only member of the Institute to be buried in the Sheringham town cemetery.

CARR, (CORR) Sister M. Ignatius 1780-1861

Esmy Carr (or Corr) was born in Ireland in 1780 and in 1797 Icame to the Bar Convent to finish her education, as many Irish girls were doing at that time . She left school in 1799 and a few years later felt drawn to a contemplative religious life, but a priest who had been a Jesuit before the suppression ofthe Society guided her back to the Institute and she was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate in 1804. She spent the rest of her long life in York, fulfilling the apostolic vocation discerned for her by teaching in the schools, serving as Head Mistress of the boarders , and as a catechist reaching beyond the walls of the convent. In the community she was a Consultress and Assistant to the Superior.

In later life her faculties began to fail and her activities had to be curtailed. She died on 11 December 1861 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

CARTER , Sister Xaveria 1750-1846

Anne Carter was born in Dublin in 1750. She was educated in France and became governess to the family of La Fayette that was said to be 'a model of Christian piety. ' She probably returned to England, when or before the French Revolution broke out, for in 1791 she was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate, though she was, as the annalist records, 'rather advanced in years. ' She held the office ofMistress ofNovices for six years and of Dispenser for four years. In the latter office she was said to show a great love of poverty, and one wonders whether perhaps she was less than generous in giving out the stores!

She died on 19 August 1846, at the ripe old age of ninety-six, and is buried in the Bar Conventcemetery.

CHADWICK

, Sister Agnes 1807-1837

Helen Chadwick , cousin to Mary Chadwick and sister to Mary Ann, was born in Ireland and, like other members of her family, educated at the Bar Convent. She was admitted to the novitiate in 1831 and spent six years of indefatigible labour' teaching in the schools and acting as Procuratrixbefore dying of tuberculosis on 24 April 1837 at the age of twenty-nine. She is buried, with the other members of her family, in the Bar Convent cemetery.

* CHADWICK , SisterAugustine 1807-1838

Mary Chadwickwas born in Preston in 1807 and belonged to the extended family that sent ten girls to school at the Bar Convent and provided four members for the Institute. She herself entered the novitiate in York in 1835 and received the habit the following year, taking the name of Augustine Two years later the disease that was to prove fatal showed its symptoms. She was professed early in 1838 and within six months this promising young sister died of tuberculosis on 10 June She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

CHADWICK , Sister M. Magdalen 1804-1889

Mary Ann Chadwick was born in Ireland in 1804, the older sister ofHelen Chadwick. Both were educated at the Bar Convent and then sought admission to the novitiate, Mary Ann in 1825 . After profession Sister Magdalen, as she became, was for a few years the school Procuratrix, but about 1831 she had her firstfit of insanityand for the rest of her suffering life she was cared for in three different asylums, including the Hospice of St. Julien in Bruges. She finally returned to the Bar Convent, but whether this was because she had partially or wholly recovered, or so that she might die in her own community, is not recorded . She died on 9 September 1889 and is buried in the BarConvent cemetery

CHADWICK, Sister M. Teresa 1819-1873

Cecilia Chadwick came of a family that, with sisters and cousins, gave four members to the Institute. She was born in Ireland in 1819 and followed the pattern of education at the Bar Convent, followed by admission to the novitiate at the age of twenty-one She taught in the schools for nearly twentyyears, but with increasing nervousness; and in 1872 she succumbed to mental trouble, dying four months later, on 4 April 1873. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

CHALMERS , Mother Austin 1772-1830

Isabella Chalmers was born in Edinburgh in 1772 and was educated at the Bar Convent from the age offive. She entered the novitiate before she was twenty and can be said to be a typical product of Institute formation. She served the community as Procuratrix, Consultress, Mistress of Novices, Librarian and finally, from 1827 to 1830, as Superior. She died on 9 February 1830 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

CHADWICKCHAMBERS

CHAMBERS , Sister M. Catherine

59 1821-1886

We know little of Catherine Chambers's early life, except that she was born into a cultured Anglican family and was welleducated In 1848 she offered herself as one of the first members ofthe Sisterhood of Mercy, an Anglican society founded by Miss Priscilla Sellon. A year later she wrote a very informative letter describing daily life in the Sisterhood, with its round of prayer, contemplation and works of charity among the poor. She ends with the words 'These are happy days' And for years she was happy, trusted and very hard-working in her office of Mother Eldress (The equivalent of Prioress or Mother Assistant) Her name occurs on many pages, linked to many activities, in Priscilla Sellon's biography In 1854 we find her serving in the Scutari Hospital and fighting for a better diet for the wounded men there In 1864-5 she took part in founding a mission in the Sandwich Islands and she visited it again in 1867. At home she helped to nurse cholera victims as well as shouldering great responsibility in the administration of the Sisterhood, and it seems that her gentleness did much to counteract Miss Sellon's domineering character and abrasivemanner

In 1872 Eldress Catherine accompanied Dr. Pusey and Miss Sellon on a tour of Germany, Switzerland and Italy, but soon a rift (whether personal or theological, we do not know) appeared betweenthe Eldress and the Doctor.

A few years later Catherine lost her faith in Miss Sellon , and the conviction grew upon her that she should be a Catholic. She left the Sisterhood in 1876, was receivedinto the Catholic Church at the end of the year and then had to face the questionof her future She was still drawn to the religious life but she did not know where her vocation lay, nor whether any convent would accept her at the age of fifty-six. She had two good Catholic friends in Father J. H. Newman and Father H. J. Coleridge S.J. They suggested names of several convents but made no attempt to influence her choice. A letter from Newman says briefly that the Dominicans are a possibility or she 'might like to consider' the I.B.V.M. sisters in Haverstock Hill It was here that she finally entered in 1879 and a fruitful relationship was immediately established between herself and Mother Joseph Edwards , each recognising the other's gifts Mother Joseph brought to the partnership a considerable knowledge of Mary Ward and an infectious enthusiasm for the cause of her rehabilitation and recognition as foundress of the Institute. Sister Catherine had all the academic qualifications needed for authorship learning, maturity of judgment and a natural literary style As soon as she had taken her vows in 1881, she and Mother Joseph set out for

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

St. Omer and made a pilgrimage of investigation that led them through Belgium and Germany. They examined the archives in every house they visited, and Sister Catherine filled eight notebooks with neatly written excerpts from Mary Ward's writings , biographical details and historical notes on people associated with her In an amazingly short space of time all this raw material was 'processed' and in 1882 the first volume ofthe Life of Mary Wardwas published, with a long introduction by her friend Fr. Coleridge. The second volume followed in 1885 and completed what was to be the definitive life for more than a hundred years. In spite of the strain of writing so much at such speed, she was described as 'always kind, always cheerful.' A novice later wrote 'My recollection [of her] is of a distinguishedlooking religious, always kind and gentle, with an encouraging smile and word for us, the younger members of the community. She was nearly always writing, sometimes seated on a low chair in the convent garden, writing on her knee, or returning, often tired out from consulting documents in important libraries at home and abroad for use in the work to which she devoted her great literary powers. '

Everyone rejoiced in the achievement of this lovable person, but joy was shortly turned to sorrow Sister Catherine diedfrom the effects ofa severe attack of bronchitison 15 March 1886, her great workfor the Institute only recently completed. She is buried in the Ascot cemetery near her friend Reverend Mother Joseph Edwards, but she still lives, for members of the Institute, in her biography of Mary Ward and in her portrait with its encouraging ifenigmatic smile.

CHARGE, Sister Jane

1737-1777

Jane Charge was born in Yorkshire in 1737 and in 1751 was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate, where she received her religious training from Mother Ann Aspinal She was made Mistress of the Day School in 1766 and continued in office until 1777, when she was suddenly taken ill; three days later 'she died in her chair, as if in a slumber. ' On 11 October a dirge was sung for her and 'she was carried to her grave between 6 and 7 at night. This scrap of information is valuable evidence that Catholic burials in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate , took place discreetly atdusk.

CHESTER , Sister Mary 17th Century

Sister Mary Chester is mentioned in a list of 1697 as an early member of the Bar Convent.

CLARKE, Sister Elizabeth c. 16591713

Sister Elizabeth Clarke was a member of the Hammersmith communityfrom 1703 to 1715. We know little of her except that she signed both the documents that supported Bishop Giffard's claims to authority She died on 1 April 1713 and is buried in St. Paul's churchyard, Hammersmith

CLARK , Sister M. Philomena d . 1916

This shadowy figure must surely be identified withthe 'Minnie' Clark who was a day pupil at England's Lane at the turn of the century Philomena entered the Ascot novitiatein 1903 , taught in England's Lane for a few years and in 1910 was posted to Rome She died there on 17 October 1916 of typhoid feverand is buried in the Agro Verano

CLAYTON, Sister M. Agnes

1890-1942

Madeleine Clayton, in religion Sister M. Agnes, was born in Wakefieldin 1890. Her parents were both Protestants but she was educated by the Ursulines in Belgium and soon after returning home she was received into the CatholicChurch. She spent a year in Germany and then, in 1914, asked for admittance to the Bar Convent novitiate After profession she taught in Cambridge and in Rome, and was Mistress of Discipline in York. As recounted in the Introduction, she died in the air-raid of 29 April 1942 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

CLEARY, Sister M. Paschal

19061992

Fortune did not smile on Annie Cleary, who was born in Dublin in 1906. She was brought up in an orphanage and suffered the trauma of a trial adoption that ended in failure. 'I don't know what happened' she said, 'but I found myself back in the orphanage. ' She entered the Institute in 1929 and by the laws of compensation she should have found great happiness in religious life, but on the contrary she was so miserable as a novice that she was even tempted to suicide By faithfully following the rule, however, she developed peace of mind, made friends and enjoyed the holidays and treats' that came round regularly; but the fact that she had no natural family was an abiding source of sorrow. She worked in Ascot, Hampstead, Cambridge and Shaftesbury and was perhaps happiest when serving visiting or resident priests. Some of her duties were burdensome because they demanded too much of her ability; she had not the imagination to be a good cook, and her memory often failed her when she acted as portress But she struggled through her working life, often battling against serious ill-health,

until 1987 when she was invalided to St. Joseph's, York There she appreciated the peace, companionship and nursing care that the house offered, though she was often in and out of hospital with distressing symptoms. Death came at last on 12 August 1992, and she was no longer 'Poor Paschal . ' She was buried in the Bar Convent cemetery on 15 August surely the only one of ours ever to be accorded burial on so great a feast day.

CLIFTON, Sister Eleonora 1702-1785

Eleonora Clifton was born in Lancashire in 1702, was educated at the Bar Convent , joined the novitiate in 1720 and held, in turn, the offices of Mistress of the day school, Assistant to the Superior, Procuratrix, Infirmarian and Dispenser. Her claim to our affection and admiration rests upon two incidents both related in The History of St. Mary's Convent , and worthy of repetition here Before the 'Ladies of the Bar' were known to be nuns, Sister Eleonora ran a sort of clinic in the porch of the old house, where the neighbours came with their little ailments and received comfort and aid. One day a young man came with a leg so badly damaged by an accident that it seemed beyond all hope of repair. She did wonders with it and the patient was so grateful that he offered her his hand in marriage. I thank you, Sir, ' was her courteous reply, 'but I am already engaged . ' In 1748 it was the convent itself that she saved, when Dr. Jacques Sterne ordered the community to leave the house. The nuns were very shaken and were about to give in when Sister Eleonora stood up and said: 'I have consecrated myself to the service of God to labour for the salvation of souls in this house, and whilst a wall of it is standing, I will never leave it If they drag me out, I cannot help it, but I will never go otherwise ' All took heart and the communityrefused to obey the aggressive Precentor. This kindlyand stout-hearted heroine of the Bar Convent died 'of old age' on 22 September 1785 and was buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate .

COFFEY , SisterM.Anthony 1892-1963

Mary Coffeywas born in Morley, Leeds in 1892. She tried her vocation by entering the Bar Convent novitiate in 1916 , but left the following year Convinced that she had made a mistake , she had the courage to seek re-admittance in 1922 and, with the exception of one year in Cambridge, she spent the rest ofher life in York She had a special devotion to the sick and was happiest when helping to care for them. In the last year of her life she

- CLEARY CONNOR 63

suffered both mentally and physically, and she died in Bootham Hospital on 8 November 1963

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

COLBECK, Sister Xavier 1856-1887

Edith Colbeck was born in Batley in 1856 of convert parents who were fruits of the 'Second Spring' in the Church. She and her two sisters were educated at the Bar Convent and she joined the novitiate there in 1877. Little is known of her life in the convent except that she taught in the schools and acted as assistant Dispenser

She died on 23 August 1887 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

COLDHAM

, Sister Bridget

d. 1751

Sister Bridget's parentage and her date and place of birth are all unknown , but she appears on the Institute scene as a member of the Hammersmith communityfrom 1686 till her death on 14 June 1751. Inevitably, she took part in the controversy concerning authority and she may have been one of the ringleaders of resistance to the General Superior because she signed both documents supportingBishop Giffard as 'Community Chief Superior ' As is described elsewhere , the dissidents wonthe day but lost in the long run, for the community dwindled and died out

She is buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith , under the name ofAbigail Coldham.

CONNOR, Sister M. Assisium 1863-1961

Mary Connor was born in 1863 in the town of Dewsbury , Yorkshire She entered the Institutein 1886 and soon showed her prowess as a cook. Her skill was for many years used for the benefit of whatever community she lived with; in 1899 she was sent to the new foundationin Cambridge and in 1925 was moved to Egton Bridge, then also a recently opened house, where she remained until its closure in 1945. She then returned to York and took up 'light duties' until old age confined her to the Infirmary. She was a diminutive little figure, with a character well-described by the necrologist: 'She was a gentle, kindly soul with a good sense of humour Her calmness in the stresses and strains of life was remarkable, and she was always ready with a merry word to ease a difficult situation During her last years her cheerfulness was the delight of all who visited her "Happiness and joy" was her invariable greeting "

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

She died on 25 May 1961 at the advanced age of ninety-eight, and is buried in the Bar Conventcemetery.

CONYERS, Mother Esther d. 1756

This early member was the third Superior of the Bar Convent, but she remains an enigmatic figure. We do not know the date of her birth, though it is recorded that she was born in Geneva and that her father was the Governorof Hainault She joined the Bar Convent community in 1709 and used her knowledge of French to teach in the school She became Superior in 1734 and was perhaps something of an autocrat , as the annals report that 'she kept all the offices in her own hands, ' and after resigning as Superior she continued in the very important post of Procuratrix until her death on 9 March 1756. She is familiar to us through her signature at the foot of page after page of accounts that tell ofa brave struggle to balance income with expenditure, where the item 'saved this month' is frequently offset on the next page by the familiar 'spent above ye income as the bottom line. There is much more we should like to know about Esther Conyers, including her place ofburial which is nowhere recorded .

CORNELIUS, SisterdeSales

1896-1946

Zayda Cornelius was the twin sister of Kathleen (Sister Winifrid). Though born in London and bearing a Dutchsounding name (assumed by her father) she was of Irish stock She was educated at Ascot and followed her twin into the novitiate in 1916. After taking a Froebel training she became a pillar of the Junior Schools, successsively in Hampstead and York. She died prematurely on 10 October 1946 of a heart condition caused by an attack of rheumatic fever in 1939 .

She was the first member of the Institute to be buried in the beautifulWardour cemetery.

CORNELIUS , Sister M. Paula

1895-1975

Frances Cornelius was born in London in 1895, and was the daughter ofDr. Cornelius , an Irishman who changed his name at the time of the Irish troubles. She and all her sisters (including two pairs of twins) were educated at Ascot, where she entered the novitiate and tookthe name ofPaula Her twin sister did notjoin her. She had a secretarial training which proved useful in the various communities to which she belonged for she lived successively in England's Lane, Ascot, Hampstead, Rome, York and Sheringham She shared the good looks of the rest of the family but, like them, aged mentallyrather prematurely

She died on 30 June 1975 in the Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth, London, and is buried in Kensal Green

CORNELIUS , Sister Winifrid 1896-1966

Kathleen Cornelius and her twin sister Zayda (Sister de Sales) were born in London in 1896. After schooling in Ascot Kathleen was, in 1915, the first of the three sisters to enter the novitiate, taking the name of Sister Winifrid After profession and a few years spent in teaching in England's Lane, in 1920 she was appointed Head Mistress of the small, ill-starred school in Sheringham. She had no qualificationsfor the postexcept good looks, good will, and affection for the children . Small wonder that the school , was not, by modern standards, a success. The outbreak of World War II necessitated its closure, and Sister Winifrid was sent to help the evacuated communityin Bratton. In 1945 she accompanied it to the new foundation in Shaftesbury, and spent a year there with her twin sister After Sister de Sales's death in 1946 she was posted to Hampstead where, always gentle, courteous and unselfish, she helped in the school until her mind becameprematurely aged.

She died on 11 July 1966 and is buried in Kensal Green.

CORNWALLIS

, Mother Cecily c .

1653-1723

Cecily Cornwallis was born into a privileged family. Her father was Francis Cornwallis , a landowner of Beeston in Suffolk, and her mother, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne, was the niece of Lord Arundell of Wardour Exactly where and when she entered the Institute is not known, but she is listed in 1669 as one ofthe original members of the Hammersmith Community She was described by a contemporary as of good education and culture , excellently well-versed in Latin, Greek and several modern languages.' She was also known as a woman of prolonged prayer and meditation . After ten years of peaceful religious life she was sent in 1677 or 1678 to find a house in the north of England suitable for a permanent foundation. It seems that she had only reached York when she was arrested on suspicion of being implicated in the Titus Oates and Yorkshire Plots She was twice questioned (as is described in the Depositions of York Castle), and gave a very evasive account of herself, but was nevertheless imprisoned until 1685. Upon her release she returned to Hammersmith and was appointed Superior there, so that Frances Bedingfield could travel north and make a foundation in York. All went well for some time, but, deprived of Frances's wise counsel, Cecily eventually fell a prey to scruples and anxieties as to whether a suppressed Institute could wield any lawful

authority. In her perplexity she turned to Bishop Giffard and, taking his ill-informed advice, placed the house under his authority. Within a few years she regretted this step and would have withdrawn from episcopal control, but the community enjoyed being under the Bishop and declared its loyalty to him in two forthright documents. The situation deteriorated when Mary Cramlington came over from Germany, armed with instructions to restore the authority of the General Superior An exaggerated friendship between Cecily Cornwallis and Mary Cramlington confirmed the community in its dissidence and a schism beyond repair was created Cecily was heart-broken at the situation she had unwittingly caused and, legally released from her obligations to Hammersmith , she left for York on 15 July 1715.She died in the Bar Convent on 6 October 1723 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate Her sad features are to be seen in the portrait hanging in the Great Parlour of the Bar Convent.

CORRY , Sister M.Aloysia 1791-1858

MargaretCorry was born in Preston in 1791. She was educated at the Bar Convent and asked to be admitted to the novitiate shortly after leaving school in 1809. Though she did some teaching in the school and acted for a time as Sacristan and Procuratrix, it was as Infirmarian that she used all her gifts most effectively We do not know whether she was familiar with the rules of office laid down in the old Customs Book, but she fulfilled all the infirmarian's precepts, for the Annals relate that 'she was ingenious in devising means of relief, and her invariable cheerfulnessand self-sacrificing kindness rendered her presenceso delightful in the sick-room that it was said the prospect of having such an Infirmarian was enough to tempt anyone to be ill' In every day life she was the centre of fun at recreation and her sudden death on 5 December 1858 , at the age of sixty-eight, robbed the community of a valuable and much-loved member She is buried in the Bar Conventcemetery.

COYNEY , Mother M. Elizabeth

1759-1826

Elizabeth Coyney, daughter of Dr. William Coyney and his wife Teresa, was born in Holywell in 1759. She was a pupil at the Bar Convent from 1770 to 1776 and three years later was admitted to the novitiate. After her profession in 1781 she taught in both the boarding and 'poor' schools, and for twenty years (1790-1810) was Mistress of Schools. She was a woman ofgreat intellectual gifts and she set great store on the education of her pupils, insisting upon high standards with all the vigour of a strict disciplinarian In 1810 she became Superior, by election,

since war conditions had suspended all communication between the Bar Convent and the Mother House in Munich Though she was said to possess considerable charm, Mother Coyney was impulsive and sometimes hot-tempered in pursuit of what she judged to be religious perfection; so the sixteen years she was in office saw many turns offortune for the house

First came the long-delayed knowledge of Benedict XIV's famous Bull QuamvisJusto of 1748 denying MaryWard the title of foundress. Dismay seized the community that had been brought up to venerate her, and, led by Mother Coyney herself , it attempted to show its loyalty to the Papacy by a tragic destruction of every memorial of her books, papers and pictures The novices and young members were taught to disclaim all connection with the name ofMaryWard. Religious dress had been resumed in the Bar Convent in 1790 and a further step was taken under Mother Coyney by the assumption of religious names. Influenced by French priests, some ofthem tinged with Jansenism, a monastic form ofreligious life was adopted quite contrary to the true character of the Institute. Worse was to follow. In the disruption of the Napoleonic Wars, Mother Coyney received no answers to her letters to the General Superior, and she feared that the Institute had been swept away in the tide of secularisation. She sent a priest friend disguised as a pedlar to make enquiries in Munich and when he reported that no trace of the Institute could be found it was assumed to have vanished altogether. Mother Coyney reported her case in a statement to Rome, and in return a Papal rescript placed the Bar Convent immediately under the Bishop. At the same time the community'chose to take a vow of enclosure' despite Mary Ward's determination not to have even 'two crossedsticks by way of enclosure. '

Though the 19th century was a period of expansion in the Church as elsewhere , it was characteristic of Mother Coyney's rather narrow outlook that she was averse to making any new foundation. Father Underhill of Leeds begged her to send nuns to work in his mission to the poor, and the communitywas eager to help She was persuaded to make a journeyto Leeds to inspect a house thought suitable for a convent there, 'But' , records the chronicler sadly, 'the affair ended with that day's drive" Nevertheless, Mother Coyney was responsible for a world-wide expansion of apostolic activity, for she accepted into the novitiate Mary Aikenhead and Frances Ball who were to found the Irish Sisters ofCharity and the Loreto branch ofthe Institute.

At home, it was she who laid out the cemetery within the convent grounds, and she was the first nun to be buried there, after her sudden death on 15 December 1826 .

CRAMLINGTON , Sister Mary (or Cramblington) 17th/18th Century

Sister Mary Cramlington came of a Northumbrian family and is listed as an early member of the Bar Convent community. She must have returned to Germany (possibly with Frances Bedingfield in 1699) and her next appearance in our historyis in 1713, when Reverend Mother General Agnes Babthorpe sent her as a Visitor to deal with the delicate situations in Hammersmith and York. The choice was probably dictated by her knowledge of England, but it was an unfortunate appointment becauseMary, ironically code-named Concordia , was known to be 'of a hot nature and prone to cause jealousy. The result of her visitation of Hammersmith , recorded in detail elsewhere , was to isolate Cecily Cornwallis from the community and so to emphasisethe schism between the communityand the mainstream Institute. In York, on the other hand, Mary Cramlington was acclaimed as very hard-working and successful in restoring order to the disorderlycommunity.

After completing her visitation she returned to oblivion in Germany.

CROSKELL, Sister Michael 1849-1886

Kate Croskell was born in York in 1849 and entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1877. She acted as Assistant Sacristan for some years, taught in the schools, and in 1884 was appointed Mistress of the Day School She held the post for little more than a year, retiring on account offailing health She died on 19 April 1886 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

CURR, Sister M. Gertrude 1795-1868

Harriet or Henrietta Curr was born in 1795 in Sheffield, where her father was steward of the Duke of Norfolk's collieries . It was a thoroughly Catholic family and seven Curr girls, apparently spanning three generations, appear in the Bar Convent school list. One of Harriet's sisters became a Trappistine at Stapehill and her brother Richard, ordained at Ushaw, died tending the victims of a typhus epidemic. She herself was sent to school at the Bar Convent in 1807, and then finished her education in Paris . She was admitted to the Institute in 1825, and her career as a nun illustrates the versatility and flexibility expected of members before the age of professional training, for she was successively

COYNEYDALTON

assistant to the School Procuratrix, assistant to the Superior, Dispenser, Mistress of Novices, a member of the foundation in Scarborough, Mistress of Linen and Keeper of Garments. She died on 30 May 1868 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

DAGNALL, Mother Stanislaus

1836-1931

Frances Dagnall was born in Liverpool in 1836 and was educated at the Bar Convent. She was admitted to the novitiate there in 1856, taking the name of Stanislaus, and was professed in 1860. In later life she was a formidable figure, as her curriculum vitae suggests. She taught in St. George's School and in the Convent day and boarding schools, where for a time she was Head Mistress as well as holding the offices of School Procuratrix, Sacristan and (more humbly) Mistress ofLinen

When the foundation was made in Cambridge, she was thefirst Superior, from 1898 to 1901. A second term of office, begun in 1904, came to an abrupt end in 1906 when, for an ill-considered autocratic act, she was removed from office by the peremptory order of the bishop Perhaps the authorities in York resented the episcopal interference; they certainly retained their confidence in Mother Dagnall because after her return to the Bar Convent she was made House Mistress and Assistant to the Superior She lived to extreme old age (as do many who end their days in York) and died on 21 January 1931 at the age of94.

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

DALLISON, SisterMary 16811760

Sister Mary Dallison was a member of the Hammersmith 'community from 1702 to 1760. She signed both the documents supporting Bishop Giffard as 'Community Chief Superior ' She was Superior ofthe house from 1739 till her death in 1760 and so must have witnessed the sad departure of Cecily Cornwallis to York, and the decline in numbers in the community

She is buried in St. Paul's churchyard, Hammersmith

DALTON, Sister Mary 17431803

Mary Dalton was born in Dalton in 1743, the daughter of Robert Dalton of Thurnham Hall, Lancashire. She went to school at the Bar Convent and then finished her education abroad. She was admitted to the York novitiate in 1761 and taught French, 'ornamental work' and Latin in the boardingschool. She acted as Consultress and, on the death of Sister Sophie de Rocher, was appointed Mistress of Novices under the

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

kindlyeye ofMother Catherine Rouby She was described as'not only a holy nun but a bright sunbeam in thecommunity . '

She died on 21 October 1803 as the result of a stroke, and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate.

DAVENPORT , Mother M. Campion 1878-1970

Muriel Davenport was born in Bramhall, Stockport, but was brought up in Church Row, Hampstead Her father, William Davenport, a convert to Catholicism , was a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, where he had married the Principal's daughter

Muriel was educated at home and from an early age was fluent in French and German and passionately fond of Shakespeare. In music she was an infant prodigy, playing Bach at the age offive and singing parts of Handel's Messiahwhen she was six 'That is the time at which to get on good terms with the classics' , she used to say.

She left home at eighteen to study music, was at the Dresden Conservatoire at twenty, and then embarked on a concert career. It was interrupted by World War I when she worked as a V.A.D., first in Guy's Hospital and then in Salonika. When peace came she returned to her piano recitals but in 1924 came the great break in her life when, guided by Father John Ryan, S.J. , she entered the Institute in Ascot . It was a brave stepfora muchacclaimed pianist to take at the age of forty-five, but she never looked back . For the next twenty-three years she directed the music at Ascot, raising it to an exceptionally high standard, and in the chapel choir she established a tradition worthy of the liturgy. She composed motets and masses, but repudiated the idea that she was a composer, saying that she only providedwhat was lackingin music forequal voices .

Externally her religious life was uneventful until she was appointed an Assistant General in 1947, and at the ageofseventy she took up residence in Rome, a city that she described as 'a land of enchantment. ' There she did much of the preparationfor the 'Union Chapter' of 1953, in which the three Generalates of Rome, Mainz and Austria were united. On her return to England she was made Superior of the Cambridge house from 1953 to 1961, and then was posted to Ascot for the rest of her life. But these last years of retirement were not years of idleness . She transcribed much of Mary Ward's handwriting, making her letters available to all who wished to read them, and she translated the Italian version of the Brief Relation into English; with her excellent knowledge of German she was able to translate Reverend Mother General Edelburga's Instructions, and she began

DALTON DAVIS

a translation of Father Grisar's monumental work on Mary Ward

With so much learning to daunt lesser mortals , she nevertheless always remained a good community nun with a delightful sense of humour which she turned to account by writing topical verses to amuseher companions

A stroke in 1964 reduced her activity to a minimum and she died on 28 October 1970 as a result of a further, fatal stroke

This distinguished member of the Institute is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

DAVIS, Mother Dominic 1858-1947

Agnes Davis was born in Everton, Liverpool, in 1858 and so grew up in an era ofVictorian prosperityand self-confidence , and of expansion of the Catholic Church as well as of empire and trade Agnes's father, William, was not, however, a merchant but an artist and her two brothers, Lucian and 'Val' , enjoyed some contemporaryfame. This background is reflected in Agnes, her gifts and her career.

After the death of the father, the family moved to London, where Agnes made the acquaintance of the Institute in England's Lane . It must have been Mother Joseph Edwards who guided her to Aschaffenburg , there to spend two years learning German , teaching English and gaining knowledge of the Institute on the continent. She returned from Germany convinced ofher vocation and applied for admittance to the England's Lane novitiate. In August 1882 she was given the habit and the name of Dominic, and she received all her religious training from Mother Joseph Edwards In 1885 when half the communitywas swept away to make the new foundation in Ascot, Mother Dominic was one of those who remained behind, and in 1888 she was appointed Mistress of Novices

Three years later she was made the Superior and during the following forty years, with her knowledge of German, she frequently represented the English Province at chapters and other official occasions on the continent . In 1920 she was recalled to Ascot where her intelligence and culture contributed significantly to the school's success in a General Inspection and to its being placed on the (then) Board of Education's list of efficient schools

Her last posting was in 1921 when she was appointed Superior of the new foundation in Sheringham, Norfolk. For the next nineteen years she 'reigned' over a tiny community and a miniature school, and it is sad that this gifted woman was allowed to live in such isolation that she lost touch with contemporary educational ideas and ran the school on out-

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

moded, class-conscious lines. Small wonder that it remained small in numbers and undistinguished in achievement. The ethos ofthe convent was as Victorian as its pedagogy Whenever a sister was sent with a message to Canon Carter, the parish priest, she always had to begin 'Reverend Mother presents her compliments to the Canon' , and strict discipline matched the quaint etiquette. The nuns were kept on a very tight rein, any exercise ofinitiative being frowned upon, if not actuallycondemned as disobedience .

Thus Mother Dominic came to represent only the past. When she paid an occasional visit to Ascot her short, stout figure and remarkably slow gait drew derisive smiles from the irreverent young sisters who knew nothing of her past contributionsto the Institute, and the novices invented stories about her, telling the gullible latest arrival, 'If Mother Dominic smiles at you, you are doomed for Sheringham ' But even if such a fate did befall a young nun, it was short-lived Mother Dominic had a habit of making out an urgent case for extra help, but if (as usually happened) she did not approve of the member sent, she would return her to Ascot, saying 'I don't think we really need Sister X. We can manage without her'; only to complain to the Provincial a few months later, 'You never replaced Sister X for us' Thus there was a considerable turnover of personnel, with a core of three members who were genuinely fond of their autocratic Superior.

It is a matter of conjecture how long this little establishment could have survived, had not political events dealt it a deathblow. World War II broke out in September 1939 and by the summer of 1940 air-raid sirens were constantly heard in Sheringham; the east coast was judged to be a danger zone and in June the school was closed. The boarders were offered places atAscot, and the nuns were dispensed among other communities, where they were warmly welcomed. Thus ended the Sheringham anachronism.

Mother Dominic somewhat disconsolately accepted the hospitalityofAscot, where for severalyears the diminutivefigure, now almost spherical, moved slowlyup and down the corridors At last she took to her bed; characteristically slowly she succumbed to mortality, and died on 29 July 1947. She is buried in Ascot cemetery

DAVIS, Sister Mary c . 17011760

Born about 1701 , probablyin London, MaryDavis was sent to school at the Bar Convent in 1710 when she was nine years old. She was admitted to the novitiate in 1719 and served there for the whole of her active life, as procuratrix and as a mistress in

DIAMOND

the school. She died on 30 January 1760 and is buried in a nameless grave in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate Such are the bare facts of her life, but fortunately the personality of this delightful member is mirrored in the 'log-book' she kept, and here we read also of her multifariousactivities.

As procuratrix she entered into a black exercise book every acquisition , every repair, every re-use of household goods, providing a picture of care and frugality The nuns' chairs and beds are constantly re-bottomed with sacking, old gowns are made into bed-covers, and a cheese-board is re-fashioned as a shelf. The children fare better, with new bolsters and bed-ticks, pegs to hang their clothes on, and window curtains. She was a loving and lovable person and evidently very fond of her pupils, for she provided 'a swing for the misses to rock in, ' a Fox-andGeese board game, and exciting reading such as A Book of Robberies and a copy of Robinson Crusoe She took the children to St. Luke's Fair and gave them 'spending money' to have fun with, while she went off and purchased Delft porringers , tea-cups with handles, two flat irons and a mouse-trap In the garden she was just as busy, setting rosemary against the buttresses of the wall, and replacing half the strawberry beds with raspberries.

The rooms she so often had 're-whitened' or 'new hung with paper' were demolished soon after her death, and the asparagus, rosemary and raspberries disappeared long ago , but her generous spirit still inspires succeeding generations of Bar Convent communities.

DIAMOND, Sister M. Winifred

19111992 Winifred Diamond, known successively as Sister Denis and Sister Winifred, was born in 1911 in Swansea , but seems to have come ofnorth country stock. Through family misfortunes shedid not receive the same good, formal education as her sisters, but she was at least their equal in intelligence, quickness of wit and artistic gifts She entered the Ascot novitiate in 1930 and was a strong and willing member of the work-force in York, Ascot, Egton Bridge and Hampstead, where she acted in a variety of capacities But it was for her sidelines and hobbies that she was really memorable and it was in Hampstead, during the period 1948 to 1991, that she cultivated her talents At recreation she would complete a cross-word that intellectual members had despaired of, and she had an almost magical workshop where every object saleable at the annual bazaar was produced With her skilful fingers, lively imaginationand artistic taste, everything she made was an object of delight, and Christmas cribs, decorations and toys filled her cupboards until the time came for

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

them to cover the charity stalls Out of doors she created a paradise of blossoms and flowering shrubs. She loved birds too and at one time fed them with a punctuality that they reciprocated, so that the garden was filled with whirling pigeons and sea-gulls; they became so numerous that they were deemed a nuisance by the police and this form of hospitality had to cease Fishes were included in her love of nature, and it was said that she had a tank of rare species in her bed-room.

This happy period of her life came to an end in 1991 , when the community left No. 47 Fitzjohn's Avenue and had to shrink in numbers, in order to fit into No. 49. Sister Winifred, now suffering from angina and arthritis, was sent to Cambridge, where she had not the heart to set up her workshop anew, nor the strength to do anything in the garden. She faced her new life bravely, but a light had gone out.

She died in her sleep on 26 August 1992 and is buried in the Cambridge city cemetery.

DILLON, Mother M. Marcella

d. 1811

The scene moves to Hammersmith Marcella Dillon became a pupil of the school there in 1766 and so completed her education before the school was closed in 1781. The date ofher entering the Institute is not recorded, but she was the last Superior of the Hammersmith House, holding office from 1781 to 1795 and then becoming one of the '3 ladys' who were to be boarded and cared for, without charge, by the Benedictine nuns She evidently retained her wits in her retirement , for she wrote an interesting paper claiminglegal ownership ofthe house thoughthere were no deeds of possession , and giving a list ofgifts and benefactors.

Shedied on 16 August 1811 and was buried in the Hammersmith Convent cemetery, where her name is still just legible on a tombstone

DOYLE, Sister Lucy 1845-1869

Sister Lucy Doyle was born in Roach, near Dublin, in 1845 She was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate in 1861, and received the habit the following year She shared the fate of many of her contemporaries, dying of consumption at the age of twenty-four on 19 April 1869. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

DOYLE SisterM. Patricia 1888-1953

The records are divided, as to whether MaryDoyle was born in Liverpool or in Bray, Co. Wicklow, but it is certain that 1888 was the year of her birth, and that her family came from

DIAMOND DREXL

Co. Wicklow and was devoutlyCatholic. It seems that the Loreto sisters advised her to enter the novitiatein Ascot, and she did so in 1916.She had a very dignified bearing, which was perhaps why she was made portress and refectorian in Hampstead, Ascot and York successively . She was in Hampstead when war broke out in 1939 and so was evacuated with the rest of the community , first to Ashburnham and then to Bratton. It may have been the hardships endured during the war years that affected her health, for shortly after she had taken part in the Shaftesbury foundation her health began to fail on account of a cardiac condition. She graduallylet others take over her duties, though she continued to give a helping hand up to the eve of her death. On 25 June 1953 she suffered a coronary heart attack and died almost immediately. She is buried in the Wardour Cemetery.

DREXL , Sister M. Crescentia 1865-1948

Juliana Drexl was born in Wallershauser Pastenacker in 1865 As the daughter of a Bavarian farmer, she experienced a childhood bounded by the farm and its activities and she would recollect, in later years , how she used to hold the horse's head and feed it with carrots while her father loaded up the cart with potatoes and other vegetables for the market But the scene changed when in 1884 she decided upon religious life and entered the novitiate in Nymphenburg ; within a few months she made a further sacrifice, responding to Mother Joseph Edwards' plea for help in England and so entering upon a life of voluntary exile She completed her noviceship in London where, in England's Lane, no vestige of fields or farms was to be seen, but where she learnt the history ofthe Institute from the lips ofSister Catherine Chambers and so developed her great love of Mary Ward and the Institute.

When Mother Joseph Edwards founded the house in Ascot in 1885, Sister Crescentia was chosen to be a member of the first community, and Ascot became her home for the rest of her life. There she was able to re-capture something of a rural atmosphere, and for a time she was in charge of the hens; but her great work was in the laundry, where she presided over a multiplicity of activities pursued, at her insistence, to the accompaniment of rosaries and other vocal prayers Here every novice served a part of her apprenticeship, and learntunder Sister Crescentia's watchful eye the importance of punctuality and exactitude, as well as observing how demanding duties were no bar to a life ofprayer

As the school and community grew in numbers , Sister Crescentia's responsibility and work-load became greater, but she

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

rose bravely to every situation At last, after more than sixty years of faithful service , she died on 13 November 1948 , expressing the wish that her death should not inconvenience the work of the laundry. She is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

DUGDALE, Sister M. Euphrasia 1815-1864

Frances Dugdale was born in Liverpool in 1815 and was educated at the Bar Convent She was admitted to the novitiate there in 1833 but shortly after her profession, two years later , signs of mental illness appeared In 1841 she was sent, at her own request, to be cared for by the Communityof the GoodShepherd in Caen , and then, by the wish of her friends, to Hatfield House , Drumcondra , where she died, on 23 July 1864. It was said that she mercifully regained her faculties shortly before herdeath .

DUHAMEL , Sister M. Vincent 1877-1921

Alice Louise Dehamel was born in St. Omer in 1877. She came to England to learn English, and was a student in England's Lane from 1898 to 1900. She then entered the Ascot novitiate and was put through a gruelling course of study. Within a space of two years she passed Matriculation and the Higher Level Cambridge examinations in English, Latin, French, Physics , Roman History, Mathematics and Hydrostatics With these qualifications she taught Science and French in the school and, having a beautiful singing voice, was in charge of the choir She was still in her forties when her eyesight began to fail rapidly (possibly as a result ofa tumour), but she remained cheerful and courageous. She died on 19 October 1921 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery

DUNDERDALE, Sister Anne 1801-1865

Helen Dunderdale , of Goosnargh near Preston, was for a time housekeeper to a Canon Brown until her admission to the Bar Convent novitiate, where she received the name of Sister Anne. She spent a short time in the convent at Scarborough, but had to return to York on account of ill health. She died on 16 March 1865 the same day as Sister Joanna Broadway and together they were buried in the Bar Conventcemetery.

DUNN , Mother Agnes 1791-1849

Rosamund Dunn, later known as Mother Agnes, was born in Newcastle in 1791 and was educated at the Bar Convent, where she entered the novitiate at the age of twenty-two. She taught in the school and successively held the offices of Mistress of

Novices, Consultress and Procuratrix. In 1830 she became Superior and was responsible for considerable buildings added to the convent, notably the spacious refectory, communityroom and other nuns' accommodation . In 1836 Dr. John Briggs became Vicar Apostolic ofthe Northern District and he put into practice the authority given to the Bishop by Mother Coyney. He was greatlyloved but his genialitydid not conceal from the Superior's eyes thefact that he was wielding an authority Mary Ward never intended him to have. Mother Agnes, the victim of her own perspicacity and scruples, was soon in dispute with the Bishop and at last found herself in a position which she could neither change nor in conscience accept So she resigned her office and went to Ireland, but found no peace there. After a brief returnto York she was dispensed from her vows and left the community with the intention of entering a house of the Institute elsewhere For some reason this did not happen and she died on 3 February 1849, a 'parlour boarder' in the Hammersmith convent which was then in the possession of a communityof Benedictine nuns. Her portrait with its strongly marked eyebrows and firm mouth suggests an upright, steadfast character and it is a sad irony of history that this good religious of tender conscienceshould have died outside the Institute and in the very house where the same question of authority had been fought out in the previous century.

DUNN , Mother M. Elizabeth 1894-1980

Elizabeth Dunn was the eldest of the three daughters of William Dunn of Lilystone Hall, Essex All three girls were sent to school at St. Mary's Convent, Cambridge and then seem to have been shielded by their fatherfrom all social contacts . Itwas said that at dancing-classes Elizabeth always danced with a chair, as the idea of clasping a partner was quite abhorrent to her! Nevertheless she was a person of firm purpose, and stood up to her father's formidable opposition when she declared her intention of being a nun. She left home for the Bar Conventin 1914, and only once did father and daughter ever meet again, in a brief encounter in a church

After profession Mother Elizabeth took a degree in English at Bedford College and became an inspiring teacher in the Cambridge boarding-school. During the 1940's and 1950's she alternated with Mother Paul as Superior of the house , but it was generally believed that, whichever might be Superior, the decisions were all made by Mother Paul This was not because Mother Elizabeth lacked intelligence, but rather that she was

inclined to scruples and would not make up her mind on any problem until every facet had been examined and considered . When Mother Michael Baines died in 1962 Mother Elizabeth was appointed a General Assistant, and took up residence in Rome, remaining there until 1975 when she was invalided back to England

She died in York on 15 October 1980 and is buried in the Bar Conventcemetery

DUNN , Sister Francisca

1812-1894

Although Anne Dunn , or Sister Francisca, lived well beyond the span of life ordinarily allotted to us, almost nothing is known of her . She was born in June, 1812, was admitted to the York novitiate in 1846 and professed two years later. Her subsequent history is a complete blank until her death in April 1894.She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

DURAN , Mother M. Aquinas 1892-1977

Marie-Louise Duran, known to a multitude of people as Mother Aquinas, was born in France in 1892, of French and Spanish parentage. She was educated in England's Lane and admitted to the Ascot novitiate in 1914. After profession in Ascot and graduation in French in Bedford College, London, she was much involved in the growth of the school, teaching French and at one time serving as Mistress of Discipline . She was Mistress of Novices from 1929 to 1932, and was then sent to York as Superior for three years; but she could not overcome her homesicknessfor Ascot and was delighted to return there in 1935 and take up her old post with the novices, a post she retained until 1946. To the innumerable young people she trained in religious life she was both lovable and formidable; though she was essentially kind and possessed of a great sense of humour, the storm clouds could blow up suddenly and when they burst even the boldest novice would quake before her She continued to teach a little in the school, but when not with the novices she devoted all her energy to supporting Reverend Mother Cecilia Marshall, to whom she was utterly devoted. Her great joy was to share Mother Cecilia's shopping expeditions or to accompany her on her annual visits to Rome

A great break came in her life in 1946 when she was sent to Hampstead to be in charge of the newly re-opened house there To be parted from Mother Cecilia seemed to be the end ofallher happiness; but she gradually developed a new, more independent life, formed new friendships and made the Hampstead conventa byword for charity and hospitality. No longer formidable, she

DUNN EDWARDS 79

spent hours listening to the tedious tales of lonely people, and many were the lame-dogs invited to share her days out in a car - expeditions that could last for twelve hours, cover 400 miles or more, and quite exhaust the poor driver Even when house-bound with the infirmities of old age, she was always interested in allher visitors and was ready with kindly advice. She lived on into old age, surrounded by her cats and her friends, but finally succumbing to diabetes she died on 25 February 1977

She is buried in the Ascot cemetery, lying fittingly beside her beloved Mother Cecilia

EASTWOOD , SisterFrancis 1763-1798

Francis Eastwood was born in Lancashire in 1763, but it seems that her family belonged to Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire, or perhaps migrated thither. She was sent to school at the Bar Convent in 1772 and was admitted to the novitiate in 1789. She taught in the schools, was Procuratrix for seven years and held the office of Mistress of Novices for four years, her career thus seeming to bear out the necrologist's judgment that 'her solid piety was united with a strong practical sense and great talent. '

She died on 7 July 1798 and is buried in Holy Trinitychurchyard, Micklegate.

EDWARDS

, Mother Joseph 1838-1901

Mary Edwards, or Mother Joseph, is a larger-than-life figurein the history of the English Province Her portrait fills the whole canvas in its heavy gilt frame and her achievements are on the same grand scale Strangely, we know very little of her early years; she was born in Ireland, probably in 1838, she was spoken of as an orphan , and her father 'was said to be a gentleman farmer. ' She first appears as a novice in Balbriggan under Mother Ignatius Barratt, to whom she was so attached that she left Ireland with her and helped to make the foundation in Gloucester. We have an early photograph of her in the garden there, showing a plump young nun with an expression that is both serene and determined. When Mother Ignatius died in 1869 , Mother Joseph became the Superior and three years later, at the impetuous invitation of Father Bertrand Wilberforce, she moved the whole household to Haverstock Hill, London and established a school in Gifford Lodge, England's Lane. Extensive buildings, including a chapel, were added in order to house a flourishing day and boarding-school and a community that numbered at least twenty sisters.

It was to Gifford Lodge that Catherine Chambers came, seeking admission to the Institute. Mother Joseph not only

BIOGRAPHIES

accepted her , but recognised that this elderly novice had a culture, education and gifts of mind that she herself did not possess and with great magnanimity she set her to further the cause dearest to her own heart namely, that of vindicatingMary Ward's claim to be foundress ofthe Institute She realised that a definitive biography would achieve this aim and so , as soon as Sister Catherine's noviceship was completed she gave her every help and encouragement in this formidable task. Together they travelled through Belgium and Germany, examining documents and copying long passages into their note-books . To those whom they encountered they must have appeared an ill-assorted pair, the ample form of Mother Joseph, her Irish brogue and forthright speech contrasting strangely with the slight figure, gentle manner and enigmatic smile of Sister Catherine. But they were firmly united in their purpose and there was mutual trust betweenthem.

Other activities also demanded Mother Joseph's attention . The Head Mistress of Gifford Lodge, Sister Francis McDonogh, fell veryill and in an attemptto save her life Mother Joseph rented a house in Ascot where the pine trees were said to create a healthy atmosphere Sister Francis had already contracted tuberculosis and was beyond the help of the pine trees, but the summer spent by the nuns in the Glebe led to the all-important step of establishing a house in Ascot Eight members of the London community and all the boarders were transferred to the new foundation which Mother Joseph built up with remarkable energy

Her.last creative venture, in 1897 , was to establish an English house in Rome, for the purpose of teaching English to the Italians in a Catholic atmosphere In view of the poverty ofthe Ascot communityat that time, it was a brave and typical- step to take

This great foundress died on 22 March 1901 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery, surrounded by a complexityofbuildingsand all the activities of a school such as she, even with her breadth of vision, could never have foreseen.

EICHNER, Sister M.Alberta

1904-1976

Anne Eichner was born in 1904 in Ismaning, near Munich and came ofgood Bavarian farming stock She entered the Institute in Altotting (which then had its own novitiate) and made her first Profession there Altotting was overflowing with novices, and so in 1931 Sister Alberta agreed to go to Ascot, 'on the English mission' as it was then said; there she made her final Profession and there she spent the rest of her life. A sturdy, hard-working

member, she was part of the laundry team, finally taking over its management and the care of the chickens. She was a worthy successor to Sister Crescentia Drexl!

Though she identified herself with the Ascot community , she was always wistfully pleased to greet visitors from Germany.

Shedied on 18 May 1976 and is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

EIFFE

, Sister M. Gonzaga 1807-1828

Elizabeth Eiffe was born in or near Dublin in 1807 and was educated at the Bar Convent She entered the novitiate in 1826 and her short religious life is told quaintly in the Annals : 'She passed with little delay from a bright but blameless school life to the novitiate, where the gentleness of childhood developed into virtue of a hardier growth. She was seized upon by consumption during her term of probation and was vouchsafed the privilege of pronouncingthe vows ofreligion in her last hours."

She died on 18 November 1828, aged twenty-one, and is buried in the Bar Conventcemetery.

ELLIOT, Sister M. John-Baptist 1921-1994

Diana Elliot was born in 1921 in London, where her father was a barrister, but her childhood home was in Oxfordshire , where she loved to enjoy outdoor pursuits. Riding was her favourite sport and she carried off many trophies at local gymkhanas There was Irish and French blood in her veins but she gave the impression of being totally English, and she had an ardent, English loyalty for her country, her faith and the Institute. No one could have been more deeply rooted in Ascot, where she was educated and where she spent her entire religious life until finally invalided to St. Joseph's, York She entered the Institute in 1944 , after taking a secretarial course, and spent thirty-seven years as the devoted Secretary to the Head Mistress She often accompanied the school trips abroad, where she fell in love with Venice and Florence and developed a deep appreciation of Italian art. At home, she knew everychild, every parent, every family tree, and no school function could run smoothly without her It was a busy, happy, useful life and when illness necessitated a move to York she felt a real exile in the unknown north. She died in St. Joseph's on 1 June 1994, and though many AscotOld Girls would have liked her to be taken back to Ascot , she is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

ELY , Sister Anne d. 1709

Sister Anne Ely was a member of the Hammersmith House from 1700 to her death in 1709. She signed the first dissident

document 'choosing' Bishop Giffard as 'Community Chief Superior but she died on 12 September before the second document was drawn up. She is buried in St. Paul's Churchyard , Hammersmith

ETHERIDGE, Sister Berchmans 1850-1914

Sophie Etheridge was born in London in 1850, of convert parents She was educated in the Bar Convent boarding school, but when admitted to the novitiate in 1878 she specifically asked to be a lay sister In 1895 symptoms appeared of the paralysis that was to become fatal, but nevetheless she was sent with the founding party to Cambridge in 1898. Unhappily the paralysis spread and she became completely disabled She died in York on 8 April 1914 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

EVANS, Sister Elizabeth d. 1742

Sister Elizabeth Evans was a member of the Hammersmith Community from 1699 to 1742. She was one of the dissidents who signed both the documents supporting Bishop Giffard as 'CommunityChiefSuperior' . She died on 23 July 1742 and is buried, with othermembers of thecommunity, in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith .

FITZGERALD, Sister Augustine or Austin 1876-1953

Mildred Fitzgerald , in religion Sister Augustine or Austin, is one of the many members of whom little is recorded except that they remained faithful to their vows to serve God in the Institute. She was born in London, went to school in England's Lane and followed the fairly common pattern of entering the novitiate in Ascot in her early twenties and returning to London after profession. She was given no special training, so spent her life in a succession of minor domestic and teaching duties She was in Rome from 1915 to 1928, teaching English to Italian adults and on her return to England was made House Mistress in the newly founded convent in Sheringham. When that house was closed in 1940 she was invalided to Ascot and soon became very infirm. She died on 22 January 1953 and is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

FITZGERALD, Sister M. Xaveria 1784-1864

Jane Fitzgerald , later Sister Xaveria, was born in Ireland . She entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1813 and was therefore contemporary with the Irish foundresses Teresa Ball and Mary Aikenhead It is said that she intended to return to Ireland with Mary Aikenhead , but for some unrecorded reason she decided to remain in York. After acting as Infirmarian, first to the

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community and then to the boarders, she was appointed Head Mistress of the 'Poor School' in 1830. In 1852, furnished with plenty of experience and armed with a little note-book full of rules aimed at ensuring decorum in the class-room, she and another sister were sent to teach the Irish immigrant children in the newly-opened St. George's School in Walmgate To their dismay the two teachers were faced with a crowd of unruly, screaming, shouting 'harum-scarums' , who were eventually tamed by Sister Xaveria's singing to them in her rich, Irish voice . She stayed at her demanding task until 1860, when an accident immobilised her and she was an invalid for the rest of her life. She died on 1 March 1864 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

FITZSIMMONDS, Sister M. Thérèse

1896-1982

Margaret Evelyn Fitzsimmonds , in religion Sister Thérèse, was born in 1896, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Fitzsimmonds of Carlisle As she was educated by the Notre Dame sisters of Leeds and the Sacred Heart nuns of Fenham College, Newcastle , it would be interesting to know how and why she came to enter the Bar Convent novitiate in 1921. But the records are silent. She was professed in 1924 and two years later was sent to Egton Bridge as Head Mistress of the elementary school that boasted some fifty pupils She remained there until 1942 when the death of Sister Patricia O'Connor (who was killed in the Blitz) necessitated her return to York to teach in the Junior School. She died on 11 March 1982 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

FOLEY,

Sister M. Catherine 18641928 Ellen Foley was born in 1864. Her name evokes immediate thoughts of Brother Henry Foley, the Jesuit historian, but no relationship between them can be traced. Her life was as uneventful as her background is obscure She entered the novitiate in York in 1886, taking the name of Catherine, and except for a yearspent in Cambridge (1899-1900 ) she always lived and worked in the Bar Convent In 1924 she began to suffer from heart trouble, and on 13 July 1928 she died of a heartattack. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

FULLER , Sister Michael 1872-1944

Rose Mary Fuller, later known as SisterMichael, wasborn near Cambridge in 1872. Both her parents were Protestants but she was employed by a Catholic doctor in London, and so came to be received into the Church in Brompton Oratory She entered the

BIOGRAPHIES

Yorknovitiatein 1902 and after profession was appointed cook in Cambridge. She was a member of the Roman communityduring World War I and then returned to York to be Refectorian; thus she was in the Bar Convent when it was blitzed and she never recoveredfrom the experience She was sentto Egton Bridge in the hope that the peace there would be beneficial, but she suffered a fatal stroke on 6 April 1944 and is buried in the Egton cemetery.

GAIGL , Sister M. Georgina 1898-1998

Ursula Gaigl was born in Upper Bavaria, into a staunchly Catholic family that thought nothing of walking ten miles into the nearest town for High Mass on a feast day She entered the Institute in Nymphenburg in 1917 and spent some years there before being sent to Regensburg, where she met Sister Speranda Spangler and formed a life-long friendshipwith her. In 1932 help was urgently needed in the English house in Rome, and with typical generosity Sister Georgina offered to go there; in 1939 Sister Speranda joined her and so lightened the trials of exile. When the house was closed in 1949 Sister Georgina came to England and after two years in Shaftesbury she spent the rest of her active life in Ascot and Hampstead, where she and Sister Speranda expended all their enormous energy on whatever tasks were allotted to them . In 1988 they were sent to St. Joseph's, by way of compulsory retirement, and there they enjoyed mutual companionship until Sister Speranda's death in 1993. Sister Georgina lived on, becoming very frail but still likely, it seemed, to reach her 100th birthday. However, that was not to be; she died on 12 July 1998, three months short of her centenary. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

GASCOIGNE , Sir Thomas, Founder and Benefactor 15951689

Sir Thomas Gascoigne came of a staunchly Catholic family that had somehow survived its refusal to take unlawful oaths or to attend Protestant services and yet remained in possession of much land and at least one colliery in Yorkshire. His home , Barnbow Hall, was a centre of Catholic resistance and was said to 'abound in Jesuits ' He had many ties of friendship and blood relationship with the Institute, and was delighted when the sisters returned to England in 1667. He begged Frances Bedingfield to come to Yorkshire but she was committed to the Hammersmith community. A small group, however, accepted his invitation to make a foundation in his house , Dolebank , near Ripley. The next year saw the pretended discovery, by the infamous Titus Oates, of a supposed plot to murder the King, Charles II An atmosphere of hysteria prevailed, and no Catholic was safe from suspicion of

FULLER GAYNOR 85

dark intent. On 7 July 1678 Sir Thomas, in his 85th year, was arrested on a charge of complicity in the 'Yorkshire Plot' , and was hurried to London where in February 1679 he was arraigned before Lord Chief Justice Sir William Scroggs, on an indictment ofHigh Treason. As Scroggs was said to be even more savage in his judgments than Judge Jefferies, Sir Thomas's chance of acquittal seemed slight. But he had had theforesightto ask for a jury of Yorkshire men and, despite Scraggs's rough handlingof the case, these sturdy fellows brought in a verdict ofNot Guilty. Sir Thomas, old, deaf and shaken by the experience, retired to Lambspring Abbey in Germany, where his brother was Abbot. There he died on 12 May 1689. But he had already laid a memorable foundation when he said to Frances Bedingfield: 'We must have a school for our daughters.' Thesewords constitute the charter of the Bar Convent and were matched with a gift of £450. On 5 November 1686 Mother Frances purchased a house and garden just outside Micklegate Bar and opened a boarding school for girls In 1699 a 'poor school' was added and these, together with thefoundation in Hammersmith , fulfilled Sir Thomas's wish that his bequest should fund three schools.

The portrait of this grand old man, founder of the Bar Convent, has a place of honour in its Great Parlour.

GAYNOR , Sister M. Christina 1827-1889

Margaret Gaynor, known in religion as Sister Christina, was born in Co. Wicklow on 25 April 1827. It was during a visit to the Bar Convent that she felt irresistibly drawn to a vocation of teaching in the Institute, and in 1850 she was admitted to the novitiate. Shortly after her profession St. George's School was opened for the children of Irish immigrants in the Walmgate area and Mother Angela Browne, anxious to help, promised to send two sisters to teach there. Sister Christina , who already held a Teacher's Certificate that ensured her position and entitled the school to a government grant, was chosen to accompany Sister Xaveria Fitzgerald The story of the unruly mob that greeted their first appearance is told elsewhere ; some discipline was eventually imposed, but life at St. George's was always tough and the nuns had to battle against dirt, smoking chimneys and an almost total lack of equipment. Nevertheless they were happy years, and Sister Christina found it a real sacrifice to leave St. George's in order to be Mistress of the day-school at the Convent. For two years she was Mistress of Novices and in 1883 she was appointed Head Mistress of the recently opened Infants' School attached to the Church of the English Martyrs The special gift she brought to every post was an ability to make

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

friends with the children and to keep in touch with them when they left school 'I have lost my only friend on earth' was the comment of a lonely past pupil, when she heard of Sister Christina's death.

She died on 10 May 1889 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

GENTIL, Mother Francis d. 1781

Francis Gentil entered the Hammersmith School in 1718 and joined the novitiate in 1731. The communitywas in schism from the General Superior and the house was in decline Mother Francis's years of office as Superior, from 1760 to 1781, covered a sad period, for no new member entered and so shrunken was the communitythat the school was closed in 1781 .

She died on 18 August 1781, and lies buried in St. Paul's churchyard, Hammersmith

GEOFFREY-SMITH, Mother M. Bridget 1914-1999

Bride Geoffrey-Smith's father was a man of culture but of no professional qualifications , and only by going to Argentina could he find a congenial post as university lecturer in English literature That was how Bride came to be born, in 1914, in Buenos Aires Her father died eleven years later and the bereaved family returned to Europe, to a rather nomadic life in England and France Bride was sent to school at St. Mary's Convent, Cambridge, and found there a second home. She excelled in all the examinations and stayed on as a teacher for a few years. In 1934 she entered the Ascot novitiate, with four other candidates who together became known as the Big Five In her early years there she took two external degrees, one in French and the other in English, and with her extraordinarily retentive memory she achieved a First Class in both She later added to these qualifications a Diploma in Sacred Studies, with Distinction. She was a clever teacher and many are her ex-pupils who admittedly owe their appreciation of English literature to her lessons . She loved the children and they found her very attractive So when a new Head Mistress had to be found in 1956 it was not surprising that the choice fell on Mother Bridget. She held the office for twentyyears and the school flourishedunder her sway In spite of heavy administrative duties she never entirely gave up her teaching nor the foreign trips to Venice and Florence where, with the help of Sr. Colette Flynn, the children learnt a real appreciation of Italian art.

In 1976 it was time for her to retire and give way to a new Head Mistress . To leave Ascot was an agonising wrench , even

GAYNOR GILBERT 87

though her next posting was to Cambridge where she was Superior for six years. She never quite settled down there , nor in Hampstead where she spent the next three years before returning at last, in 1985, to her beloved Ascot. Then followed nine happy years, during which she did some teaching, played bridge with the older girls and was always 'at home' to the stream of Old Girls, many of whom were now parents or grandparents of children in the school. But her health gradually deteriorated and after a serious illness she was sent to St. Joseph's, Yorkfor special care Again she felt an exile and for years yearned to return to Ascot. She found some consolation in teaching English to foreigners but finally even this had to be relinquished. Her last year was spent in and out of hospital, and death came very peacefully to her on 10 June 1999. It was thought fitting that her body should be taken back to Ascot, and there, after a Requiem attended bya large crowd of nuns and Old Girls, it was laid to rest in the cemetery where many of her friends lay.

GILBERT, SisterM. Felicity

1901-1981

Blanche Gilbert was born in Putney in 1901, the third of the eight daughters of John and Caroline Gilbert and the second to make her way into the Institute. She was the tomboy of the family, climbingto the top of high trees while her sisterswatched in fear and trembling, and leading them into wild escapades; but after education by a governessand at St. Mary's Convent, Ascot, she declared her intention of being a nun. With so many daughters to spare, one would not have expected parental opposition , but Mrs. Gilbert was fiercely possessive of all her daughters and Blanche had to run away from home in 1925 in order to become Sister Felicity in the novitiate After profession she was sent to study at Royal Holloway College, but her gifts, real though they were , were not the sort to submit to examinations, and she did not stay the course. She taught at Ascot, nevertheless , in her own original way, until 1940 when she was posted to Bratton to help the evacuated community She loved the unconventional school there and the country life Being a person of simple tastes, the primitive conditions seemed quite ordinary to her, and she thoroughly enjoyed the walks, the picnics, the bird-watching and the botanical expeditions She identified herself with the school and communityand it was only natural that, in 1945, she should accompany them to the new foundation in Shaftesbury, where she remained until her returnto Ascot in 1974. She had always found class-room teaching burdensome and there was general surprise when in 1977 she came out of her retirement and offered to do some voluntary,

part-time teaching at St. Francis' School There she was something of a granny figure, won the affection of the children and was very happy. But in 1981 she suffered a severe strokeand died a few weeks later on 13 September two days after her 80th birthday.

She is buried in the Ascot convent cemetery. (See also Family Notes, pp 181-2).

GILBERT, Mother M. Imelda 1899-1980

Germaine Gilbert was born in Belgium in 1899, the eldest of the nine children (eight daughters and one son) of the convert John Gilbert and his wife Caroline. Her position at the head of the nursery and school-room mayhave encouraged the autocratic temperament which occasioned her great trouble in later life . She was educated first at home with the family governessand later at St. Mary's Convent , Ascot There was great parental opposition when she declared her intention of being a nun and, like her sisters after her, she had to fight her way to the door of the novitiate, where she arrived in 1920. For the first ten years after profession she was constantly moved from house to house, acting as House Prefect successively in England's Lane, Sheringham, Rome, Hampstead and Cambridge and then in 1937, at the age of thirty-eight, she was appointed Superior in Hampstead. With her flair for building she designed a chapel, school hall and other additions and watched over the construction to their completion , but war broke out and the communitywas denied the pleasure of occupying its new accommodation Instead, evacuation was the order of the day and it fell to Mother Imelda to master-mind the move to Ashburnham Place in Sussex . The atmosphere at Ashburnham was chilly, the house unheated and the conditions appalling. It needed all her courage and optimismto keep up the spirits of the community and the children , who all alike were suffering from homesickness . In the early summer of 1940 the Germans reached the French Channel Ports and Sussex was no longer a safe haven for the children ; overnight, Mother Imelda and Mother Michael Baines arranged a further evacuation and the next morning a bizarre cortège of an old motor-coach and a horse-box transported the whole establishment to Ascot, where beds were found for all in the convent and neighbouring houses Then, from an unexpected quarter, came the greatest danger to the existence of the school; Mother Cecilia Marshall, worried at the loss of children from Ascot on account of the war, suggested that the two schools should amalgamateor, rather, that the Hampstead children should be absorbed into the Ascot school Mother Imelda, apart from wishing to keep her school, knew that

GILBERT

the two elements were too disparate ever to fuse successfully and she begged to be allowed to look for a further, safer place of refuge for the Hampstead children So, while Mother Michael organised something of a curriculum and the nuns taught in outhouses and a hay-loft, Mother Imelda scoured the country, inspecting property as far away as Devon .

At last the hospitable Seymour family, whose daughters had been at Ascot, offered her Bratton House near Westbury in Wiltshire. Sir Horace was at that time British Ambassador in Teheran so the whole house was at the community's disposal. For the next five years, as described on pp 27-29, Mother Imelda and Mother Michael in partnership struggled, improvised and generally cared for the children during term and holidays. But it was Mother Imelda who buoyed up the spirits ofthe pessimistic Mother Michael and developed the community's attitude that all the flags must be keptflying.

As peace drew near it was decided that a country boardingschool should be founded, so again there was large-scale house hunting Eventually Coombe House, Shaftesbury, was chosen, opposition from various quarters was overcome and Mother Imelda faced all the rigours of setting up a new establishment with very little money and in the post-war conditions of general scarcity. The school was almost established when a new problem arose; owing to war-time conditions Mother Imelda had been Superior of the same communityfor thirteen years, and Reverend Mother General Augusta von Kettenburg came over to England to regularise this unconstitutional situation She decreed that Mother Imelda should go to be the Superior in York, and many thought that this change would bring a breath of fresh air into the ancient Bar Convent.

So Mother Imelda travelled north, carrying with her an autocratic temperament, a habit of making snap decisions and sweeping changes, and an expectation of loyal support. She entered a house where tradition was paramount and where the Superior, though a 'grande dame' , was surrounded by consultresses and monitors. The clash was not long in coming. The chapel-stalls were, of course, out of place, but they were loved by the community who knew nothing of their intended removal until they read a 'For Sale' advertisement in The Tablet Understandably , a storm of criticism broke out. Then, when she most needed the support of higher authority, Mother Imeldafell foul of the Provincial by erecting without consultation ugly but very useful new class-rooms to meet the desperate shortage of teaching space Meanwhile the battle between conservation and

change continued until some members wrote a letter ofcomplaint to Bishop J. C. Heenan, then Bishop of Leeds , in whose diocese the Bar Convent was located It seems that he met the Provincial and suggested that Mother Imelda should complete her first term of office and then leave York Victory did not lie entirely with the community, for the Bishop assembled it and in a scarifying address said that if such lack of charity persisted he would close the house. (Close their house! Close their house that had existed for more than two and a half centuries! That was indeed food for thought.)

One more bitter pill remained for Mother Imelda to swallow . By an almost incredible mistake the Provincial put a letter she had written to Mother Gertrude Murphy into an envelope addressed to Mother Imelda, who read the verdict that she was considered unsuitable ever to hold office again.

After a period of forced inaction in Hampstead, however, she began to build her life anew when in 1956 she was sent to Cambridge to act as Bursar A great building project was on foot, and as the Superior was elderly and academic Mother Imelda had full scope for her energy and talents Then in 1964 a change of Superior brought Sister Gregory Kirkus, one of her war-time friends, to Cambridge and a happy partnership was established between them As the expansion of the school continued new properties were bought and had to be adapted for use, and Mother Imelda became the house-mistress of a boarding-house which she ran on popular but very unconventional lines. It seemed as if her jaunty step and fertile brain would never tire; but in the 1970's she contracted Parkinson's Disease , and a visible decline set in She was invalided to Ascot in 1980 and preparations were made for her long-time care. But within a fortnight she suffered a stroke and died a few days later on 20 September, mercifully saved from the humiliating last stages of Parkinson's Disease.

Circumstances had often been unkind to her, but she summed up her life in one of her last coherent remarks'We have had some good times together. '

She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

(See also Family Notes, pp 181-2).

GILBERT, Sister M. John

1904-1982

Mary Helen Gilbert, later Sister John, was the fifth oftheeight Gilbert daughters, and the third of the four who entered the Institute. She was born in 1904 and learnt her first lessons under the family governess before being sent to St. Mary's Conventa school that was only a stone's throw from her home. After

Mary Ward (1585-1645), foundress ofthe I.B.V.M.

Frances Bedingfield (1616-1704), foundress of the Bar Convent ,York

Ann Aspinal (1710-1789)

IgnatiusBarratt(1812-1869)

Francis Pope (1833-1914)

Joseph Edwards (1838-1901)

The first pupils of StMary's Convent, Ascot, 1885 . Cecilia Marshall is seated in the front row, onthe extreme right

MARYWARDCOURTYARD FOR THE UPPER SIXTH-1992

INDOOR SWIMMINGPOOL 1989 STAFFHOUSES 1991

BUILDING 1885 CHAPEL 1896/ LOWERSIXTH FORM WING 1958

. JOSEPHS WING & CONCERT HALL 1914 TENNIS COURTS NORTH INFIRMARYWING 1906, FIFTH FORM WING

GYMNASIUM

'finishing' with a year in Paris she declared her intention of entering religious life; but Mrs. Gilbert, though a Catholic, was very possessive of her daughters and Sister John (like her sisters) had a great struggle to fulfil her vocation. She managed, however , to join the Ascot novitiatein 1927, and she spent the next forty years serving the school and communitythere. She was not at all academic and would have found it difficult to pass any conventional examination . But she had two great gifts that were both used to the full during these years. The first was her gaiety and sense of fun, which young people found very attractive, so that she was the 'favourite nun' of hundreds of children . The second was her artistic ability and unerring sense of what was right in flower arrangement, clothes and house décor; so not only did she teach needlework and dress-making but she held the onerous post ofSacristan, was also House Prefect for seven years, and was constantly called upon to give a verdict on curtains orto help in the choice of carpets She found the burden of her duties heavy and in 1967 was very pleased to be sent to Shaftesbury where she had less responsibility and lighter work There she had time to take up gardening and found it a constant source ofjoy; and she became an enthusiastic supporter of the charismatic movement, which gave her great spiritual help In the 1970'sshe gradually shed many of her activities and by 1980 she was virtually retired In 1982 she suffered a severe stroke while on a visit to Hampstead, and she died in the Royal Free Hospital, London, on June 19. She was buried, by her own express wish, in the Shaftesbury town cemetery (See also Family Notes, pp 181-2).

GILES , Mother M. Loyola

1845-1930

Elizabeth Giles was born in 1845 of Protestant parents who both died while she was still a small child A Catholic uncle adopted her , declaring that ratherthan bring her up as a Catholic he would wait for her to make a free choice of her religion. At the age of ten she elected to be baptised as a Catholic and she was then sent to school at the Bar Convent She fell in love with the Institute but was beset with doubts and hesitations about her vocationuntil, on a visit to Wiesbaden, she becameconvinced of where it lay She was admitted to the York novitiate in 1866 and as Sister Loyola soon made her mark in the community. After teaching in the schools and serving for three years as Head Mistress, in 1883 she was appointed Superior, but resigned the office in 1891. She was made Mistress of Novices in 1897 and is best remembered in this post which she held for twenty-five years. She remains, however, a controversial figure; some of her novices

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

were full of admiration for her personal holiness while others disliked her for the severity that often led to injustice Years after she was laid to rest, an old nun would relate how, in her frustration, she would use her pillow as a surrogate for her Novice Mistress, banging it with her fist and saying 'Take that! and that! and that!'

At the age of fifty-one Mother Loyola began to write, and the popularity of her twenty-five published works (though comparatively short-lived) was suchthat they were translated into almost every European language, including Bulgarian and, beyond Europe, into Japanese Written for children and young people they included: Welcome, With the Church , A Simple Communion Book and A Life ofChrist.

It was not only by the pen that she exercised a wide apostolate. She instructed converts of every walk of life, on one occasion sitting in the cellar with the handyman who was cleaning out the furnace . It comes as a surprise to hear that this formidable lady ran the local Boys' Brigade, but it is on record thatwiththe help of drum and fife she made it very popular, while emphasising the spiritual side of its activities Lastly, but by no means least, she played her part in making Mary Ward better known and in campaigning for her recognitionas Foundress.

Shewas a household namewhen she died on 18 December 1930 at theageofeighty-five, andwas buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

GOLDIE, Sister M. Walburga 1832-1895

Mary Edith Goldie was born in York where her father , the architect George Goldie I, was practising. She was the sister of George Goldie II, the architect of St. Wilfrid's Church, York, and aunt of the architect who planned the early part of St. Mary's Convent , Ascot She was educated at the Bar Convent and entered the novitiate in 1851. In 1861 Mother Angela Browne sent her to be the Superior of the new foundation in Scarborough. Perhaps, at the age of only twenty-nine she was too young for the position, as she returned a year later, but she evidentlyhad ability and filled the posts of Sacristan, Infirmarian, Mistress of Novices and Consultress. One would like to know more about this member who had such interesting connections, but her personality eludesus. She died on 23 September 1895 and is buried in theBarConvent cemetery.

GRAY , Sister M. Gerard 1894-1921

Sister Gerard Gray is another shadowy figurefrom fairly recent times She finds a mention only in an early register of Ascot

GILES GRÉMION 93

members, where it is recorded that she was born in Monaghan in 1894, received the habit in Ascot in March 1916 and was professed two years later She died on 19 March 1921 , leaving a word-of-mouth tradition that she was 'the perfect novice . ' She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

GREENHALGH , Sister Chantal 1799-1879

Margaret Greenhalgh, or Sister Chantal, was born in Egton Bridge in 1799, and probably knew the Bar Convent from an early age, but she did not enter the novitiateuntil she was fortyone years of age She acted as Dispenser for a long period, but then suffered some illness or disability that confined her to the Infirmary for sixteen years She died on 6 April 1879 at the age ofeighty, and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

GRÉMION , Mother Magdalen 1857-1913

Magdalen Grémion was a French Swiss, born in Fribourg in 1857. In the late 1870's she came to England as a governess to the Hawes family, where the father was a famous clergyman and a successfulmusician. It was through Father H. J. Coleridge, S.J., that she came to know Mother Joseph Edwards and, drawn to religious life, in 1880 she entered what she rather ungraciously described as 'the poorest and most obscure convent in London. ' After Profession she taught in the school and worked in the printing-press that had been set up by the community to train working girls. In 1885 she was part of the new foundation at Ascot, serving for six years as Head Mistress of St. Francis' school; then, as soon as Ascot was established, she had experience of another foundation, for she was sent out to Rome in 1897 to be Superior ofthe new English convent. She threwherself vigorously into the work and even opened a boarding-school which was, however, short-lived.

She became personally acquainted with Pope Pius X and used the opportunity of a private audience to mention Mary Ward and beg for her recognition as foundress The Pope 'took six steps backwards' in dismay 'What!' he cried 'Mary Ward a foundress! She was a heretic. ' Poor Mother Grémion left his presence in tears, but her distress, noticed by a kindly Cardinal, led to her introduction to Cardinal Gasquet and so, eventually, to Mary Ward's rehabilitation

She was said to have a 'somewhat rough exterior' so it is not surprising that she sometimes found herself on a collisioncourse with Mother Joseph Edwards, whose explosive letters testify to their disagreements But she had a warm heart and was full of love for her subjects, ' who reciprocated her affection . Unhappily

she contracted cancer in 1912 and died on 14 December of the following year She is buried in the Agro Verano.

GUYONBEAUFORT , Sister Chantalde 1769c . 1831

Marie-Louise de Guyon Beaufort was born in Brittany in 1769 and belonged to a family of the old French noblesse During the French Revolution her mother fled to England with her two daughters, coming in such haste that they brought no winter clothes. They found refuge (and warm clothes) in the Bar Convent and some months later Louise joined the novitiate. Despite the horrifying news of her husband's execution , the impetuous countess returned to France with her younger daughter, acting on mis-information that the Revolution was over. Then one day poor Louise (now Sister Chantal) heard that her mother, brother and sister had all shared the Count's fate and had died on the guillotine. The news made the Terror a vivid reality for all in the Bar Convent.

Sister Chantal persevered in her vocation and becamea greatly valued member of the community. She acted as Infirmarian and Sacristan, but was most successful in the school where she taught French, drawing and the 'ornamental work' so beloved by the nineteenth century She introduced the custom of speaking French at meal-times and in class, and for five years filled the post of Prefectress of the 'pensioners' or boarders She was not, however, forgotten in France and in 1815, with the Revolution well over, the Abbé Gilbert asked that she should return to Paris to found a religious house . To the great loss of the Institute school and community she accepted the invitation but kept in touch with her old friends until 1831. Then no more news was heard of or from her and she was presumed to havedied .

HAIGH , SisterM. Hilda 1850-1942

Josephine Haigh was born in 1850 in Erdington, near Birmingham, and was the daughter ofthe convert George Haigh, and niece of the Rev. Daniel Haigh who built the church at Erdington. She was educated at the Bar Convent, but did not enter the novitiate there until she was twenty-seven Though she gave evidence of intellectual ability and a keen interest in history, these gifts were not at first put to use. After profession she was made assistant to the Children's Infirmarian and only in 1884 was she appointed to the more congenial offices of Librarian and Annalist. She was passionately interested in the history of the Institute and in 1886 was very pleased to assume responsibility for a history of the convent which her uncle had begun and worked on until his death in 1879. The completed 'St. Mary's

Convent, Micklegate Bar, York' was published in the Quarterly Series in 1887 under the name and editorship of Father H. J. Coleridge, S.J., with no acknowledgement of either Dr. Haigh or Sister Hilda, but a comparison between the printed work and various manuscript excerpts written by Sister Hilda suggeststhat Father Coleridge's contribution may have been largely negative and taken the form of editing out Sister Hilda's critical and forthright remarks.

In 1898 a foundation was made in Cambridge and Sister Hilda was posted there for ten years as teacher and librarian. She returned to York in 1908 and, except for two years in Rome and one year in Egton Bridge, she spent the rest of her long life as a member of the Bar Convent. During a bleak period in the history ofthe house she maintained an irrepressible sense ofhumour and must have been something of an enfant terrible in a communityof sober-sides The spoken words are lost, but there are flashes of humour in her writings . An entry in her Annals for 1882, under the light-hearted title 'Out of bounds with the Bishop' describesa procession that proceeded 'down the play-ground, across St. Mary's, past the pigstye and four wonder-stricken pigs . . . ': and her comment on the Bishop's refusal to allow the nuns to retain the house in Scarborough is typical of her style: 'His Lordship thought they should wait till they got to Heaven for a change of air '

But her workas a serious historian was far more importantfor posterity. There is no evidence that she wrote a history of the Hammersmith schism, but her collection of copies of the pertinent documents is invaluable, providing 'working papers' for future researchers and revealing what is extant in the Westminster Archives We find no mention of her ever visiting London, and it seems likely that she transcribed the copies from her uncle's sources

By the outbreak of World War II the erstwhile enfant terrible had become 'a venerable figure' , and was to be seen more often dozing than reading in the Library.

After the tragic night of 29 April 1942 she was sent to the safety of Holme-on-Spalding Moor She died there on 9 September 1942 as a result of a fall, and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HANSOM , Sister Martha 1773-1839

Martha Hansom was born in York in 1773 and was the aunt of Joseph Aloysius Hansom, architect and inventor of the Hansom cab. She was baptised in the convent chapel and educated in the convent day school She was accepted into the novitiate in 1791

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

and spent the rest ofher life in the Bar Convent, serving for some time as Apothecaress. She died on 28 June 1839 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

HARDMAN Sister M. Philip

1879-1963

Mary Hardman , or Sister Philip as she became, was born in 1879 into a Birmingham family that typified the late 19th century Catholic Church. Her father was John Hardman whose firm designedand manufactured the ecclesiasticalfurnishings that were much in demand in that great era of Catholic church-building. The family home was not far from the Birmingham Oratory, where Cardinal Newman's spirit prevailed even after his death in 1890 and where the walls of the new Oratory church were rising Mary was the youngest of the five girls of John Hardman'sfirst marriage and she was only a baby when her mother died. The children were entrusted to the care of a nurse who did not find it easyto love the ailing, complaining little creature who resisted all attempts to make her conform to conventional nursery life

John Hardman married a second time, and in due course his family provided six nuns for the Church, each of a different religious order. There was a Sister of Charity, a Sister of Mercy, a Benedictine, a Sister of Notre Dame and a Franciscan. Mary tried the Sisters of Notre Dame, but the life was too austerefor her delicate constitution, so she went to the Sacred Heart Sisters at Roehampton, but was rejected by Mother Janet Stuart. It was a rejection she found hard to forgive, but she should have been grateful because when, in 1905, she came to the Bar Convent she found in Mary Ward and the Institute fitting objects for her lifelong devotion . Even so, life was not easy for her; she was never robust, and she came to suffer from a neurosis thatin those days was viewed with suspicion instead of compassion; noise caused her real pain in York it was the traffic, in Cambridge the ducks, in Shaftesbury the wind and a buzzard, in Ascot the novices and the ubiquitous Hoover. She struggled to live a normal life, teaching for a while in the school in York, then acting as Sacristan and Accountant, but her work was constantly interruptedby illness and she had several nervous breakdowns . In search of health she spent several years abroad, in Germany and Italy, using the opportunities to research into the history of the Institute The material she collected was processed into her monumental history, a work that has never been published because it needs much verification and editing, but which is nevertheless a valuable source of information for researchers. It was, in fact, as a writer that she was most successful; her Companionsof Mary Ward and the unpublished Some Daughters

HANSOM

HARRISON 97 ofMary Ward are informative and make good reading, while her life of St. Claude de la Colombière, published under the title A Jesuit at the English Court, was for a long time the only English biography of that saint.

In December 1939 Sister Philip was sent to Rome, to help in the English house, and was unfortunately trapped there when Mussolini entered the war against the Allies She had to share all the war time fears, anxieties and privations of the community before returning, at last, to England in 1946. She was posted to Ascot and there lived the life of a semi-invalid, but able occasionally to give instructions to the novices on the history of the Institute.

She died in a nursing home near Godalming on 7 May 1963 , and is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

HARGITT

, Sister Xaveria 1771-1834

Ann Hargitt was born in York and was baptised in the Little Blake Street chapel that was the forerunner to St. Wilfrid's Church. She was educated at the Bar Convent day-school and then was employed in the convent, perhaps in the Infirmary, as she witnessedthe death of Ann Aspinal in 1789. A year later she asked to be admitted to the novitiate; we have no details of the active period ofher life in the Institute, but it is recorded that she was blind for the last five years of her life. She died on 24 August 1834 at the age of sixty-three and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HARRISON, Sister M. Agatha

1835-1879

Margaret Harrison was born in York and was educated for seven years in the Bar Convent day-school She entered the novitiate in 1856 and is another member of whose life of service there are no details She died on 16 November 1879 at the age of forty-four and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HARRISON , Sister Augustine

1807-1879

Anne Harrison was born in York in 1807 and was educated at the Bar Convent She entered the novitiate in 1844 taking the name ofAugustine ; we know no personal details of her religious life, but she served the school and community by successively filling the offices of school Procuratrix, Mistress of the boarding school and Dispenser. She died on 28 June 1879 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HARRISON

, Sister Mary Margaret

19071999

Margaret Mary Harrison was a Yorkshire woman, born in Egton Bridge, where the name of Harrison is legion. Her father, the local post-master, was killed in the first World War, and his widow was left to run the village post-office and bring up thetwo children . In due time Margaret Mary relieved her mother of many of the postal duties, and so learnt the accuracy and meticulousness that characterised her for the rest of her life. The post-office stood beside the stepping-stones that still cross the River Esk; and on the other side of the river, at the further end ofthe stones , the Institute had a house . So MargaretMarycame to know the nuns and, feeling called to religious life, she entered the Bar Convent in 1927 as one of the last members in the novitiatethere At about the same time her brother, to whomshe was devoted, joined the Sacred Heart Fathers and became a priest Sister Mary Margaret (as she came to be known) took a degree in Leeds University and spent many years teaching French in Cambridge and establishing a system of exchanges with French schools. When St. Bede's Secondary Modern School, Cambridge, was opened in 1962 she was appointed Deputy Head and worked devotedly and indefatigablythere for seven years under a zealous but difficult Head Master She left St. Bede's in 1969 and returned to York where she did some teaching in the school; but her time and energy were increasingly applied to other apostolic works among the sick and the poor Until the infirmities of old age intervened, she ran a very popularprayer-group. She spent some weeksin hospital with a broken ankle , and died on 31 January1999 of a sudden brain haemorrhage. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HASTINGS

, Sister Christina, alias Anderton d . 1711

Christina Hastings was born in Ashby, Leicestershire, the daughter of Henry Anderton, a small landowner. She was distantly related to Cecily Cornwallis and sometimes used her name as an alias She was educated by the Institute in Parisand Munich and then followed Mary Poyntz to Augsburgwhere she entered the novitiate in 1662. In 1669 she was sent over to England where she assisted Frances Bedingfield in the foundation of the Hammersmithhouse. She was a member of the Dolebank foundation in 1677, sharing arrest with Father Pracid and Cecily Cornwallis in December 1678. After two cross-examinations she was imprisoned in York Castle but a few years laterwas allowed to live in Castlegate under a sort of house-arrest. She had a good measure offreedom there and ran a small school in her lodgings (one of her pupils being 'More's niece') as well as attending

HARRISON HAUGHIE 99

Father Pracid's daily Mass in the Castle. On her release in 1685 she joined the little community in Heworth, and she was probably a foundation member of the Bar Convent in 1686.She returned to Germany with Frances Bedingfield in 1699 and died in Augsburg in 1711 .

HATFIELD, Sister M. Francis

1868/9-1941

Annie Hatfield was born in Seaton Ross, Yorkshire, and entered the Bar Convent in 1903. She spent some years in the Cambridge community, but returned to York where she died on9 September 1941.

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HATFIELD , Sister M. Winefrid 18731953

Alice Hatfield was Annie's younger sister and was also born in Seaton Ross, Yorkshire. She was the first to enter the Bar Convent novitiate, being accepted in 1901. She was posted to Cambridge in 1906 and spent forty-seven years of her religious life there . For most of this time she was laundress and in addition to the household laundry she took on the washing of the altar linen for the convent chapel, the parish church and the Dominican and Franciscan houses in Cambridge. She died in Cambridge on 9 September 1953 and is buried in the city cemetery.

HATTERSBY

, SisterRegis 1848-1884

Gertrude Hattersby , later Sister Regis, was born in Barton-onHumber in 1848. She entered the York novitiate in 1869 but seems to have been sent to do a teachers' training course in Liverpool before she received the religious habit in 1872. After profession she taught in the schools and served as Mistress of Linen Unhappily she contracted tuberculosis (perhaps as a result of the severe régime of the time) and died on 16 March 1884 after two years' illness , aged thirty-five. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HAUGHIE, Sister Marie-Thérèse 1905-1995

Jean Haughie was as Scottish as her name suggests, for she was born in Gavan, Lanark, not far from the River Clyde She entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1929 and experienced a few months of Mother Loyola Giles's rigorous training before all the novices were transferred to Ascot where she becameSister MarieThérèse Her long years of service included periods in York, Cambridge and Shaftesbury, but she spent most of her life as a member ofthe Ascot community. She worked in the convent and

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

at Errollston, and for manyyears was responsible for Summerley during the summer holidays But her interests stretched far beyond her domestic work; she was an ardent supporter of the movement to send disabled children to Lourdes, she collected clothes and everything that could be useful for the deprived people of Poland and Rumania ; and she made trips to Scotland and U.S.A. to visit her relatives When she might well have retired from all active service she replaced Sister Felicity at St. Francis' school and did some part-time teaching there.

She died on 7 November 1995 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery, far fromthe banks ofthe Clyde but surrounded by her life-long companions.

HAUSSMAN , Sister M. Hilda 18821954

Maria Haussman was born in Grossweingarten bei Schwaben in Bavaria, and though she spent most of her life in England she always remained as German as the name of her birthplace suggests. She was educated by the Institute in Eichstatt and entered the Nymphenburgnovitiate in 1900. Shortly afterwards Mother Joseph Edwards made an appeal for help for Ascot, and the youngnovice, Sister Hilda, with great self-sacrifice, offered to go into voluntary exile on the 'English mission ' She took her first vows in Ascot in 1903 and from then on identified herself with England and the English, only twice making a visit to Germany. Ascot was very poor in its early days and Sister Hilda used to relate, later, that the older members of the community denied themselves food so that she and the other younger ones could have enough.

As a clever needlewoman she was appointed needlework mistress while still learning English, and she was put in charge of the children's clothes. Over the years the school grew in numbers beyond all expectation, but Sister Hilda, reigning over the boxroom, was always equal to her task Ever devoted to duty and always meticulous in observing the rules of religious life, she seemed totally devoid of humour, but rumour had it that she was occasionally tempted into smiling complicity by two novices who sang her comic songs when they should have been mending the children's clothes in silence!

She could have returned to Germany during either of the World Wars, but she preferred to remain in the country of her adoption, thoughto the end of her life speaking its language with a strong guttural accent

She died in Ascot on 19 September 1954 and is buried in the convent cemetery.

HAUGHIE HEISSING

HAYES, Sister M. Cecily

1883-1932

Gertrude Hayes was born in Brazil and when sent back to England for her education went to the school of the Notre Dame Sisters in Blackburn There is no record of how and why she came to ask admittance to the Bar Convent novitiate , but she was accepted in 1910 and became Sister Cecily After a few years spent in the schools in York, she was sent to Cambridge where she put her versatility at the disposal of the school and taught religion, music and needlework, and acted as Head Mistress of the boarders as well as - for a time - Infirmarian

She died on 7 December 1932 after a long and courageous battlewithcancer, and is buried in the city cemetery.

HEALY, Sister M. Teresa

1883-1955

Clare Healy, the eldest of a family of nine children , was born near York in 1883. She lost her mother when she was still a child and was sent to Ireland to be cared for by her grandmother. At fourteen she was a boarder at Loreto College, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, and from there she went on to Rathfarnham Abbey, where at eighteen she entered the novitiate . After some thirty years of working in Loreto houses in Spain, Manchester, Rathfarnham , Llandudno , Cavan and Balbriggan, she petitioned in 1931 to be transferred to the English Province under the Roman Generalate, giving as her reason that the Loreto nuns paid scant attention to Mary Ward and seemed to regard Teresa Ball as their foundress. Her case had to go to Rome before the Sacred Congregation for Religious, where her request was granted. Her life in the English Province proved hardly more settled , geographically, than it had been with the Loreto's for she was posted successively to York, Rome, Hampstead and Cambridge, teaching music in the schools and having charge of students

She died in Cambridge on 15 November 1955 and is buried in the city cemetery.

HEISSING, Sister M. Aloysius

1885-1963

Josephine Heissing was born in Kempton, Germany but chose to fulfil her vocation in England, and so entered the Ascot novitiate in 1908. In 1913, with minimal medical knowledge, she was appointed Infirmarian and she spent the rest of her life caring for the sick, wherever the need in the Province was greatest She remained in Ascot until 1941, when she was sent to Bratton to help the evacuated community ; when , a year later, the Bar Convent was bombed and lost five members , she went to the help of the bereaved communityand, except for a year spent in

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Shaftesbury, York remained her home for the rest ofher life. She was always very practical and, although undemonstrative in her manner, she was profoundly loyal to the Institute and to the Province of her adoption

She died of cancer on 20 November 1963 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HELLER , Sister M. Cecily 1914-1992

Maria Magdalena Heller was born in Innsbruck , the only child of Franz and Linda Heller, who were both devout Catholics but of Jewish origin. Magdalena studied at the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna and then in 1938 entered the Institute in St. Polten, Austria; but the storm of Nazi persecution against the Jews was already raging and while still a postulant she was transferred to England for safety At Ascot she receivedthe habit and the name of Cecily, on account of her great love of music, and in due time she was professed. At Reading University she took a first class degree in Mathematics and was invited to proceed to a Ph.D., but this was thought unnecessary .

Meanwhilewar had broken out and Sister Cecily knew nothing about her parents except that they were wanted by the Nazis. Only when peace came did she learn that they had survived by 'entering Cistercian abbeys of strict observance and posing for six years as religious . The father came to love the life, but the mother found the conditions almost unbearably hard! Both were , of course, delighted to be re-united, and Sister Cecily enjoyed some happy holidays with them .

At Ascot she bravely taught science and mathematics , but she was really too intellectual to be a success in the class-room. Her great contribution to community life was her playing the organ for every Benediction and Sung Mass No feast-day celebration was complete without one of her triumphant voluntaries that set the tone for the day.

She developed a heart condition that reduced heractivities , but she continued to play the organ until her death of a heart attack on 14 December 1992

She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

HENSLOW , Sister Elizabeth d . 1724

Elizabeth Henslow was a member of the Hammersmith community from 1681 to her death on 18 November 1724, and was therefore involved in the controversy over authority. She abstained from signing the first dissident document that 'chose Bishop Giffard as CommunityChief Superior, ' but was won over into signing the second declaration that stated: 'We most fully

acknowledge your Lordship's full power of jurisdiction over us ... She lived to see the dissidence become a schism and to witness Cecily Cornwallis's departure forYork. She is buried in St. Paul's churchyard, Hammersmith

HEVEY , Sister Bernard 1788-1815

Anna Maria Hevey was born in Dublin in October 1788 and was educated at the Bar Convent She entered the novitiate in 1811 and by all accounts there never was a more golden novice. The Annals relate that she was 'destined by Mother Coyney and the community for Superiority, being endowed with gifts of person, mind and character desirable for that capacity. According to tradition she attracted more admiration and esteem than any other member of the community before or since ' But alas! this paragon of all virtue, ecstatically described and regarded as 'the future prop of the house' became yet another victim to tuberculosis and died on 7 September 1815 at the age of twentysix. Sheis buried in Holy Trinitychurchyard , Micklegate

HEWETT, Sister M. Barbara 1875-1904

Maude Hewett, or Sister Barbara, was one of nine sisters, all great grand-daughters of Daniel O'Connell . She was born in 1875, probably in India, and was one of the four who became members of the Institute. She entered the Ascot novitiatein 1893 , but little is known of her subsequent life except that she passed the Oxford Senior Examination in a commendable number of subjects, and taught for a short time in the school. She shared the fate of most of her sisters , dying young on 7 July 1904. She is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

(See also Family Notes, p. 182).

HEWETT , Mother M. Joseph 1874-1942

Kathleen Hewett was born in Meerut , India, and was one of nine sisters of whomfour entered the Institute She was educated first in England's Lane and then at Ascot when all the London boarders were moved there She left school in 1890, entered the novitiate in 1893 and was put through a course of study with a wide range of subjects, culminating in the Oxford Senior examinations that were then considered an adequatequalification for the teaching profession. For a short time she taught in St. Francis's school, and was then Mistress of Novices for three years resigning from the post in order to take a further course of study in English History, Roman History, Latin and Mathematics On the strength of this she became Mistress of

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Studies of the boarding school for ten years and then Novice Mistress once more .

In 1928 her life underwent a radical change when she was appointed an Assistant General and the local Superior of the English house in Rome, posts that she held until 1937. She maintained contact with the English Province by frequent summer visits to Ascot, but one doubts whether they were entirelyhappy events for the Ascot authorities , as their important visitor observed everything and commented on all she saw , criticising the way the Under-Sacristan wielded a duster and complaining that the novices who slept above her room disturbed her by leaping out of bed punctually when called at 5.45 a.m. each morning But gratitude was due to her for holding her post for nearly ten years , until a severe attack of pneumonia necessitated her permanent return to England in 1937. She came ofa short-lived family and had already out-lived all her sistersby many years A few months in Egton Bridge did nothing to build up her strength, and she died in Ascot on 21 December 1942 . She is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

(See also Family Notes, p 182)

HEWETT , SisterMargaret Mary 1870-1922

Christine Hewett was one of nine sisters, four of whom entered the Institute, a fifth becoming the mother of yet another member. Christine was born in Simla, India, and like her sisters was educated in England's Lane. She joined the Ascot novitiate in 1888, taking the name of Sister Margaret Mary and two years later she was professed by Father John Morris, S.J. After some years of study she taught in the Ascot school until death claimed her on 19 February 1922.She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

(See Family Notes, p. 182).

HEWETT , Sister Winefride 1872-1893

Georgina Hewett was another of the great-grand-daughters of the Liberator. She was born in 1872, probably in India, and like her sisters she was educated in England's Lane We know nothing of her religious life except that the Ascot Journal reports: 4thApril 1891 Sister Winefridewas clothed by Father John Morris, S.J.' She died on 7 April 1893 and is buried in Kensal Green (See also Family Notes, p. 182).

HICKEY, Sister M. Agatha 1888-1953

Sister Agatha , born May Hickey in 1888, came from Liverpool and entered the Ascot novitiate in 1918. She worked in most of the houses ofthe English Province, includinga spell at Errollston

where she was much loved by the domestic science students, and a few years in Hampstead when it was re-opened after the war. Unfortunately her life was punctuated by mental breakdowns and eventually, in 1950, she had to be sent to Burgess Hill, where she died on 13 March 1953. She is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

HILDYARD, Sister M. Monica 1893-1974

Monica Hildyard was born in Hull in 1893, of devoutly Catholic parents Her early life traced a common pattern of education at the Bar Convent followed by admittance to the novitiate at the age of nineteen. She made her noviceship under the formidable Mother Loyola Giles, and it says much for the courage of this delicate girl that she survived the gruellingyears offormation. She taught music and needlework for short periods in Cambridge, York and Hampstead, but in 1926 her health broke down and she was threatened with tuberculosis She was sent to Egton Bridge in the hope that the country air would provide a cure, and after seven years she was well enough to return to York and give some valuable years of teaching there, but she was obliged gradually to relinquish her duties as she becamecrippled with arthritis. 'A dull life' might be the reader's verdict, but her personality was anything but dull She had an unquenchable, quirky sense of humour with which she combated her ill-health, and an inimitable vocabulary of her own. She was always ready to laugh at herself - for havingto walk backwards downstairs, for example, or for smelling of the paraffin that was her latest cure .

She must be gratefully and forever remembered for her discovery ofSister Austin Langley's musical talent, her use ofher voice in the choir and the friendship she formed with that otherwise lonely sister With reference to their religious names they called themselves 'mother' and 'son' and provided a mutual companionship that brought happiness to both When Sister Monica became veryinfirm the devoted Sister Austin spent many nights in a chair at her bedside, ready to attend to her every need But despite this selfless nursing, Sister Monica died on 13 June 1974

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery, where her friend was later to follow her.

HINES, Sister M. Francis Borgia

1781-1855

Sophia Teresa Hines, in religion Sister Francis Borgia, is one of the members whom it is impossible to endow with any personality. Born in Ireland in 1781 she was admitted as a novice in York in 1811 and after profession in 1813 she taught in the

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

schools, cared for the linen for five years and acted as Librarian for a further five. How she spent the period from 1838 to her death in 1855 is not recorded. She died on 24 January 1855 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

HODKINSON , Sister M. Magdalen

1780-1824

Elizabeth Hodkinson was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1780 and entered the Bar Convent novitiatein 1800. Apart from being Prefectress of the Linen , she spent her whole religious life teaching in the Day School, where she was Mistress from the year of her profession (1804) to her death in 1824. She died on 11 September ofa premature stroke at the age offorty-four and had the distinction of being the last member of the Institute to be buried in Holy Trinitychurchyard , Micklegate

HODSHON , SisterElizabeth 17041783

Elizabeth was probably the younger of Ralph and Mary Hodshon's two daughters, who both joined the Institute. She was born in Co. Durham in 1704 and at the age of eight was sent to school at the Bar Convent. As soon as her education was finished she was accepted into the novitiate, where one of her companions was the remarkable Sister Eleonora Clifton She herself must have been a valuable member because she held the office of Mistress of Novices for twenty-two years and so formed the religious life of Mother Ann Aspinal, Sister Elizabeth Stanfield and 'good Mistress [Mary] Bishoprick ' In her old age she acted as Sacristan up to the very year ofher death. She died on 17 May 1783 at the age of seventy-nine, and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate .

HODSHON , Mother Mary d . 1760

Mary Hodshon was born in Co. Durham We do notknow her date of birth, but it seems likely that she was the elder of thetwo sisters because, after their education together at the Bar Convent, she was admitted into the novitiate in 1718, two years before her sister Elizabeth She was the Superior of the Convent for fourteen years (1746 1760), and thus bore the brunt of Dr. Jacques Sterne's harassment of the community . In 1748 he demanded that it should disperse, and it might well have done so, at least temporarily , if Eleonora Clifton had not made her brave stand. Dr. Sterne then had Mother Hodshon and a companion arraigned before the Spiritual Court, on a charge ofnot receiving Holy Communionin the parish church on one ofthe prescribed days Fortunatelythe case was ill-prepared, for the indolentvicar of Holy Trinity, Micklegate, had not held a service on thatday.

So the case went by default and great must have been the relief of Mother Hodshon In 1759 her health began to fail and she died on 24 May the next year. Her body was buried in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate , where that of her sister was to follow her, twenty-three years later.

HOGARTH , Sister M. Dominica

1813-1887

Mary Jane Hogarth was born in Whitby in 1813. For some years she worked as a secular servant and portress in the Bar Convent, and in 1850 she was admitted to the novitiate She died on 1 April 1887 and is buried in the convent cemetery.

HORBURY , Sister Mary

1750-1784

Mary Horbury was born in London of Protestant parents in 1750. She was educated in Paris and was received into the Catholic Church in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. In 1773 she entered the Bar Convent novitiate, where Mother Ann Aspinal was Superior and the new chapel had lately been opened She was described as 'clever and accomplished' and no doubt Mother Aspinal hoped for great things from her, as she put her to teach in the school But this gifted young nun proved to be yet another victim of the prevalent disease of tuberculosis. She died on 20 July 1784 at the age ofthirty-four and is buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate .

HOSTAGE, Sister M.Angela 1813-1878

Mary Hostage was born in Chester in 1813, the eldest oftwelve children When she was 'still quite a child' her parents left the city and moved into the country, leaving Mary in the charge ofa pious aunt so that she could continue her schooling and have the advantage of religious instruction from Dr. John Briggs, the priest of the Chester mission and later Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District From an early age she was drawn to religious life, but her mother urged her to help with the upbringingofher younger brothers and sisters, so she delayed fulfilling her vocation until Christmas Eve, 1841 , when she was twenty-nine years old. By then Bishop Briggs had been in Yorkfor five years, and no doubt it was he who directed her to the Bar Convent, where she took the name of Sister Angela Unaccustomed to religious life, she often made mistakes and was teased, sometimes mercilessly, but she bore it all in good humour. Nothing is known of her work for the Institute, but mention is made of a deformity perhaps a curvature of the spine that gave her continual pain throughout her life Despite having a great fear of

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death, she died peacefully on 17 February 1878 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

HUGALIN , Sister Anna Magdalen 17th/18th Century

Sister Anna Magdalen Hugalin was sent by Reverend Mother Agnes Babthorpe to accompany Mary Cramlingtonto Hammersmith, where, it seems, she was offered as an additional member The community, however, rejected her scornfully as 'past the vigour of her age, adding 'she is broken in health, she is exceeding slow at her needle [and] speaks very bad English. ' So poor Sister Anna Magdalen went on to York where she was welcomed and much appreciated 'As to Madame Hugalin' , wrote Sister Jane Walker to the General Superior in December 1713, ‘I need say no more than that she is an example to all that sees her , very beloved by all; she labours hardfor the common good; when she can speak English we shall be further instructed , don't doubt, in many things. She has the most to undergo, being in a strange country and to learn the language, but her virtue carries her through all We have all great obligation to your Ladyship for sending one so prudent and so good.' Sister Helen Walker was equallyloud in her praise, describing her as 'a true religious woman of an excellent temper.'

Despite her virtue, however, Sister Anna Magdalen seems to have found the rigours of a foreign country too muchfor her as she almost certainlyreturned to Germany and died there.

HUNTER , Sister M. Gonzaga

1801-1882

Ann Hunter was born in a Scottish barracks where her father Captain Hunter (a staunch Presbyterian) was stationed. She was the eldest daughter and as the conditions in the army quarters were unfavourable to the upbringing of little children, she was given to an elderlyScottish woman, whom she called Granny, to be fostered. At the age of sixteen or seventeen she went to school at the Bar Convent ; this was at her own request, curiously, for she declared she would 'never be a Papist.' Neverthelesswithin a year she asked for instruction and was received into the Church by the chaplain, Father James Newsham Three years later she entered the novitiate and became Sister Gonzaga While still a novice she was struck by an illness so severe that she was professed 'in articulo mortis' , as it was thought. She recovered, however, and worked for about thirty years, teaching in the day and boarding schools and acting as Procuratrix Her teaching methods were very original and, said to be 'before her time' , were often misjudged From 1863 onwards she was often confined to the infirmary with physical illness and a mental trouble that the

neurologist ascribed to a deformity of the skull' , but she managed to be mentally active, translating St. Bernard's sermons 'fluently but inaccurately' from the Latin Whether she put her 'meagreknowledge of Greek' to any practical use is not recorded. She died on 21 February 1882 and is buried in the BarConvent cemetery.

IDELSON, Sister M. Sebastian

1894-1987

Edith Mary Idelson was born in Wolverhamptonin June 1894 , of an Orthodox Catholic father who probably provided the Russian blood she claimed to possess. Part of her childhood was spent in an orphanage, and then she worked as a priest's housekeeper before joining the Bar Convent novitiate in September 1922. Shortly after her profession she becamepart of the Cambridge communityand served it as laundress for the rest of her active life For many years the laundry was in the old coach house, and to keep her company in that isolated situation she had a series of canaries and budgerigars whom she dearly loved. She was always full of fun, ready to compose or sing a song, or even executea little dance

In 1986 the infirmities of old age necessitated her movingto St. Joseph's, York, where her gaiety endeared her to all the nurses . During the week before she died she kept saying, 'I'm going away, I'm not sure where to, but I know I shall be very happy. " Her words were dismissed as the mental wanderings of an old lady, but early in the morning of 3 June 1987 she said to the night-nurse: 'Put on my veil and then hold my hand and don't go away. ' Half an hour later this faithful servant went away to the place where she is surely very happy.

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

IRELAND , Sister M.Angela

1889-1982

Mary Ireland was born in 1889 and baptised into the Protestant Church She was educated at home, studied music and took her L.R.A.M. in 1915. About this time she was receivedinto the Catholic Church and in 1917, at the age of twenty-eight, was admitted into the Bar Convent novitiate, where her Novice Mistress was the stern and formidable Mother Loyola Giles She disliked Mother Loyola intensely, but persevered in her vocation For the whole of her active life she taught music, acted as Sacristan and formed friendships that helped to make the Bar Conventa focal point of Catholic social activity. This uneventful existenceended on 2 September 1982 when she died at the age of ninety-two.

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

JENKINS, Sister Dorothy d. 1733

Sister Dorothy Jenkins was a member of the Hammersmith Community from 1701 till her death on 7 September 1733. She signed both the documents supporting Bishop Giffard as 'CommunityChief Superior' but perhaps she repented of this act ofdissidence because we are told that she mourned thedeparture of Cecily Cornwallis to York and the subsequent decline of the Hammersmith House.

She is buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith

JORDAN , Sister Vincent 1888-1942

Eve Jordan, who was later Sister Vincent , was born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, in 1888 and was educated first by the Sacred Heart sisters and subsequently at the Southampton Training College, by members of La Sainte Union. After teaching for some time in her native Lancashire, she was appointed Head Mistress of the village school in Scarthingwell, near York. Visits were made, of course, to the Bar Convent , and in 1930 Eve, at the advanced age of forty-two, sought admission into the novitiate (by now in Ascot) of the Institute. She taught in Ascot for two years as a professed sister, and then returned to York to take up the post of Head Mistress of the English Martyrs School, where her rule was said to be gentle and considerate ' As recounted in the Introduction, she died in the air-raid of29 April 1942 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

KANE, Sister M.Anthony 18631931

Mary Kane, known affectionately by many generations of children as 'Mother Mary Anthony' was born in Ireland in 1863 and entered the England's Lane novitiate in 1880. She taught in the school there and when Mother Joseph Edwards took half the communityto found a new house in Ascot, Mother Anthony was left in charge of the school in London and later became the Superior also . In 1901 she was sent to Ascot where she had charge of the Lower School and was the mother-figure to hundreds ofyoungchildren

She died of cancer on 29 March 1931 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

KAVANAGH, Sister M. Francis 1883-1918

Josephine Kavanagh was born in Wexford, where she was educated by the Loreto sisters She came over to England's Lane as a pupil-teacher and in 1903 followed her older sister into the Ascot novitiate After profession and further study she became the assistant mistress in St. Francis's elementary school, attached

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to the Friary. Her gentleness endeared her to children and parents alike: but her health was always precarious, and in 1917 she was sent to England's Lane, in the hope that a change of air would do her good Unhappily she died there on 19 June of the following year, after an acute attack of appendicitis. Sheis buried in the Ascot cemetery.

KAVANAGH , Sister M. Stanislaus 1878-1952

Margaret Kavanagh was born in Wexford in 1878 and entered the Ascot novitiate in 1898. Immediately after her clothing she was sent to England's Lane and, with many ups and downs of fortune and changes of location, she remained with the same communityfor the rest of her life. She took a Teacher's Diploma and was in charge of countless generations of small children who loved the short, stout figure of homely appearance. Though she had no training for the task, she acted for many years as Infirmarian, making up with kindness and good will what she lacked in professional knowledge and skill. She accompanied the England's Lane communityto Fitzjohn's Avenue and thence took part in the war-time odyssey to Ashburnham , Ascot, Bratton and finally Shaftesbury

She died in Shaftesbury on 29 September 1952 as the resultofa stroke, and is buried in the Wardourcemetery.

KELLY , Sister M. Anne 1912-1991

Winifred Kelly was born in 1912 in Ealing, London, and was educated, with her elder sister, in the convent ofJesus and Mary, Willesden. After completing a Domestic Science course in the North London Polytechnic, she felt drawn to religious life and turned, not to her old school, but to the Institute, for her priest brother Nicholas was familiar with the 'English Ladies' in Rome She joined the novitiate in 1935 and was one of the generation of novices known as The Big Five. She would not have been rated high on the I.Q. scale, but she had a great sense of fun and was always a delightful companion. She spent her life as a hardworking House Prefect successively in Hampstead, Shaftesbury, Cambridge and York, sometimes adding to her duties those of children's Infirmarian, and often being the 'carer' of the elderly. In old age she suffered from arthritis and by 1989 it had become so pervasive that she had to be invalided to St. Joseph's. She died there on 5 December 1991 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

(See also Family Notes, p 183).

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

KELLY , Sister M. Borgia 1874-1968

Mary Teresa Kelly was born in August 1874 in Newcastleunder-Lyme, Staffordshire , and entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1898. She was professed in 1901 and then sent to the newly established house in Cambridge. The date of her return to York is not recorded, but her signature as a member of the York communityappears on a document of 1911 .

After a long illness she died in the Bar Convent on 9 August 1968 and is buried in the cemetery there .

KELLY , Mother M. Cecilia

1874-1941

Cecilia Kelly was born in August 1874 and was educated bythe Sisters of Notre Dame in Norwich. She went to the Bar Convent as a lay teacher in the boarding school and in 1892 (when still only eighteen) she asked to be accepted into the novitiate. As a promising young member she was sent to Cambridge in 1900 to take a Teacher's Training Course, returning to Yorkforthe years 1904 8. An interesting interlude in her life occurred in 1908, when she went to Rathfarnhamfor a year, to give the young nuns there the benefit of her training and experience This early instance of co-operation with the Loreto sisters was set on foot by Mother Francis Pope, who visited Rathfarnham and had a very friendly relationship with theAbbey.

In 1909 Mother Cecilia was appointed Superior in York, in succession to Mother Francis Pope, and she was responsible for uniting the day and boarding schools, as well as raising the academic standards to the 'recognized as efficient' class . She held her office until 1925, when a nervous breakdown necessitatedher retirement to Egton Bridge, where she recovered and was appointed Superior of the small community. There she spent her time not only caring for the sisters but teaching catechism in the village school, instructing converts and extending a kind and gracious welcome to all visitors

She died on 23 August 1941 and is buried in the Egton cemetery

KELLY , Sister M. Etheldreda 1908-1989

Frances Pentecost Kelly was born in Ealing, London in 1908 . She was the eldest of a family of three that was bereaved ofits mother at a very early age, and though a devoted grandmother and three maiden aunts brought up the children, Frances early developed a sense of responsibilityfor her younger brother and sister. She and Winifred (Sister Anne) were educated at the Willesden Convent of Jesus and Mary and she then took a secretarial course. In 1937 she joined Sister Anne in the Ascot

KELLYKERR

novitiate and (having evidentlya relish for the long and unusual in names) became Sister Etheldreda. Her three aunts were all nurses, so it was in line with the family tradition that she should belong to the same profession and she was sent to train first in London and then (on account of war conditions) in Windsor. After qualifying as an S.R.N. in 1944, and carrying off a Gold Medal, she proved herself a very efficient Infirmarian to both school and community. Some patients found her too professional and complained of her lack of sympathy, but she was never known to miss a serious symptom and she always provided all the care and the remedies that were needed For thirty-four years she was responsible for the health of the children and the nuns and by the 1980's deafness and other symptoms had taken their toll She retired from her strenuous duties and gradually became a complete invalid By 1988 she needed the care of St. Joseph's, York, where she died on 20 December ofthe following year She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery. (See also Family Notes, p. 183).

KENNY , SisterM. Anselma 1895-1971

This gentle, rosy-cheeked sister was born in Liverpool in 1895 and came of Irish stock as her name, Winifred Kenny, suggests. At twenty-five she entered the Ascot novitiate and, never flustered or hurried or irritated, she lived out her religious life performing domestic duties in London, Ascot and Sheringham. Probably her happiest years were those spent in Sheringham (1929-1940) where the slow tempo of life suited her and where she was very devoted to Reverend Mother Dominic Davis. But this period came to an end with the outbreak of war and the closure ofthe house in 1940. Still imperturbable and cheerful, she spent a further thirty years in Ascot and Hampstead . She died on 23 January 1971 and is buried in Kensal Green

KENNY ,SisterLucy 1877-1965

Lucy Kenny was born in Southampton in 1877 and received part of her education in Bayeux. She was admitted into the York novitiate in 1901 and taught in the schools in York, Cambridge and Ascot. Tragicallyshe developed a constantly recurring mental complaint that necessitated professional treatment She died in BurgessHill on 18 April 1965 and is buried at Ascot.

KERR , Sister M. Bernard 1886-1939

Agnes Kerr was born in Penang in 1886. Her mother and her aunt had been pupils of the Institute in Gloucester, so when she was sent to England in 1902 to complete her education, it was

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

only natural that she should go to England's Lane . She entered the Ascot novitiate four years later and, with the exception of four years spent in her old school, Ascot was her home for the rest of her life. For many years she was in charge of the Lower School, where her rule was calm and firm, and she was as devoted to the children as they were to her For a while she held the office of Guest Mistress and offered a kindly welcome to Institute visitors from all over theworld

In 1938 she contracted a form of tuberculosis, and died on 5 December 1939. She is buried in the Ascot cemetery

KILGALLON, Sister M.Ambrose 1914-1999

Kathleen Kilgallon was born in Ireland in 1914, and was educated by the Mercy sisters of Swinford, Co. Mayo. She entered the Ascot novitiate in 1936 and in the course of her life worked in Ascot, York, Bratton and Hampstead. She could turn her hand to cooking and could be a useful help in the children's infirmary, but was perhaps at her best in charge of the children's refectory or attending to the needs of visiting priests. She developed diabetes in the 1970's, but courageously continued to work until 1991 when she was invalided to St. Joseph's There she continued an active apostolate of charity, discovering and visiting manylonely people who were saddened by her death on 19 July 1999

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

KIRBY,

Sister Joseph

1775-1864

Helen Kirby was born in Lancashire in 1775 and was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate in 1798. After serving for many years as Infirmarian to the 'pensioners' or children in the boarding -school, she died on 4 July 1864 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

KNIGHT

, Sister M. Stanislaus 1781-1851

Catherine Knight's story is a sad one. She was born in Lincolnshire , educated at the Bar Convent, and became a novice there in 1808, taking the name of Stanislaus She assisted in the school for some twenty years, but from 1831 she 'suffered in body and in mind' and finally, with the Bishop's permission, she went to live under the care of her family. She died on 19 February 1851 in Southportand is buried there.

LANE, Sister M. Lucy

1889-1936

Catherine Lane, or Sister Lucy, was born in Chelsea in February 1889. We do not know by what faith-journey she came

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to be received into the Catholic Church in 1909; nor why, in 1914, she chose the Ascot novitiate when she felt called to religious life. After profession in 1917 she spent a few years in England's Lane and then returned to Ascot for the rest of her life. She suffered from almost constant ill-health, which probably explains why she was often sent in the summer to take charge of the domestic running of the holiday house in Summerly, Sussex. Late in 1935 she developed an enlarged thyroid gland which was operated on in St. John and St. Elizabeth's Hospitalin 1936.All seemed to be well until she caught an infection and died on 7 March. She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

LANGHORN, Sister Laetitia d . 1729

Laetitia Langhorn was the daughter of Richard Langhorn of Lancashire and was a member of the Hammersmith community in 1677. She died in 1729 but there is no record of her being buried, as other members of the community were, in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith . It is probable that she returned to Germany before 1709, as her signature does not appear on either of the schismatic documents drawn up by the Hammersmith community.

LANGLEY , Sister M. Austin

19051982

Annie Langley, known successively as Sister Augustine and Sister Austin, was born in Birkenhead, and entered the Ascot novitiate in 1927. As a gifted cook and laundress she served the communities in Ascot, York, Hampstead and Sheringham. During World War II she cooked in very difficult circumstances for the evacuated community at Bratton, and in 1945 she returned to York. Though this was ostensibly just a return to laundrywork, her life took on a new and very happy turn Sister Monica Hildyard, the ailing choir-mistress, recognised her musical gifts, and invited her to be a member of the choir They developed a great friendshipand becameinseparable While Sister Austin ironed or folded the clothes Sister Monica would read to her; they sang together and prayed together in the laundry, or sat together at the window watching the world go by. As Sister Monica's crippling arthritis spread, she became physically dependent on Sister Austin; while Sister Austin, who had always been a lonely figure, found a complete companionship in Sister Monica Observers worried about what would happen when death broke up the partnership, but when Sister Monica died in 1974 Sister Austin accepted her bereavement and lived on in her basement laundry, with two cats as companions, serenely working, praying and reading devotional books. She died on 29

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

March 1982 and is buried near her friend in the Bar Convent cemetery

LANPHIER

, Sister M. Ignatius

1866-1949

Emily Lanphier was born in Alford, Lincolnshire , ofProtestant parents and was educated in a private school in London. There is no record of the date when she was received into the Catholic Church, nor ofhow she found her way there, but in 1904 she was admitted into the Bar Convent novitiate After fourteen years spent in Cambridge and York, in 1918 she was posted to Rome where she died on 23 September 1949 . Sheis buried in the Agro Verano, Rome.

LAWLER, Sister M. Mercedes

1902-1989

Eileen Lawler, in religion Sister Mercedes, was born in Co. Wicklow in 1902 and educated in Ireland and at St. Mary's Convent, Ascot, where she entered the novitiate in 1921. The young members there were already being given a university education, and she was sent to take a degree at Royal Holloway College, followed by a teacher's training course in London Then from 1930 to 1950 she spent twenty years as a devoted member ofstaff in the Ascot school, where her talentfor teaching and her gift for making life-long friendships with the children were invaluable assets In 1950 she was appointed Head Mistress and she held the post for six years, but persistent cardiac asthma destroyed her health and necessitated her retirement from the headship. She continued to teach until 1982. Her last years were spent in Errollston, where she died on 31 January 1989. She is buried in theAscot cemetery with many of her colleagues.

LAWLER, Mother M. Perpetua

1904-1987

Elizabeth Lawler, long known as Mother Perpetua, was the younger sister of Sister Mercedes. She was born in Dunlaven in 1904 and was educated at Loreto Abbey, Dalkey and at St. Mary's Convent , Ascot She entered the Ascot novitiate in 1928 and embarked on a long religious career spent almostentirely in Ascot but having great influence elsewhere . After some years as House Prefect of an ever-expanding establishment, in 1936 she was appointed the first Principal of the Domestic ScienceSchool newly founded in Errollston It was a bold enterprise, but with Mother Perpetua in charge and Reverend Mother Cecilia Marshall over-seeing the policy, its success was never in doubt, and it becamehugely popular Ten years later, when it was firmly established, a professionally trained sister replaced Mother Perpetua, who returned to her former post of House Prefect, but

LANGLEYLITTLEHALES 117

with the added responsibilities of being Mother Cecilia's assistant and a member of the Provincial Council In 1959 she was appointed Superior of Ascot and on the death of Mother Cecilia in 1960 she became Provincial , a post she held for twelve years. She attended three General Congregations, two as Provincialand one as a delegate, and made telling contributions in spite of having noforeignlanguage. Whereas Mother Cecilia had concentrated all her energy upon the Institute, and especially Ascot, Mother Perpetua was active in a wider sphere. She was President of the Convent Schools Association for two years and served as Treasurer to the Conference of Major Superiors. At the end of her term of office as Provincial she made her first move away from Ascot and became the Superior of Hampstead for six years. A heart attack in her last year of office there necessitated retirement to Ascot and on 18 October 1987 she died in Errollston of a further heart attack

She is buried in theAscot cemetery.

LAYTON

, Sister Isabella d . 1702

Isabella Layton was born in London in 1618. Her Protestant father was an opulent citizen and was said to have been once Mayor of London, but no evidence has been found to support the claim . At a time when plague was raging Isabella was sent out of London to stay with some Catholic friends and was converted by them. The story goes that faced with the choice between her new faith and an inheritance of considerable wealth she chose the former. At the age of about twenty she applied to be admitted to the Institute as a lay-sister and was accepted. We next hear of her in 1662 when she accompanied Mary Poyntz to Augsburg, to assist in the foundation, and seven years later she was sent to England to help to establish the Hammersmith house She had a reputation for financing building operations, so she must either have been able to retain some of her fortune or have been a successful fund-raiser through her influential friends. She was in York in the 1680's (perhaps again providing financial support) and when Frances Bedingfield returned to Germany in 1699 Isabella accompanied her into retirement. The two old ladies were much of an age, being eighty-three and eighty-one respectively Isabella died in the Paradeiserhausin 1702 and was presumably buried in the crypt there

LITTLEHALES, Sister M. Scholastica 1914-1995

Valerie Littlehales was born in Croydon in 1914. Her father was a sea-captain whose family was closely linked with the

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Gascoignes, and her mother's family had been educated by the Institute for many generations She was sent to school at England's Lane and Fitzjohn's Avenue and, though delicate, decided soon after leaving the class-room that she had a religious vocation . Her sister, Sister Margaret Mary, was already a member of the Ascot community and in 1933 Valerie joined her by entering the novitiate, where she became Sister Scholastica. In 1936, just a year after her profession, she was sent out to Chile to help in a new foundation that was in need of an English teacher. It proved, however, to be an ill-starred school and Sister Scholastica was back within two years, furnished with a useful knowledge of Spanish that gave her a life-long devotion to St. John of the Cross.

She studied for a year at Bedford College London, but her gift for modern languages and her immense interest in them did not conform to the demands of university examinations, and so she left the College and after teaching at Bratton for two years, she took a Teachers' Training Certificate and a Certificate of Religious Knowledge. For a great span of years, from 1946 to 1983, she taught a variety of subjects in Shaftesbury, Hampstead (where for two years she was Head Mistress) and Cambridge. Her methods were totally original and in less skilful hands would have led to chaos, but she had a streak of pedagogic genius and became an inspired and inspiring teacher, imparting to her pupils her own enthusiasm for Latin, French, Italian, Spanishand even for English grammar! Her class management was equally inimitable but supremely successful , and her ability to absent herself from the class-room yet exercise remote control over it was theenvy of her colleagues.

As a true apostle she was not content to preach the gospel to her convent pupils only but looked for a wider sphere, and in Cambridge she established an extensive Sunday school for Catholic children attending non-Catholic schools It was highly organised and staffed by qualified teachers , universitydons and De la Salle brothers . Boys of secondary school age were invited to come for instruction after school on Mondays and, enticed in part by a good tea, the 'Monday boys' turned up in considerable numbers. One of them repaid the hard work this entailed by entering the DominicanOrder and becoming NoviceMaster.

No account of Sister Scholastica's activities would be complete without mention of the tuck shop she ran in Cambridge for nearly twenty years . It began as a safety measure, to dissuadethe children from running across a busy road to a nearby sweet shop; it ended up as a combinationof a hobby and an apostolic work. From a modest stall it developed into an emporium selling not

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only every kind of confectionery but also cards , toiletries, gifts, fruit and a variety of other commodities. It was sometimes frowned on by successive Head Mistresses but they had to admit that it was a serious social centre, where advice, counselling, sympathy and (occasionally) reprimands were dispensed.

Sister Scholastica's zest never waned, but in 1983 she developed a serious heart condition and had to retire from teaching and, eventually, from running her tuck shop She remained always a good community nun. In every house her humour, kindness and availability had contributed much to common life, and these characteristics never diminished in her retirement . With more leisure, however, her intellectual interests became further sharpened and she set herself to learn first Greek and then Hebrew, finding great pleasure and spiritual nourishment in her studies.

Early in 1995 she was diagnosed as suffering from terminal cancer and in mid-summer was invalided to St. Joseph's for special nursing care. She was privileged to die on 2 November , and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

LODGE, Sister Dorothy 1688-1772

Dorothy Lodge was born in the Yorkshire Dales , and had a brother who was ordained in Douai. She entered the Institute in York in September 1708 and in due course became Assistant to the Superior and Dispenser, or nun in charge of the stores Old age seems to have come upon her prematurely, for by 1745 she was described as 'old Mistress Lodge' and provided with a new bedstead, which was a rare luxury Some years later she completely lost her memory and needed the constant care that Sister Frances Audas gave her She died on 1 January 1772 and was buried three days later in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate

LOWE,

Sister M. Martha 1834-1918

Mary Ann Lowe, who took the name of Sister Martha, is one of the many 'unsung' members of the Province. She was born in 1834, entered the York novitiate in 1858 andlike her patron in the Gospels served Our Lord and the communityas a cook.No other details of her life or personality are known , but shedied on 21 July 1918 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

LOWERY

, Sister Clare 1776-1863

Very little is known of Sister Clare Lowery It is recorded only that she was born in Lancashire in 1776, entered the Institute in

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

York in 1796, held the office of Cellarist, died on 14 April 1863 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

LUKAS , Sister Ludmilla 1874-1944

Barbara Lukas, in religion Sister Ludmilla, was born in Bavaria in 1874. She entered the Institute in Eichstatt but made her noviceship in Nymphenburg and was professed there in 1897.It happened that about that time Mother Joseph Edwards and Sister Gabriel Lund were in Nymphenburg on business . They asked for a sister to help them in Ascot and Sister Ludmilla at once volunteered for what, in those days, promised to be a lifelong exile . She proved to be an invaluable addition to the Ascot work-force, for she was soon teaching the young sisters to paint and distemper. But it was out-of-doors that she showed her greatest gifts and before long she was in charge of the bees and of the entire garden, with several men working under her. She became something of an autocrat in her own domain (and woe betided anyone who cut flowers without her permission), but manyremember with affectionher tall, spare figure and her slow smile.

She died on 18 January 1944 and lies buried in the Ascot cemetery.

LUND , Sister M. Gabriel 1863-1939

Julia Lund, later Sister Gabriel, was one of the younger daughters of William Joseph Lund, a wealthy landowner with considerable property in Hampstead and Hendon He sent three ofhis daughters as day pupils to school in England's Lane, where they were very happy and grew up to be known as the Belles of Hampstead. Julia joined the novitiate in 1882 and was sent to Ascot in 1885 as a member of the founding community. There she worked vigorously, taking charge of the sacristy, teaching in the school and recognised as a mainstay of the choir. From 1914 to 1918 she was a member of the English house in Rome, then returned to England's Lane and moved up to Fitzjohn's Avenue with the rest of the community. In her old age she suffered from deafness , loss of memory and confusion so that, like her sister, Sister Veronica, and her Jesuit brother, she became notably eccentric Unfortunatelythis eccentricity blotted out ofthe minds of younger generations the great pioneering work she had done for the Institute in her working years One trait, however , remains etched in the memoryof all who knew her, namely her unfailing courtesy.

After a few weeks' care in Burgess Hill Nursing Home , shedied there on 13 February 1939, and is buried in Kensal Green.

LOWERY MCCABE

LUND , Sister M. Veronica

121 1861-1934

Elizabeth Lund, in religion Sister Veronica, was one of the daughters of William Lund, a landowner, by his second wife , Eliza Butt. The family home was in Hampstead, so Elizabeth, with her sister Julia, was educated as a day pupil in England's Lane. At the age of nineteen she joined the novitiate there, received the habit and made her first profession before becoming in 1885 a member of the new foundationin Ascot, where she was the first Mistress of Schools About 1892 she returned to England's Lane to serve as Infirmarian and to teach music before spending some years in Rome in the English house foundedby Mother Joseph Edwards She finally returned to Hampstead where unhappily the family weaknesses of deafness, loss of memory and wandering wits overtook her She died on 20 June 1934 and is buried in Kensal Green .

MCANDREW , Sister John 1885-1967

Catherine McAndrew was born in Foxforth, Co. Mayo in 1885 and was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate in 1908. She is one ofthe members about whom the records are woefullylacking and nothing further is recorded of her except her death in York on 15 November 1967. There is an oral tradition, however , that she was in charge of the parlours and was so obsessed with her responsibilities that she rarely, if ever, took a holiday. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MCCABE, Sister M. Bonaventure 1874-1968

Born Bride McCabe of County Cavan, Sister Bonaventure found her way, by some unrecorded route, to the Ascot novitiate which she entered in 1899. Forforty years she taught devotedly in St. Francis's Primary School, and her rather bulky, be-shawled figure was very familiar to all as she went through the woods to and from the Friary every day. She was an ardent bee-keeper and loved to provide the communitywith honey, but this was only a hobby and in no way detracted from her earnest and life-long interest in the children she taught . Her greatest pride and joy was a boy who became a priest; and by a kindly disposition of divine providence Canon Sidney Mullarky was present at her death-bed on 5 February 1968. She is buried in the Ascot convent cemetery.

MCCABE , Sister Teresa 1888-1940

Teresa McCabe was the younger sister of Sister Bonaventure and the youngest of ten children . She followed her sister to England in about 1904 but did not enter at Ascot until 1917 , when she was twenty-nine. After teaching in England's Lane fora

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

short time she was sent, in 1922, to take charge of St. Joseph's Elementary School in Sheringham When the school closed in 1934 for lack of Catholic pupils , she spent four years in the Junior School in Fitzjohn's Avenue and on the outbreak of World War II was evacuated with the communityand school to Ashburnham Place in Sussex After one term there she was diagnosed as having cancer and she was nursed at Ascot until her death on 5 February 1941. She is buried in the Ascot cemetery , where her sister later joined her.

McCARTHY , Sister M. Margaret 1880-1969

Mary McCarthy, or Sister Margaret as she was long and affectionately known , was born in Oxford in 1880. She entered the Institute in 1903 and spent the rest of her long life in Ascot. Her contribution to the well-being of the communityand school is briefly told but is ofgreat and lasting value. Her culinary gifts were early recognised, and she was appointed Chief Cook in 1932, an office she held until 1953. It was a period of enormous expansion at Ascot, so that the number of nuns and children whose healthy appetites had to be satisfied was ever-increasing The burden of cooking and managing the kitchen became correspondingly heavier and all fell on Sister Margaret's shoulders. She not only carried this weight but trained a whole team of young nuns placed under her, so that they became, in time, cooks in Ascot and in all the other houses of the Province The great feasts of the Church, far from being holidays for the kitchen staff, called for special fare in the refectories, and Sister Margaret never failed to provide it; and on clothing and profession days, which came round regularly, there was always a beautifullydecorated cake for the 'brides.'

Except for a brief summer holiday, she was on duty all dayand every day, taking just a short recreation after dinner and spending it in a walk round the grounds with her friend Sister Monica Woodhouse When she reached seventy-three she was already very arthritic and younger hands took on her work and responsibilities Her sixteen years of retirement were clouded by much physical suffering and latterly she was confined to a wheelchair. But she was never lonely; time was spent 'giving a hand' in the kitchen , and the younger nuns loved to gather round her. She died on 2 July 1969 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery , surrounded by the members of the community she had fed and served so faithfully.

MCCABE MCDONOUGH

McCLORRY , Sister M. Gerard

123 1877-1942

Jane McClorry, or Sister M. Gerard, was born in Cumberland in 1877. She was attracted to religious life, but first trained as a nurse, so as to offer a more useful service to whatever community she might join She came to know the Institute by attending the clothing of a friend at the Bar Convent and soon afterwards , in 1905, she was herself admitted to the novitiate. A gifted nurse and skilled needlewoman, she served as Infirmarian, Dispenser and Mistress of Linen, as well as teaching needlework in the school; and during World War I she helped to nurse the wounded soldiers in the ward established in the school hall As recounted in the Introduction, she died by enemy action on 29 April 1942 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MCDONOUGH , SisterAlphonsa

c . 1846-1877

We do not know Julia McDonough's date or place of birth, but she was sent to the Institute's school in Gloucester and became a novice there 'at about the age of eighteen, ' while the community was still in Malvern House and therefore no later than 1868. She shared the move to Greyfriars House and then took part in the momentous transference to Haverstock Hill. Everywhere she proved to be a successful and much-loved teacher But her family was fatally prone to tuberculosis; she contracted the fell disease and died, repeating her vows, on 30 June 1877.

She is buried in KensalGreen.

MCDONOUGH , Sister Francis

1854-1885

Mary McDonough (Sister Francis) and her sister Julia (Sister Alphonsa ) were both boarders in the Institute house in Gloucester The city was hostile to the nuns, but the school must have been a very happy place because these two sisters and the two Blagden girls, also at the school there, all entered the Institute. Three years after Sister Francis's clothing the whole Gloucester community moved to Haverstock Hill, London, the cost of removal being met by raffling a crochet quilt made by the industrious hands of Sister Francis. A school was established in England's Lane and Sister Francis was appointed Head Mistress; but she was very delicate and in the early 1880's she became so seriously ill that Mother Joseph Edwards decided upon a change of air, and took a house in Ascot for the summer of 1884. Alas! It was too late; Sister Francis had already developed tuberculosis and she died on 29 March 1885. Though this was a tragedy it led, in the long term, to the foundation of the house inAscot

*

BIOGRAPHIES

Sister Francis was buried in a plot of ground that later became the Ascot convent cemetery, and the last resting place of innumerable members of the Institute

MCERLEAN , Sister M. Alphonsus 1877-1965

Though she was a comparatively recent member , only the barest outline of Sister Alphonsus's life is known Born as Sarah McErlean in Dumbarton in 1877, she entered the Bar Convent novitiate at the (then) unusually late age of thirty-four. No record exists of the fifty-four years of service she gave to the York communitybefore she died, aged eighty-eight, on 18 March 1965 . She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MCGOVERN , Sister M. Francis 1883-1971

Margaret McGovern, later Sister Francis, was born in Gorton, Manchester and was twin sister to Sister Louis Though always devoutly Catholic she did not join her sister in the Ascot novitiate until 1921, when she was thirty-seven She spent the rest of her long life fulfilling domestic duties in England's Lane and Hampstead, then sharing the privations of evacuation in Ashburnham and Bratton, finally helping to make thefoundation in Shaftesbury and seeing it through to a settled state. She was often a laundress, sometimes a cook, and in her old age the devoted 'carer' of the resident priest But she was notable for what she was rather than for what she did. Always full of fun and of little jokes that brought light into dark situations, she was on occasion verywitty. A visiting priest once put a page ofGreek text in front of her and said 'Just read me that, sister' She was not to be put down; glancing at it she replied, 'Wait a moment , father, I'll fetch my violin and play it to you ' She loved flowers and birds and was often seen tending some favourite plant, especially in Shaftesbury where the grounds gave her plenty of scope. Her bent little figure becamemore and more frail, but she battled against her infirmities until death came at last on 4 June 1971

She is buried in the Wardour cemetery, where the birds sing and wild flowersabound.

(See also Family Notes, pp 183-4).

MCGOVERN , Sister M. Louis 1883-1954

Alice McGovern, twin sister to Margaret (Sister Francis) was born in Gorton, Manchester in 1883. Though always a devout Catholic she was thirty-seven years old before she entered the Ascot novitiate, guided thither by the local Franciscans. After serving the communities in Ascot and Sheringham she was sentto

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125

Hampstead where her duties were multifarious and her fulfilling of them almost miraculous In addition to being in charge of the children's refectory she was also portress, answering every call at the front door, and mistress of the sewing-room, which, with its old-fashioned sewing-machine, was situated up in the attics. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939 even greater demands were made of her, for she had to share the trauma and all the hardships of evacuation At Bratton she was still the children's refectorian , and with her old sewing-machine lodged besidethe sink in the pantry she continued to patch and to mend . After the bombing of the Bar Convent in 1942 she was sent to York to help the stricken communityand she continued to work there until 1953 when she underwent a serious operation from which she never completely recovered. She died on 17 December 1954 from a severe heart attack, and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery (See also Family Notes, pp 183-4).

MCKENNA , Sister M. Damien 1916-1975

Annie McKenna, or Sister Damien, was born in 1916 and came from County Cavan to enter the Ascot noviceship in 1933. After working faithfully for some years in Cambridge and Ascot, she developed Huntington's Disease, which resisted all treatment. She died on 11 February 1975 in St. Raphael's Home, Danehill (Sussex), where she had gone for special care. She is buried in the Ascot cemetery

MCLAUGHLIN,

Sister M. Bernard

1868-1959

Mary McLaughlin was born in Poonah, India, and was educated first by the Sisters of Jesus and Mary in Bombay, then by the Loreto sisters in Calcutta and finally at the Bar Convent. She entered the York novitiate in 1889 and was one of the pioneer group that opened the house in Cambridge in 1898. She spent a year teaching in a Loreto house in Spain and was ten years in Rome before returning to York for the rest of her long life Though she was a woman of culture she does not seem to have made much mark in the schools, but she worked in the parish with indefatigable zeal and energy. The Children of Mary were her special care and she also ran a Girl Guide company and a Brownie pack. As Guest Mistress she met with every type of visitor and she did much to reversethe attitude of enclosure that had spoilt the Bar Convent spirit in the nineteenth century. Drawing on all her contacts (including those of the British Raj) she organised 'Christian Parties' to which she invited guests from London and a wide catchment area .

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In York, it was she who obtained permission for Mass to be said in the grounds of St. Mary's Abbey and who organised the annual procession on the Knavesmire in honour of the English martyrs. Further afield, she took a keen interest in foreign missions and with her friend, Mother Kevin, earned the title of 'Co-founder of the Holme Hall' , (a house of formation for the Uganda Mission). She supported the popular'Black Babies' fund, and raised money to educate two Japanese priests. In the community she served as Sacristan and was versatile in producing plays for the Superior's feast and other celebrations.

Old age brought more than an ordinary share of infirmity. She lost the sight of one eye and a failed operation , aimed at improving the sight of the other eye, resulted in total blindness. But with characteristic energy and determination she learnt Braille and with that and her radio she kept in touch with allthat was going on in church and state When the convent was blitzed in 1942 her room was in the East Wing that was almost totally destroyed, but she survived by taking refuge under her sturdy iron bedstead . She thus became one of the 'Golden Oldies' of the community, living contentedly to the age of ninety-two. She died on 22 December 1959 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MAHER , Sister Colette

19102000

Margaret Maher, known in religion as Sister Colette, was born in Manchester in 1910 and early in her life suffered the death of her mother . When she expressed a wish for religious life the Franciscans of Gorton directed her to Ascot, where she was admitted in 1931. Soon after profession she returned to the north of England and, except for a short interlude in Cambridge and a very brief stay in Ascot, the Bar Convent was her home for the rest of her life. As portress and school refectorian she became known to many generations of parents and children She loved being with people, so when the school joined the Comprehensive system in 1985 , and she was no longer needed at the front door, she found a new and happy career as a member of the S.V.P. Society. She thoroughly enjoyed the hospital visiting and work with handicapped people that membership entailed, and a pilgrimage to Lourdes was the high-light of many a year. She seemed to have boundless energy, but arthritis gradually curbed her activity and a series of strokes eventually forced her into retirement. But she was by no means forgotten, as the huge crowd offriends at her funeral in April 2000 gave witness She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MCLAUGHLIN

MARSH , Sister M. Dympna

1906-1988

Mary Marsh , or Sister Dympna, was born in Dublin and always remained essentially Irish, not least in her strong faith and lasting loyalties. She entered the Ascot novitiatein 1931 and was a member ofthe work force successively in York, England's Lane and Hampstead; she was in the Sheringham communitywhen the house there was closed and she returned to Ascot for the next forty years Failing eyesight and increasing deafness graduallycut her off from communitylife and she became rather an eccentric, obsessively concerned about a cat that she kept in a garden hut She was invalided to York in 1983 and became one of the first patients when St. Joseph's was opened in 1985; there she had to suffer three years of severe disability before dying on 17 September 1988 . She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MARSHALL, Mother Cecilia

1874-1960

(As a full-scale biography of Mother Cecilia has been published, no attempt is made here to do her full justice. A short summary ofher life must suffice).

Cecilia Marshall, born in Chelsea in 1874, was the daughter of Frank Marshall, a convert to Catholicism . She lost her mother when she was only eleven , and her father died shortly before her sixteenth birthday. Fortunately she was very happy at school, first in England's Lane and then at Ascot, and she was greatly attached to Mother Joseph Edwards. Thus Ascot became her natural home and remained so for the whole of her life. But when she declared her intention of entering religion there , her relations put up a formidable opposition and 'Cissie' was made a ward in Chancery. At the age of twenty-one she was allowed to becomea novice and soon she was an active member ofthe communityand by financing the building of the chapel its benefactress In 1904 she was appointed Head Mistress of the school and in 1913 , when Mother Teresa Blagden unselfishly offered to go to Rome in her place, she became Superior of the house Contrary to the constitutions and canon law, by a series of dispensations she remained in that office until 1959. A second crisis, threatening to uproot her from her beloved Ascot, occurred in 1929 , when Reverend Mother General Isabella Wild, approaching the end of her term of office, declared that she wished Mother Cecilia to succeed her . Mother Cecilia made it clear that she would refuse the office, pleading as an excuse her lack of knowledge of German It is interesting, but useless, to speculateon what would have been the subsequent history of Ascot and of the Institute, had she become the General Superior Instead she remained at

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Ascot, developing every aspect of school and house to a standard ofnear-excellence When, in the same year 1929, the Institutewas divided into Provinces, she became the first English Provincial, and remained in that office until her death.

Except for the advice and help she gave to many communities, her only action in the wider world of religious life was her participation in founding the Convent Schools Association, together with other famous figures such as Mother Clare of Brentwood and Mother Roantree of Farnborough

Itis difficultto capture the greatness and the personalityof a religious whose life was comparatively uneventful, whose geographical sphere of activity was narrow, and whose written words were minimal Nevertheless, the influence Mother Cecilia wielded within her limited world, and the esteem with which she was held, are sufficient to class her among the 'great."

She died on 10 October 1960 and, fittingly, is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

MARSHALL, Sister Martha d. 1712

Sister Martha Marshall was a member of the Hammersmith communityfrom 1664 till her death on 24 December 1712. She was one of the dissidents who signed the document choosing Bishop Giffard as 'Community Chief Superior' , butit seems that she died before the seconddocument was drawnup.

Sheis buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith

MARSHALL , Sister Mary Baptist

1788-1818

Anne Marshall was born in Yorkshire in 1788 and was baptised in Linton-on-Ouse where there was 'a secluded Catholic mission' founded by the Appleby family. She was educated at the Bar Convent and entered the novitiate there in 1809. She taught in the 'poor school' and acted as assistant to the Sacristan But her life was cut short by the prevalent tuberculosis and she died on 9 September 1818 at the age ofthirty. Strangely, her place ofburial is not known.

MARSHALL , Sister Agnes (later Teresa) 1924-1986

Teresa Marshall was born in Cambridge in 1924 and educated at St. Mary's Convent there. She entered the Ascot novitiate in 1943 and began her studies immediately after Profession; she spent a year at Reading University, reading Mathematics , and then took a Teacher's Certificate in Fenham College, Newcastle. She taughtfor a short time in Cambridge and in York, where she was also Assistant Accountant. When the Bar Convent Grammar School closed to make way for a Comprehensive School, she

MARSHALL MARTIN- 129

retired from teaching and joined the East Mount Road community She had always had poor health, and by 1985 could barely cope with the house accounts She developed cancer and died, in her sleep, in the York Hospice on 30 May 1986. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MARTIN, Mother Juliana 1828-1892

Mary Ann Martinwas born in Wakefield on 13 May 1828 , the elder daughter of James Martin and his wife Mary She was educated at the Bar Convent and the English Convent in Bruges. In October 1849, at the age of twenty-one, she entered the novitiatein York and three months later she was clothed as Sister Juliana . She was only thirty-four when she becameSuperior, an office she held for twenty-one years, 1862-1883 Much has been written of her virtues, but she will be chiefly remembered for her success in obtaining papal confirmation of the Institute. She had always had this as her aim and in 1876, under the skilful directionofFather John Morris, S.J., a petition was addressedby 'the Superior and Community' to Pope Pius IX, begging for ApostolicApprobation and Confirmation of the Institute. To the surprise of many, a decree dated 15 February 1877 'graciously approved and confirmed' the Institute Where many had failed, over a period of two centuries, Mother Juliana and the isolated community of the Bar Convent had succeeded For this venture the Institute owes her an immense debt of gratitude. She resigned her office in 1883 on account of ill-health , and died on 11 July 1892. Her portrait, painted before she was a nun, shows her in a red silk dress and wearing her hair in ringlets; it captures something of her vitality and charm. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MARTIN, Sister M. Teresa 1843-1914

Teresa Martin was the younger sister of Reverend Mother Juliana Martin She was born in 1843, educated at the Bar Convent, and would have followed her sister into the novitiateat an early age had she not been needed at home to nurse her mother through her terminal illness. So she was forty years old when in 1883 she eventually jointed Mother Juliana who by then had been the Superior for twenty-one years Sister Teresa used her musical talent to serve the community , acting as organist, choir mistress and teacher of music Like Mary Ward she 'loved the poor' and was able to do much for them when she held the office ofDispenser She died on 10 November 1914 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery As with Mary Ward, her funeral

was attended by a crowd of sorrowing poor people whom she had befriended.

MASON, Sister Anne d . 1748

Anne Mason is thought to have been a Yorkshire woman There is confusion in her records, which give the date of her birth as 1699 but also say that she spent forty-nine years in the service of the convent. It seems more reasonable therefore to accept 1699 as the date of her entry into religion Wherever the truthlies, itis certain that she was much loved by the children , who called her 'Nanny. '

She died on 20 November 1748 and is buried at Osbaldwick .

MAXWELL , Sister Ann 1728-1789

Ann Maxwell, the eldest daughter of William Maxwell of Munches, Co. Dumfries , was sent to school at the Bar Convent in 1741, and in September 1743 was admitted to the novitiate. Despite their usual frugality the nuns were evidently determined that their new novice should be well looked after, for the Procuratrix's log-book records that in November 1743 'a new priez-Dieu' was bought for her, and in December she was provided with a pair of new blankets at the cost of 10s. 6d. The familiar note of poverty re-appears , however, in the record that her quilt was made out of'her two old gowns "

She repaid this extra care by serving as Mistress of the Day School for ten years and Mistress of the Boarding School for a further twenty-nine years. On the evidence of bills drawn up in the name of Mistress Maxwell we can picture her going shopping in Coney Street with the 'young ladies, ' buying sprigged muslin for their summer dresses from John Dawson the linen draper whose shop was 'opposite the BlackSwan,' and then dropping in to Richard Willber's boot and shoe establishment, where 'Miss Hodshon' was fitted with silk shoes and 'Miss Langdale' was allowed to choose a pair of pink slippers!

This happy relationship with the children came to an abrupt end when in November 1789 Ann Maxwell was suddenly taken ill in the night and died on 20 November just a few days after the death of Ann Aspinal, who had been her Superior for many years.

She is buriedin the chancel of Holy Trinitychurch, Micklegate , close to the bodyofAnn Aspinal

MAYNARD, SisterMaryMagdalen d. 1737

Little is known of this early member, who was possibly the daughter of Sir William Maynard of Walthamstow in Essex She

MARTIN METCALFE 131

certainly entered the Institute on the continent and was subsequently sent to England. She is described as an 'early arrival from Germany, but she was never a member of the Hammersmith community nor of the short-lived group at Dolebank, and her name is not suggested as one ofthefounding members ofthe Bar Convent, so it is probable that she came over after Frances Bedingfield's return to Germany in 1699. She acted as Procuratrix in the Bar Convent and died suddenly on 4 May 1737. Her place of burial is not known ; it seems that it was neither Holy Trinity, Micklegate nor Osbaldwick.

MAYNE, Sister M. Clare 1885-1976

Edith Mayne, later Sister Clare, was born in London in 1885 , and was a convert to Catholicism . She loved to tell the story of how she was brought into the Church by a small boy in whose Catholic family she was employed. He insisted on taking her to Benediction and there (as is recorded of other converts) she was at once convinced of the Real Presence . She was receivedinto the Church and at the age of twenty-six she entered the Institute, where her religious life was divided between Rome (1917-1953) and Hampstead (1953-1976 ). She had an unassuming manner and an air of quiet confidence that inspired complete trust. She died on 16 February 1976 in the Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth, after a short illness, and is buried in KensalGreen

MAZZONI, Sister Rosita

1796-1816

Sister Rosita Mazzoni was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate in 1815 at the request of Bishop Cameron, the Vicar Apostolic for the Lowland District of Scotland His purpose was that she should found a branch of the Institute in Scotland, but an epidemic of typhus fever swept through the community in 1816 and claimed Sister Rosita among its victims . Thus the Bishop's plans came to nothing and no house of the Institutewas founded in Scotland until the late 20th century when the Loreto sisters established a small communitythere

Sister Rosita died on 25 March 1816 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate.

METCALFE, Sister Mary d. 1747

Though little is recorded of Sister Mary Metcalfe's life, we know that she had unusual roots in the Bar Convent Her grandmother was 'a gentlewoman who boarded in the Bar Convent with her maid for many years,' and her mother must have lived in or near the Convent at the time of her death, because she is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard (1741/2) The

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

known facts of Sister Mary's life are briefly told. She was the daughter of Henry Metcalfe, gentleman, of Naburn ; she entered the novitiate in 1738 and died in 1747. She is buried in an unmarked grave in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate.

MOORE , Sister M. Fidelis 1891-1930

Margaret Moore was born in Bradford and was the adopted daughter of Patrick and Eliza Dunne There is no record as to why she entered the novitiate at Ascot (so far from her home) in 1923, nor have we any details of her short life as Sister Fidelis . She was sent to Hampstead after her profession in 1925 , and three years later contracted Hodgson's disease. She returned to Ascot and died there on 5 August 1930 . She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

MORE, Sister Margaret d. 1679

Margaret More and her sister Mary were direct descendents , through Cresacre More, of the martyr St. Thomas More . How and where they joined the Institute is not known, but it must almost certainly have been abroad They first appear on the English scene in 1678 when they were arrested 'while living on a farm of their mother's in the county [Yorkshire] ' The home of this branch of the family was Barnborough Hall, near Doncaster, and the father of these two sisters had died in 1660, leaving the propertyto his son Basil, so it seems likely that the 'farm oftheir mother's' was the dower house to which the widow had retired. Why the sisters were living there we do not know, but they may have been doing apostolic work similar to that of Sister Dorothea , earlier in the century. They were known as recusants of some importance and were arrested in the rounding-up of Catholics at the time ofthe Titus Oates and YorkshirePlots On their refusal to take the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy they were charged with Praemunire and lodged in York Castle, where Mary survived the long term of imprisonment and lived to be a founder-member of the Bar Convent; but Margaret , described as 'a great sufferer' , succumbed to the unhealthy conditions and died in 1679. She was buried on 10 September in St. Mary's, Castlegate Canon Raine, who is never at a loss for a comment, adds a footnote to his Depositions of York Castle, remarking'How sad that any of his [St. Thomas More's] descendants should be permitted to die in gaol.'

MORE , Sister Mary

Mary More shared the same illustrious ancestry and the same history as her sister Margaret, but unlike Margaret she survived

METCALFEMULCAHY

the ordeal of long imprisonment in York Castle and was almost certainly a founder-member of the Bar Convent.

It seems likely that she returned to Germany with Frances Bedingfield in 1699

MORRIS , Father John, S.J., Benefactor

1826-1893

John Morris was born in Oatacamund in Madras, where his father was employed in the Indian Civil Service . He went to school at Harrow for a short time and then was privatelytutoredwith his brother. In 1845 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, but was there for one year only. First he fell under the influence of the Tractarians and became a follower of Dr. Pusey; then friendship with Ambrose Phillips de Lisle may have been one ofthe factors that brought him into the Catholic Church His family was devastated at the step and took him away from Cambridge. Three years later, in 1849, he was ordained a priest in Rome and was commissioned by Cardinal Wiseman to research into the lives of the English martyrs After a brief period as a parish priesthe was appointed Vice-Rector of the Venerable English College in Rome , then Archivist and Secretary to the Bishop of Northampton, and finally Secretary to CardinalWiseman and, briefly, to Archbishop Manning. He must have realised that a mitre was within reach , but in 1867 he entered the Society ofJesus. His researches into the English martyrs had already brought him to the Bar Convent; as a Jesuit he became the firm friend and adviser not only of the York communitybut also ofMother Joseph Edwards of Ascot, who challenged his views on Mary Ward and finally won him to her way of thinking. He gave great support to Reverend Mother Juliana Martin's petition for papal approbation oftheInstitute

The rest of his life was typically Jesuit. He becameProfessor of Church History and Canon Law at St. Beuno's, Master of Novices at Manresa, and a well-known writer and retreat-giver at Farm Street . His distinguished careercame to an end with a fatal stroke on 22 October 1893 .

MULCAHY , Sister M. Emmanuel 1897-1962

Elizabeth Mulcahy, known in religion as Sister Emmanuel , was born in Ireland in 1897 and came to England at an early age How she met the Institute is not recorded, but she entered the Ascot novitiatein 1922 and remained a member ofthat housefor the rest of her life. She was sent to take a teacher's training course in Southampton and found much of it very uncongenial (for example, the obligatory country dancing) but she bore it all

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

cheerfully. Fortunately she was recognised as an academic, and the three years she spent taking a degree at Reading University were much more to her taste. She then spent all her working years teaching History, English Literature and Geography to many generations of Ascot children. To all these subjects and to the Debating Society that she founded , she brought an original outlook and an infectious enthusiasm. She was hopelessly unpractical, and to the end of her life sewed with a ridiculously long cotton, so as to avoid much needle threading But her notable traits were a quiet, unquenchable humour and a lovable personality . It is no conventional remark, but a true statement,to say that she was loved by all who knew her. She developed heart trouble in the early sixties, and died in her sleep, as she had once expressed a wish to do, on 19 January 1962

She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

MURDOCH , Sister M. Aloysius

1844-1922

Sarah Elizabeth Murdoch was born in Liverpool in March, 1844 and was baptised into the Protestant Church There is no record ofthe faith-journey that led her into the Catholic Church in 1866 and into the Bar Convent novitiate two years later. A further hiatus in her life story stretches over the next thirty-two years, and then she is mentioned as one of the five members sent to make a foundation in Cambridge in September 1898. Her return to York on 24 October of the same year can probably be interpreted as an inability to settle in the strange and rigorous conditions of a new foundation

She died in York on 6 August 1922 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

MURPHY , Mother M. Alacoque

1880-1934

Julia Murphy was born , like all her sisters, in Ballinhassing, Co. Cork. Her date of birth, 1880, places her among the older members of her generation. She was educated at the Loreto Convent, Killarney and, a link with the Bar Convent havingbeen made by her elder sister, she entered the novitiate in York in 1900. She spent ten years in Cambridge as Mistress of the Boarding School, House Prefect and Accountant and then returned to York where she held the same offices, adding thatof Novice Mistress in 1924. From 1926 to 1932 she was Superior of the Bar Convent and used the opportunity to raise the standard ofchurch music, buying a new organ and introducingplain chant into the choir. In 1932 she was sent as Superior to Hampstead; the Murphys never felt really at home in the houses in the south ,

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MURPHY 135

but Mother Alacoque endeared herself to the Fitzjohn's Avenue community and they were very sad when a stroke made her retirement imperative. She returned to York and died there of a cerebral seizure on 13 November 1934.

She is buried, with her three sisters, in the Bar Convent cemetery.

(See also FamilyNotes, p. 184).

MURPHY, Sister M.Aquinas

18731962

Annie Laura Murphy was born in Ballinhassig, Co.Cork, in 1873 and was one of the older members of the large family of Thomas and Kate Murphy, who gave four daughters to the Institute. She was educated first at the Ursuline Convent in Cork and then tooka teachers' training course at the Swansea Training College. Thus the Murphy family made a link with England, but how and why Annie Laura came to enter the Bar Convent novitiate in 1900 is tantalizingly not recorded She was professed in 1903 and after teaching in Cambridge for six years she returned to York to dedicate the rest of her active life to the schools there. For three years she was Head Mistress of the Boarding School, then a teacher in the Day School till 1917 , when she was appointed Head Mistress of what had become the Bar Convent Grammar School. She helped to bring about the amalgamation ofday and boardingschools, achieved 'recognition as efficient' for the Grammar School and won Direct Grant Status for it. Her tall, spare figure with its slight stoop came to personifythe school; she was familiar with all the regulations of the local education authority, read all the small print and was a match for the inspectors. She retired from her office in 1941 but continued to take a lively interest in the school until her death on 4 November 1962. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

(See also Family Notes, p. 184).

MURPHY , Sister Brendan

1890-1942

Margaret Murphy, in religion Sister Brendan, was born in Co. Carlow in 1890. For some years she worked as the cook in the stately home Tynte Park, and then in her early thirtieswas drawn to religious life The parish priest put her in touch with Rathfarnham but she was not accepted by the Loreto sisters on account of her age Mrs. Lawler, a neighbour whose daughters were at school at Ascot, and were later to be nuns there, wroteto Mother Cecilia Marshall about her, and in 1925 she was received into the Ascot novitiate Her cooking skills were put to use in Hampstead and Sheringham, before she was sent to York in

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1940. She died in the air-raid of 29 April 1942, as is told in the Introduction. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

MURPHY , Mother M.Gertrude 1886-1974

Teresa Murphy was one of the four Murphy sisters who entered the Institute She was born in Cork in 1886, began her education in Ireland and then spent a short time in the Bar Convent school before joining the novitiate in September 1905. Like the rest of her family she had great ability and she soon entered (with humility) upon a career of distinction in the Institute. In 1920, at the age of thirty-four, she was appointed Superior of the Cambridge community, an office she held until 1932 when she was called to Ascot to be Mistress of Novices. She always considered that her three years there were a failure, largely because she felt an alien in the school, but her novices loved her and valued the training she gave them. She returned to the north in 1935 and was Superior of the Bar Convent until 1950 , by which time the community was convinced that life without her was unthinkable . Then the blow fell. Mother General Augusta von Kettenburg, on visitation to England, decreed that to cement the union between north and south, Mother Imelda Gilbert should takeover the government of the Bar Convent and Mother Gertrude should be Superior of the Shaftesbury house, founded five years previously As a member of the Provincial Council, Mother Gertrude had vigorously opposed the purchase of this property, buried in the country at the end of a long, ill-kept drive, two miles from a small town and five miles from the nearest railway station. She had considered the foundation Mad (her favourite expression) MAD. And now, at the age of sixtyfour, a confirmed conservative and a life-long city-dweller, she was asked to go to this forsaken spot and to govern a community that had lived a highly unorthodox life during the war and subsequent years of foundation It was Mad! But obedience demanded it of her, and so early in September 1950 she arrived at her new home , furnished with a good supply of medicaments (in case there was no doctor within call) and plenty of winter woollies, (for who knew whether there were any shops?) The community welcomed her warmly but with some apprehension, and for her part she soon discovered that her fears were not without foundation On the first evening, with a bulky envelope addressed to the Bar Convent in her hand, she met one of the sisters . 'Where is your letter-weight?" she asked. 'Letter-weight, Reverend Mother? We haven't got one' was the answer. 'But how do you know what postage to put on your letters?' she persisted

'Oh, we just guess' came the carefree response . So theywere mad , quitemad!

For about two weeks Mother Gertrude and the community assessed one another, and then the nuns took their new Superior to their hearts. She was strict, and suppressed some harmlesslittle Shaftesbury customs, but she was always even-handed and they loved her sense of fun and gift of mimicry which she would exercise only when taken off guard Above all, they esteemed her spiritual wisdom, though she wore it lightly. On her side , observing each member with her shrewd blue eyes, she came to appreciate the communitythat cheerfully acceptedprimitive living conditions and worked unremittingly, with no thought of a holiday, to build up their new school She even began to enjoy the beautiful countryside, and to gaze at the lovely views as she punctiliously took her afternoon walk round the grounds But after three years the Bar Convent clamoured so loudly for her return that she was recalled to York. The Shaftesbury sisters were truly sad to see her go, and one of them noticed that as she climbed into the car that was to drive her away, tears were runningdown her cheeks.

Sheeasily slipped back into the York way of life and remained in office for a further eleven years, making a near-record of thirty-nine years spent as Superior After a severe illness and an operation in 1964 she begged to be allowed to retire and, in the York tradition, she then kept to her room for the remaining ten years of her life. But she was by no means out of touch with events in the convent, the Province and the wider world. She was seldom without visitors, who found that 'wisdom flowed from her.'

She died on 8 December 1974 and is buried, with her three sisters, in the Bar Convent cemetery (See also Family Notes, p 184).

MURPHY , Mother M. Paul

1889-1980

Ellen Murphy was the last of the four Murphy daughters to enter religionin the Bar Convent, York. She was born in 1889 in Ballinhassig in Co . Cork and was sent to school at the Bar Convent at the age of nine When the other children mocked her Irish brogue she became silent and refused to utter a word for three weeks; she then spoke without a trace of an accent. In 1908 she followed three of her sisters into the novitiate, bringing with her considerable intellectual ability Exactlywhen she was sent to Cambridge is uncertain, but in 1918 she was appointed Mistress ofthe day-school in Paston House It was there that growth and the future lay, and Mother Paul at once introduced an element of

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

professionalism, aiming at high academic standards in teaching and efficient administration She contributedher own expertise in mathematics and music, ensured that public examinations were the norm rather than the exception, and founded the tradition of pupils proceeding to Oxbridge and other universities to read a diversityof subjects

This might seem a career absorbing all her energy, but in 1934 she was appointed Superior and for some twenty years she and Mother Elizabeth Dunn alternated in office; it was popularly believed, however, that whoever was the Superior, all the decisions were made by Mother Paul

The span of her Cambridge life ran out in 1956: a new Head Mistress had already been appointed and she retired to York, where she continued her apostolate by keeping in touch with her past pupils, chiefly by letter, up to the time of her death on 26 September 1980

She was the last of this remarkable family to die, and she is fittingly buried with her three sisters in the Bar Convent cemetery. (See also Family Notes, p 184).

NASON, Sister M. Joseph 1764-1812

Elizabeth Nason was born in London in 1764 and was one of the last pupils of the failing Hammersmith school She conceived a great lovefor the Institute and was only sixteen when admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate. She soon proved herself a good and useful member of the Institute, and under two Superiors (Ann Aspinal and Catherine Rouby) her ability was put to fitting use . Described as an indefatigable worker, she was Mistress ofthe day school for eighteen years and 'being an exceptionally skilled catechist,' report the Annals, 'Reverend Mother Aspinal entrusted her with the religious instruction of both pensioners and day scholars as well as of converts and uninstructed Catholics who were sent to the convent in large numbers by the clergy.'

Mother Coyney's term of office saw many changes , including the community's assumption of religious names, so that in 1810 Elizabeth became Sister Joseph More important was a great blow dealt to her apostolic zeal The parish priest of Leeds begged for a foundation in his parish and even found a suitable house; the community (and foremost among them was Sister Joseph) viewed the prospect with enthusiasm 'trusting that great things would be done there by the Institute for the greater glory of God. ' But timid Mother Coyney got no further than a driveof inspection to Leeds, and the thought of the lost opportunities of saving souls so preyed upon Sister Joseph's mind that 'having

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been of unusually great size she became in a short span thin and emaciated. ' Whether from this or some other cause, her health rapidly deteriorated and she died on 11 June 1812

This apostolic woman is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

NEARY , Sister M. Veronica 1877-1956

Veronica Neary was a late vocation . She was born in Liverpool in 1877 and was trained as a teacher by the Notre Dame Sisters of Mount Pleasant College. After teaching for morethan twenty years as a secular mistress (and singing in the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir) she was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate at the age of forty-four Immediately after her profession in 1924 she was appointed Head Mistress of the English Martyrs' Primary School and held the office until her retirement in 1937. She died on 14 April 1956 and is buried in the BarConventcemetery.

NOBLE, Mother M. Germana 1837-1903

Amelia Noble was born in 1837 in Lee, near Preston She was educated at the Bar Convent and at the age of seventeen was admitted to the novitiate there, taking the name of Germana when she received the habit. She had a distinguished career, holding the offices of Mistress of the Day School, second Mistress of the Boarding School, Mistress of Novices, House Infirmarian, Head Mistress and finally, from 1891 to 1897 , Superior. Unfortunately we know none of the details that would endow her with a personality and she remains for posterity no morethan a name with a place on the list ofSuperiors ofthe Bar Convent .

She died on 5 August 1903 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

NOBLE, Sister M. Josepha 1831-1906

Ann Noble was born near Preston and was almost certainlythe older sister of Amelia Noble, or Mother Germana She was sent to the Bar Convent in 1848 to complete her education, and four years later she was accepted as a novice With the versatility demanded of all able members of the period, she successively filled the offices of Consultress, Mistress of Novices, assistant to the Infirmarian, Sacristan, Second Mistress of the Day School and Dispenser. She died on 21 February 1906 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery .

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

OATES , Mother M. Salome 1860-1931

Mother Salome, who began life as Agnes Oates, was born in Clifton in 1860. Both her parents were converts, and her father was a partner in the successful publishing firm of Burns and Oates She was educated first at St. Leonard's, then at Kempton in Bavaria and finally at the Sacred Heart School of Mount Anville, Ireland Despite such an experience of religious orders , she chose to try her vocation in the Institute. Doctors said she was too delicate for religious life, but the Bar Convent accepted her into the novitiate in 1883, and after profession this slight but dynamic figure embarked upon a career that was to involve her in many apostolates and to play a significant part in the history ofthe Institute. In York she was a Consultress as well as teaching in the day and boarding schools and serving as Head Mistress of the latter. In 1905 she was sent to Cambridge as Head Mistress; the next year she was appointed Superior and she seems to have held the two posts concurrently But her vision of the apostolate was not confined within the convent walls; she founded a branch of the Catholic Women's League, based it on the Paston House premises and acted as its President. She gave the members conferences, organised retreats for them and arranged home nursing courses . It must, by all accounts, have been a very lively branch.

During World War I she offered hospitality in the form of class-room accommodation and desks to a school of Belgian children, and in recognition she received a decoration from the Belgian government. In 1920 she was posted to Rome, where she had already played a part in the rehabilitation of Mary Ward, and from Rome she made visits to Nymphenburg , researching into the history of the Institute to further Mary Ward'scause. In 1927 she was in Cambridge again but retired to York the next year on account ofill-health A few years later, in 1931 , she was on a visit to Egton Bridge when she suffered a fatal stroke. The annals close her story with the homely statement 'The Harrisons made an oak coffin for her with brass fittings and brought a hearse to take the body to Grosmontfor the 7.10 train to York.'

Two days later, on 26 July, she was buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

O'CONNOR , Sister Patricia 1902-1942

Mary Anne O'Connor, known as Sister M. Patricia, was born into a large family in County Kerry in 1902. She was educated by the Loreto sisters in Killarney and might well have entered there,

had it not been for the influence of a Father Mullane, who was also a native of Co. Kerry, then serving as a curate in the English Martyrs parish in York. So MaryAnne joined the Bar Convent novitiate in 1925 and became Sister Patricia , trained as a teacher at Endsleigh College, Hull, and returned to York to teach in the Junior School. As recounted in the Introduction, she died by enemy action on 29 April 1942 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

O'CONNOR , Sister M. Philomena

1896-1986

Sister Philomena, who began life as Mary O'Connor, was born in Manchester in 1896. She was of Irish stock and was the niece of Sister Monica Woodhouse. Like her aunt she was of small build, but unlike her aunt she had rosy cheeks and quick, lively movements. She entered the Institute in Ascot in 1923 and lived all her active life there except for a few months spent in England's Lane (1926-27) She was well known to many generations of Ascot children because one of her daily duties was to put out their bath-towels and then collect and dry them . This sounds a tedious occupation, but the children loved to linger to talk with her, so confidences were exchanged, advice given, friendships formed and vocations fostered

The holidays saw a very different Sister Philomena. No sooner had the children gone home than she appeared her painting gear, a white cotton veil tied firmly round her head, and a colour-bespatted overall reaching to her ankles Thus accoutred and with paint-pot and brushes in hand, she would trip down the corridor to her first assignment She had learnt from Sister Ludmilla how to mix and applypaint, and she was an apt pupil She took a great pride in her work and found much pleasure in transformingshabby rooms into places of delight . She was never daunted by the occasional accident, caused once by her stepping backwards off a high pair of steps.

These busy years passed quickly and happily until old age gradually reduced her activity and at last she was invalided to York, where she was one of the first patients in the newly opened St. Joseph's There, like the good Mancunian she was, she loved to sit at the window and watch the traffic go by. Early in June 1986 she went into hospitalfor some minor treatment and died, unexpectedly but well prepared, on June 5. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

O'DONOGHUE, Sister M. Xavier 18781972

Jeannette O'Donoghue was born in Haslingden in 1878 and was educated at the Bar Convent. She claimed that she entered

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

the novitiate at sixteen or seventeen but did not receive parental permission to become officially a novice and receive the habit until she was twenty-one. Meanwhile she was sent to the recently founded house in Cambridge, 'to complete her studies. ' These studies were supervised by a lay teacher, Miss Corcoran, while help was given by Canon Christopher Scott's Saturday evening lectures and by Father Edmond Nolan's coming 'to givethe nuns lessons in Latin and Scripture' It is rather surprising that Sister Xavier's success in the Higher Local examinations was a pass in 'Arith. And Psychology. She spent the Christmas of 1898 in Cambridge and as the communitywas poor her father'sgift of'a Christmas box consisting of a turkey, cake and a box of chocolates' must have been veryacceptable.

She returned to York for her profession, but spent mostofher long religious life in Cambridge, teaching the junior classes, preparing children for the Sacramentsand acting as Sacristan and Infirmarian. To those who remember her as a gentle, 'pink and white' old lady in her eighties, it comes as quite a surprise to hear that for manyyears she ran the Boys' Brigade in a loft over the Paston coach-house.

She died in Cambridge on 19 October 1972 and is buried in the citycemetery.

OLDFIELD, Sister M. Campion

1896-1956

Phyllis Oldfield was born in 1896 in Old Malton, Yorkshire. She was educated at St. Anne's School in York and the Sacred Heart Training College in Newcastle Why she chose tofulfil her vocation in the Institute is not clear, but possibly she had been teaching in the Bar Convent. After her profession in 1927 she was sent to Leeds University and took a B.A. degree there . On Mother Aquinas Murphy's retirement in 1941 she was appointed Head Mistress of the Bar Convent Grammar School, but illhealth forced her to retire in 1950. Her illness remained undiagnosed for several years and when it was at last recognised as cancer it had become terminal She died in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge on 23 October 1956 and is buried in the city cemetery.

O'MELIA, Sister M. Stanislaus

1877-1967

Annie O'Melia, or Sister Stanislaus, was born in Bradford of Irish stock, and entered the York novitiate in 1899, when she was twenty-one. After serving for many years as cook in York and Cambridge, she became the portress in Cambridge for therest of her active life. Those who knewher in her old age remember her as small, plump, very gentle and quietly humorous. She died on4

February 1967, in her 90th year and is buried in the Cambridge city cemetery, where snowdrops grow on her grave.

O'REILLY, Sister Gonzaga 1783-1820

Rosetta O'Reilly was born in Ireland in 1783, and belonged, it was said, to 'an ancient Irish family ' She was sent to York to be educated at the Bar Convent, where, being light-hearted , clever and accomplished, she soon became a general favourite On leaving school she seemed to have a successful career in society before her, but at the age of twenty-eight she returned to York, asking to be admitted into the novitiate There followed nine years in the schools where her musical gifts and her abilitytowin the affection ofyoung people were very valuable . But she suffered from alternations of health and sickness and died on 10 July 1820 at the early age ofthirty-seven

Sheis buried in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate

ORCHARD , Sister M. Gillian

19411999

Gillian Orchard was born in Downham Market, Norfolk, not far from the famous Walsingham shrine to which she had a lifelong devotion By the time she reached school age her family was living in London and she was sent to the I.B.V.M. Junior School in Fitzjohn'sAvenue, whence she moved on to Ascot.After a brief period oftraining as a children's nurse, she entered thenovitiatein 1962 and took the name of Emmanuel in memory of Sister Emmanuel Mulcahy who had recently died; but she later reverted to her baptismal name. After profession she was sent to Royal Holloway College to take a B.A. in general subjects, to which she added a teacher's qualification She then embarked on a school career that lasted from 1969 to 1982. She was very happy as a form-mistress , especially when organising outdoor activities such as picnics, barbecues, visits to places of interest, or just rides round the grounds on the tractor In 1976 she was asked to replace Sister Bridget Geoffrey-Smith as Head Mistress, and had to face duties and responsibilities that were less congenial Administration and discipline did not come easily to her, but she showed herself able and sensitive in the difficult task of taking over from a Head Mistress who had becomean institution, without givingoffence to her devotees . Within six years, however, she was diagnosed as having a tumour that could not be completely removed, and from then on shebattled courageously for life, accepting operations and treatment without complaint.

By 1982 she was well enough to be appointed Novice Director; then from 1985 to 1991 she was the much loved Superior in Shaftesbury. A year spent in York was followed by the most

BIOGRAPHIES

creative and perhaps the most apostolic period of her life . The nuns were withdrawing from the schools, leaving a hiatus that was particularly serious in the boarding schools, so to meet the situation Sister Gillian was appointed I.B.V.M. lay chaplain to the Shaftesbury and Ascot schools It was a demanding post, not only involving much travelling but requiring energy and enterprise to respond to the human and spiritual needs of children, parents and members of staff Despite ill-health she organised prayer-groups, arranged retreats, drew up syllabusesof religious instruction and spread the spirit of Mary Ward by writing and by word of mouth Her compassion to all in need was best shown on the occasion of a tragic car crash in Shaftesbury, when she stayed up all night comforting the bereaved survivors.

With all theseactivities, she still found time for the writing that she greatly enjoyed In addition to editing Till God Will, she wrote a pamphlet life of Mary Ward, contributed articles to The Way and other journals, and put into modern English some of Mary Ward's writings

She knew, however, that her battlefor life was a losing one and she faced death realistically and faithfully This courageous member of the Institute died in the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading on 16 December 1999 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

O'SULLIVAN, Sister Clare 1871-1893

Only from two official documents does the figure ofCatherine O'Sullivan, or Sister Clare, emerge . The 'Women religious census return of 1891' lists her as a nun born in Ireland, aged twenty and teaching English in England's Lane. No more is known of her for two years , and then the Kensal Green Cemetery register records her death on 4 December 1893 and her burial in the cemetery Whether she was a member of the Institute is unconfirmed. The details of her life in it are as unknown as are her parentage and background , and she remains for ever in the shadows ofuncertainty .

OVERBACK , SisterM. Benedicta 1841-1877

Anna Maria Overback was born in Bonn, Germany in November 1841. She was educated in her native city by the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, and then in Maeseyek in Belgium by the Ursulines In 1863 she spent a year in the Bar Convent, possibly teaching German Though the community was at that time strictly enclosed and under severe discipline, she was attracted to the Institute and entered the York noviceship in

PARKER 145

1864. She assisted in both day and boarding schools until 28 August 1877, when she died at the age of thirty-five. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

PARKER , Sister M. Pauline

19001992

Evelyn Parker was born in London of Church of England parents Her mother died when she was a small child, and she and her brother were brought up by the father without any help from kindly aunts or other female relations. Evelyn was educated at home until she was in her teens, and was then sent to St. Paul's Girls' School where she carried off all the prizes. At Somerville College, Oxford she took a First Class honours degree in 1922 and shortly afterwards was received into the Catholic Church by Father C. C. Martindale, S.J. The years 1923 to 1927 were spent in lecturing in Craiglockhart College, Edinburghand in writing a book on the Acts and Epistles. She never explained how she came to enter the Institute in 1929, but she had an aunt who was an Anglican nun, so perhaps it was less of a leap in the dark than might appear. She had always lived in a rarefied academic atmosphere, so that the juvenile world of the novitiate administered a cultural shock. Nor was she happy in the school for she had no understanding of children and her over-intellectual lessons, delivered with a slight lisp, were receivedwith cruel mockery. The Novice Mistress suggested that she might leave, but she was determined to battle on After her profession in 1932 her Superiors thought it a kindness to send her out to the English house in Rome, where she taught English to adults, wrote a book on the spirit of Mary Ward, and made a profound study of Dante But life was still lonely She experienced the rigours of war-time Italy and the turbulence that should have been peace, and then in 1954 she returned to England and was posted to Hampstead. There followed three very creative years of writing that produced The Allegory ofthe Faerie Queene (published by the Clarendon Press in 1960) and a number of articles for learned journals, all proof of an original mind and an acute pen. She moved to Cambridge in 1957 and, while continuing to write, undertooksome teaching in the school where her lessons, though not always understood, were listened to with respect There was a strange paradox in her relationship with the children; she never suffered fools gladly and any intellectual presumption was mercilessly crushed, yet she took some backward pupils under her wing, coachedthem patiently and tried to persuadeher colleagues that her slow-witted geese were reallyintellectualswans!

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Even when teaching had to be given up she continued to frequentthe UniversityLibrary and to collect materialfor a book she intended to write on hymnology . But in 1989 she broke a leg and needed the care that only St. Joseph's could provide. There in York a transformationtook place and the formidable, lonely, sharp-tongued intellectual became a very human person readyto accept affection For three years she lived contentedly in her small room, re-reading her favourite books, delighted to receive visits and exchanging marks of sympathy and affection that would have been repelled in earlier years

She died on 10 December 1992 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

PENDRILL,

Sister Dorothy d. 1795

Sister Dorothy Pendrill was one of the last three members of the Institute's house in Hammersmith . She joined the community in 1758 , saw the dwindling of its numbers, the consequent closure of the school and the advent of the Benedictine nuns in 1794. She was therefore one ofthe 'three Ladys ofthe house' mentioned on a yellowed scrap of paper (6 cm x 9cm) that constitutes the contract between the dying community and the newcomers . The Benedictines are to 'board without payment' the 'three Ladys, ' but the Bishop will keep them in 'clothes and other extraordinary Phisitions [?]. '

Dorothy was the first of these to die, on 4 June 1795. We do not know where she came from, but we know that she was the last of the I.B.V.M. sisters to be buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith

PFEIFFER , Sister M. Benedicta 1853-1900

Barbara Pfeiffer was born in Munich in 1853. She lost her mother when she was still very young and she spent an unhappy childhood in Regensburg, in the care of a very severe grandmother . She entered the Institute in Nymphenburg in 1873 , but shortly after profession volunteered for the 'English Mission' and accompanied Mother Joseph Edwards to London She taught needlework in Haverstock Hill until 1886, when she was sent to Ascot where she found the children very difficult to manage . She struggled on , however, until 1900 when she developed pleurisy and died on 23 December. She was buried in the Ascot cemetery on a very foggy Christmas Eve

PIUS IX, Blessed , Pope and Benefactor 1792-1878

Spanning the years 1846-1878, the pontificateof Blessed Pius IX was long and turbulent. Early in his reign he was forced to be

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a fugitive from Rome; shortly before his death he was again in exile, stripped of all his temporal possessions , and further traumatic events filled the intervening years. It is small wonder, therefore, that the Pope's relationship with the Institute is not mentioned in the official biographies. Yet a single action on his part was of immense importance to this religious congregation that had existed for more than two hundred years without papal recognition . Blessed Pope Pius IX finds a place in this Biographical Dictionary because it was he who, at the request of Reverend Mother Juliana Martin , gave approbation to the Institute in 1877, thus lifting the ban under which it had existed since 1631

PIUS X, Saint, Pope and Benefactor

1835-1914

This saintly Pope took as his motto 'Restore all things in Christ' , but in the early days of his pontificateit seemed unlikely that he would restore to Mary Ward the title of Foundress, denied to her by Pope Benedict XIV in 1749. When Mother Magdalen Gremionventured to suggest such a measure, he 'took six steps backwards and declared 'Mary Ward a foundress!she was a heretic!' Fortunatelyhis Secretary of State, CardinalMerry del Val, was better informed He and his friend, Cardinal Gasquet, interested the Pope in the true facts of the case , and convinced him of the justice of Mary Ward's claim. Eventually on 6 April 1909 Cardinal Gasquet dispatched to theBar Convent a telegram bearing laconically the all- important message 'Foundress recognised by Pope ' This act of'restoration in Christ' earns St. Pius X the gratitude of the Institute and the title of Benefactor.

PIUS XII, Pope and Benefactor

1876-1958

Pope Pius XII's title of Benefactor of the Institute rests upon a single, but resounding reference he made to Mary Ward. Addressing the World Congress of the Lay Apostolate in 1951 , he spoke of her as 'that incomparable woman whom, in her most sombre and bloodiest times, Catholic England gave to the Church' The word 'incomparable' echoes down the centuries the outburst of the unknown voice at Mary Ward's funeral , 'There never was such a woman, no, not ever!' and the whole touching encomium serves as papal reparation for the harsh treatment meted out to Mary Ward by earlier Popes.

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

PLUNKETT , Rev. Anthony, O.P., Chaplain and Benefactor 1750-1810

Father Anthony Plunkettwas born in England and educated at Bornhem College, where he joined the Dominicancommunity. He was ordained in Louvain in 1775, became a professor in Bornhem and in 1792 was elected Prior there. Threatened by the advancing French Revolution, he and his community fled to England in 1794. Like many other refugee priests he experienced Mother Catherine Rouby's compassion and practical help, and from 1800 till his death in 1810 he was Chaplain to the Bar Convent. It was hewho presented Mother Rouby with the three alabaster statues that still stand at the back of the Chapel. He died on 20 January 1810 and is buried in Holy Trinitychurchyard, Micklegate.

POLDING, Sister M. Teresa 1851-1879

Frances Polding was born in Blackburn of Catholic parents. She entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1873 and acted as assistant to the children's Infirmarian She died on 19 October 1879 at the age of twenty-eight, after a shortillness.

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

POPE , Mother Francis 1833-1914

Louisa Pope was born into a Protestant family in Whitby, but it moved to York when her father becamevicar of Holy Trinity, Micklegate About the time of his death in 1853 the eldest son, William, already an ordained clergyman, had doubts about the Church of England and entered into correspondence with J. H. Newman. He shared his letters with Louisa and she becamevery interested in the Catholic Church, especially after a lively argument with a Catholic book-seller, Mr. Browne (himself a convert), an introduction to his cousin, Reverend Mother Angela Browne, and a visit to the Bar Convent . Events then moved with incredible speed; several Benedictions at the convent, some sermons based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the purchase of the prayer book, The Garden of the Soul and within a few months Louisa, her sisters Margaret and Elizabeth and their brotherJohn were all received into the Church William had preceded them at Stonyhurst by about two weeks On 21 September 1854, exactly one year after her reception into the Church, Louisa was admitted to the novitiate of the Bar Convent; but lest enthusiasm had carried her away, she was prudently not professed for four years. Her uncle, the great Whately of Oriel College, Oxford and subsequently Archbishop of Dublin, sent a curate to try to inveigle his 'benighted niece

PLUNKETTPORTINGTON

149 into his palace (no doubt to make her see reason) but the mission was in vain.

Mother Francis, as Louisa became, taught in the day and boarding schools of the convent and in St. George's School. She was Mistress of the short-lived school in Scarborough and was for a time Mistress of Novices at the Bar Convent before becoming its Superior in 1883. In 1898 she took the momentous step of founding a house in Cambridge and she lived to see the beginnings of growth there, though she could not have foreseen the immense development that followed She worked for the recognition of Mary Ward as foundress, and took the first steps towards the reunion of the Bar Convent with the mainstream Institute. She is said to have 'ruled mildly and justly, ' a judgment borne out by the genial features ofherportrait.

She died on 12 July 1914, just before Europe became engulfed in World War I, and she is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

PORTER , Sister M. Cuthbert 1842-1923

Annie Porter was born in Partington, Cheshire in 1842 , and exchanged her homely name for the high-sounding 'Sister Cuthbert' when she became a novice in the Bar Convent in 1865. She acted as portress for many years, died on 26 October 1923 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

PORTINGTON , SisterMary born 1637

Mary Portington was born in London in 1637, the daughter of Robert Portington who held land in Holderness, East Yorkshire She was educated by the Institute in Paris, when Mary Poyntz was the Superior of the house and Winefrid Wigmore the Head Mistress In 1669, a professed nun, she was sent to England to help Frances Bedingfield in her Londonfoundations. Shewas put in charge of the house in St. Martin's Lane and when it failed she blamed herself But she seems to have been a person of outstandingvirtue and ability; Dr. James Smith, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, wanted her to run a school he planned to found in Lancashire, and Frances Bedingfield destined her as the second Superior of the Bar Convent, describing her as follows:

'Mary Portington is nearly sixty years of age, whereofshe has spent forty in the Institute and has long filled the place of a Superioress with the highest esteem. She has an excellent judgment , speaks Latin, Italian and French like her mother tongue, and is full of devotion and love of prayer She has an uncommonly sweet method of leading souls to God, so that some years ago we intrusted to her guidance all who wished tojoin our

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Institute in England ... She preserves her patience in all calamities, and often they have fallen upon her in heaps'

But this desirable Superior was not available because , it is related enigmatically , a lawsuit in which her family was engaged at that time rendered her presence in the north of England imprudent.'

She was in Paris in 1697 and almost certainly died on the continent

POULTON

, Sister M. Ignatius c . 1867-1900

Etheldreda Poulton was born about 1867 into a Protestant family. At the age of 12 she was sent to the Institute's school in England's Lane, London where at first she firmly defended her Protestant faith. But about 1881, at the age offourteen , she was received into the Catholic Church by Father Henry Bartlett, O.P. , and in her seventeenth year she entered the novitiate and was clothed as Sister Ignatius . After her profession in 1886 she was sent to the newly founded house in Ascot and taught in St. Francis' school. For a short time she was Novice Mistress; what happened next is a tantalising mystery, for a journal records that in 1898 'she was too ill and too much in disgrace to continue in office . ' She was in London in 1900 when she died on 13 January of a sudden attack of peritonitis. She is thought to be buried in Kensal Green.

POWELL, Sister Anne d . 1712

Sister Anne Powell was a member of the Hammersmith community from the foundation of the house in 1677 to her death in 1712. She was involved in the controversy overauthority and signed the first dissident document by which the signatories 'chose Bishop Giffard as 'Chief Community Superior ' The second document was almost certainly drawn up after her death on c . 22 May 1712 .

She was buried in St. Paul's churchyard, Hammersmith on 24 May 1712 .

POYNTZ,

Mother Mary 1604-1667 a Mary Poyntz, one of Mary Ward's early companions, was born into circumstances beloved of every Victorian biographer pedigree stretching back to the Norman Conquest, broad family acres surroundingan ancient, moated manor house and effigies of medieval ancestors recumbent in the parish church . To all this her own contribution was personal beauty and a broken-hearted suitor

PORTINGTONPOYNTZ

Most of her adventurous religious life was spent on the continent, but eleven important years in England justify her inclusion in this dictionary. She was born in 1604, the daughter of Edward Poyntz, a recusant who was said to keep two Jesuits in his house and to be 'himself altogether jesuited. ' While still very young possibly sixteenshe met her kinswoman, Mary Ward, and resolved to commit her life to her She obtained her father's permission, but a serious obstacle remained in the person of 'a cavalier of rank who had a long tyme been wooing her. ' When she revealed her intention to be a religious he begged her that she would at least give him her portrait. ' At first she refused, but at length she had a well-known picture painted. One partof her face was her living likeness ... the other side was painted like a death's head, a skull, and from the cheek down to thechest the flesh was quite corrupted and eaten by worms "

Leaving behind this macabre memorial , Mary Poyntz accompanied Mary Ward to St. Omer and there they began a lifelong companionship and co-operation in the service of the Institute, Mary Poyntz sharing the poverty, obloquies, dangers and difficulties that were the lot of Mary Ward. They were both in the party that walked to Rome in 1621, and were together in the City until, five years later, they were returning to Flanders when they met the Elector Maximilian of Bavaria. He begged Mary Ward to found a school in Munich and gave her the use of the Paradeiserhaus, where Mary Poyntz was installed as Superior After Mary Ward's imprisonment , the two friends were separated until 1633, when Mary Poyntz was summoned back to Rome and at Ferrara received a loving letter from MaryWard 'Athousand , thousand welcomes' , it read, 'so near to us ... come to me with what speed you can ... ' They remained in Rome until September 1637 when, both in poor health, they set off for England With delays in Germany and Flanders they did not arrive in London until May 1639. Political storm clouds were already gathering and by 1642 the situation was so threatening that nuns and children set off for the north of England in 'three coachfuls, ' Two years later, after a sojourn in Hutton Rudby, they were lodged in Heworth Manor, but had to move into York itself when the city was besieged in 1644. There is a homely picture ofMary Poyntz overseeing the transfer of their household goods past the guards at the gates into their new place of refuge. 'To tell the truth' she wrote, 'our faith was small and we were sweating with agonyfor fear all should be taken; but she [Mary Ward] with a smiling, happy face said 'Do not doubt, I assure you that we will pass safely.' And so they did 'When being to remove [we] must pass the enemies , Scots and troops, who pillaged all they layed hands

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on While they were robbingof others and searching them to the very skin, our servants passed by with pots and beds on their backs and heads, without a word or least soever interception . ' When the siege was over the household returned to Heworth Manor, but it was a sad homecoming, for Mary's illness was visibly terminal She died on 30 January (N.S.) 1645, leaving Mary Poyntz as the Superior ofthe bereaved community . They remained in Heworth until 1650, when a gift from the Marquis of Worcester, Mary Poyntz's cousin, enabled them to move to Paris The remaining twenty-seven years of Mary's life were spent on the continent, and so must be recounted very briefly. In Paris she educated a number offuture members ofthe Institute before being summoned to Rome in 1653. There, in 1654, on the death of Mother Barbara Babthorpe, she was unanimously elected the third 'Chief Superior' of the Institute. Perhaps her most important act in office was the foundation in 1662 of the house in Augsburg and it was there, in what is now the oldest house of the Institute, that she died on 30 September 1677. She was buried in the chapel of St. John in the Cathedral, where a massive gravestone extolled her virtues in pompous Latin But in the nineteenth century the chapel was pulled down, the stone disappeared and Mary Poyntz's bones , like those of MaryWard and her other early companions, lie in an unmarked grave.

RADCLIFFE , Sister M. Ignatius 1819-1900

Helen Radcliffe , or Sister Ignatius , was born in York in 1819 , was accepted into the Bar Convent novitiate at the rather unusual age of thirty, and had a busy but unexceptional career as successively Consultress, Sacristan, School Procuratrix and Mistress of the Day School She died on 9 February 1900 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

RANKIN , SisterM. de la Colombière 1852-1945

Frances Rankin was born in Liverpool in 1852 and was educated at the Bar Convent She was already thirty-five when she entered the novitiate but nevertheless had a long religious life before her. For a short time she was Mistress of the Schools but her ability seems to have been rather with administrationand she served successively as Procuratrix, Children's Infirmarian (in Cambridge) and Dispenser Her love of the poor was real and practical, and providing for their needs was the aim of the last thirty years of her life.

She died on 14 November 1945 and is buried in the Bar Conventcemetery.

REANEY, Sister Martha

1895-1948

Mary Reaney, who became Sister Martha, was born in Tipperary in 1895 and entered the Ascot novitiate in 1914. Her life was uneventful, with years of faithful service in Hampstead, Sheringham and, above all, in Ascot where she was portress for twelve years She was a familiar figure at the Ascot front door, where countless visitors all received the same courteous, smiling welcome. She died in office on 12 June 1948 after only a few days' illness, at the age offifty-three In a letter of condolence to the Superior, a priest wrote: 'She belongs to the line of great portresses in the tradition of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, and she will have no difficulty with St. Peter at Heaven's Gate. '

She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

REILLY, Sister M.Anne 1901-1986

Mary Reilly was born in Armagh, in circumstances that gave her much to contend with, for the Catholics in Armagh were a beleaguered community in an Orange state, and moreover her family was so poor that she had to leave school at the age of twelve and work, barefoot , in a flax mill She entered the York novitiate in August 1930 and was transferred to Ascot six months later when the York novitiate was closed . Her heart of gold was thinly disguised by a rough manner, but the manner was so rough that after some months the Provincialsummoned her , with intention to dismiss her. Sister Anne sensed the purpose of the interview and opened it with a burst of 'Oh, you can't, Reverend Mother, you can't!' So she stayed on, scolding everyone indiscriminatelybut loved by all, including the children whose reaction to her explosive temper was 'Isn't Sister Anne sweet?'

When World War II broke out she was a member of the Hampstead community and so was evacuated to Ashburnham and then to Bratton. She and Sister Lawrence did noble work in maintaining a laundry service in primitive conditions throughout the war, and life at Shaftesbury was at first not much easier; but she lived to know better, quieter times before old age at last sapped her energy and she had to be retired to a nursing home, where she lived contentedly till her death on 18 September 1986 .

She is buried in the Wardour cemetery.

REILLY , Sister Helen 19271991

Ellen Reilly was born in Co. Cavan, declared her intention of being a nun at a very early age and was still only fifteen when she was admitted to a necessarily prolonged novitiate in Ascot. With only one short break, she remained in Ascot from 1942 to 1978, working as one of the team of cooks in the huge

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establishment. The rest of her life was spent in York, first cookingat the Bar Convent and then at St. Joseph's, where, after being a helper, she gradually became a patient She was deeply pious and, with the freedom she enjoyed in her later years, very active in visiting and helping the poor and the sick, by whom she was greatly reverenced She died of cancer on 18 April 1991. A Requiem Mass was said for her in the Bar Convent chapel but, at the special request of her family, she was buried in a Birmingham cemetery after a further Requiem in the Birmingham Oratory.

ROBINSON , Sister M. Regis

1828-1868

Born in Sproatley Grange, Holderness, Mary Anne Robinson entered the Institute in the Bar Convent and was clothed as Sister Mary Regis in October 1845. She served successively as Sacristan , Second Mistress in the boarding -school and Head Mistress ofthe day school. She died on 17 February 1868 at the early age of thirty-nine, and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

ROCHER , Sister Anne Sophie du 1767-1799

Born in Brittany in 1767, Sophie du Rocher had decided by 1794 to try her vocation as a religious, but the revolutionary conditions in France made emigration a necessity. She chose England as her place of exile and entered the Bar Convent novitiate in June 1794. In the school she taught French and drawing and as early as 1798 she was appointed Mistress of Novices But she held the office for less than a year, as she died on 31 March 1799 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard , Micklegate.

RONAN (ROWAN), Sister M. Philomena 1843-1919

Hannah Ronan was born in Balderwick, Co. Mayo, in 1843 . The record of her life is almost a complete blank, relating only that she was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate in 1867 and died in York on 20 October 1919 .

Sheis buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

ROOKE (ROOT), SisterMary 17th Century

Sister Mary Rooke came to England in 1677 at the request of Frances Bedingfield, to be a member of the Dolebank community . She was one of the party who 'rode forth' from Barnbow Hall on 29 September and it was she whom an observer described as 'an old maid but a young nun. ' In the general rounding up of Catholics in 1678 she either escaped arrest or was released without any recorded questioning. She joined the little communityin Heworth, where she is said to havedied.

REILLYRUSSELL

ROUBY , Mother Catherine 155 1740-1810

Catherine Rouby was born in Holland in February 1740 and was educated abroad She entered the York novitiatein 1765 and after profession taught French in the schools It has been said that before becoming Superior she had held no office except that of the humble Caller; however that is not quite accurate, because she was for a few months Mistress of Novices But though she was unused to authority she wielded it to good purpose when appointed Superior in 1790. Trustingthat the days ofpersecution in England were over, she decided that the habit, as worn on the continent, could safely be adopted in York and on 'a joyful clothing day' the whole community donned the Institute'shabit, witnessing that religious life need no longer be incognito.

Of much greater importance was Mother Rouby's reflection that the French Revolution was creating a new tide of refugees fleeing from persecution At first she received individual girls or young women who came to enter the school or the novitiate , or just to find a safe haven in the Convent But this was not enough; soon she was sending her 'spies' each day to watch the London coach come into Coney Street, and all French passengers were directed to Blossom Street, where a warm welcome awaited them. Three whole communities of nuns were given hospitality until new homes were assigned them, while for the priests Mother Rouby found lodgings and sometimes employment in the city. Her solicitude did not end here; the communityrose even earlier than usual to sew shirts for the priests and, later, to make a carpet for a chapel served by one of them Father Louis de Henne and Father Anthony Plunkett, O.P., were successively chaplains to the Convent , and many ties of friendship and gratitude were forged.

Mother Rouby died on 23 April 1810 , the last Superior of a great century, and the last to be buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate .

RUSSELL , Sister deSales 1803-1879

Ann Monica Russell was born in York on 7 November 1803 , and baptised the next day in the Little Blake Street Chapel that was the forerunner of St. Wilfrid's Church She was educated at the Bar Convent from the age of five, and at nineteen she was a novice there . She taught for many years in the schools and then was unfortunately appointed Librarian; as such her name is for ever linked with the dastardly act of 'destroying many manuscripts because they were untidy. ' What valuable material was thus lost we shall never know. She died of bronchitis on 1 April 1879 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

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RUJANSKI Sister M. Étienne

1913-1975

Rosalie Rujanski , in religion Sister Étienne, was a stout-hearted expatriate. She was born in Rumania in March 1913 of a Rumanian father and a German mother, and she was a cousin of Sister Priska . She entered the Institute in Bukarest, took a degree in French and embarked upon a promising teaching career in her native land. But in 1949 the Communists took over Rumania and Reverend Mother General Edelburga was able to withdraw the members of mixed nationality So Sister Étienne joined the Cambridge communityand, despite great homesickness, identified herself with it. She learnt English and was soon a valuable and zealous member of the teaching staff, working hard herself and insisting on prodigious efforts from her pupils Her great hobby was gardening and she pursued it whole-heartedly, trundling her wheel-barrow, digging vigorously and planting out seedlings till dusk turned to dark night This exertion was unfortunately the cause of a massive heart attack she suffered in 1973. She was an unwilling invalid for the remaining two years of her life, dying in Addenbrooks's Hospital, Cambridge as a result of a further heart attack on 1 February 1975. She is buried in the Cambridge city cemetery.

RUJANSKI,

Sister M. Prisca

1906-1972

Pauline Rujanski was born in Rumania of a Rumanian,father and a German mother, and was the cousin of Sister Etienne Rujanski She entered the Institute in Bucharest in 1928. It was a time when the country was rich through its oil-wells and the Institute, too , was prosperous and influential When the Communists took over Rumania in 1949 the General Superior was able to procure exit visas for the nuns of mixed parentage including Sister Prisca. She was sent to Shaftesbury where she found it difficultto accept being an alien in a foreigncountry and to adopta much poorerlife-style than that to whichshe had been accustomed. She never really identified herself with her new surroundings and was tormented by the thought ofthe privations and persecution suffered by the compatriots she had left behind She taught needlework in Shaftesbury and later in Cambridge, exercising an iron control over her pupils During the summer holidays she frequently visited Rumania, smuggling in gifts and equipment to alleviate the hardships of the two surviving communities.

She died of cancer on 15 December 1972 and is buried in the Cambridge city cemetery.

RUJANSKI SCHREIBER

SALVIN, Sister M. Baptist

157 1806-1887

Fourteen Salvin girls are listed as pupils at the Bar Convent between 1716 and 1861, but only two of them joined the Institute. Louisa was born in Crosdale Hall, Co. Durham, in 1806 and went to school at the Bar Convent at the age of fourteen, but she did not apply for admission to the novitiate until 1840, when she was thirty-four years old She acted as Infirmarian for thirty years and after a period of retirement died on 7 December 1887 at the age ofeighty.

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

(See also Family Notes, pp 184-5).

SALVIN, Sister M. Gertrude 1848 1903

Mary Caroline Salvin was born in Burn Hall, Co. Durham in 1848. She was sent to school at the Bar Convent in 1861 , with her sister Louisa, (who is not to be confused with her cousin Louisa, later Sister John Baptist ) In 1869 she entered the novitiate, taking the name of Gertrude. Although the Salvins were an ancient and distinguished family in Co. Durham, and althoughthe only (unidentified) Salvin photograph we have is of a woman of quite formidable aspect , Sister Gertrude and Sister John Baptist seem to have lived useful but unexceptional lives in religion Sister Gertrude was the children's Infirmarian for two years and Mistress of the Infants' School for a further seven years No other details of her life, and none of her character , are recorded

She died on 20 September 1903 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

(See also Family Notes, pp 184-5)

SAUNDERS, Sister Mary (?) d 1702

Nothing is known of Sister Mary Saundersexcept that she was a member of the Hammersmith communityfrom 1683 to 1702. She is thought to have died in 1702, but a 'Mary Saunders, spinster, buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith , on 20 July 1706 may perhaps be identitiedwith her.

SCHREIBER , Sister M. Raphael 1865-1914

Sister Raphael was the first of four members of the Schreiber family who all came to Mother Joseph Edwards' aid. She was born in Bavaria in 1865, received the religious habit in Nymphenburg in 1889 and shortly afterwards accepted an invitation to join the 'English mission' as it was called. She was professed in London and appointed cook in England's Lane . Like

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her sister Sophie she contracted diabetes, and died a victim to the disease on 11 February 1914.Her place of burial is unrecorded .

SCHREIBER , Sister M. Thecla 1874-1943

Sophie Schreiber, in religion Sister Thecla, was one of four Schreiber sisters who all accepted voluntary exile from their native Germany in order to help to establish the Ascot foundation. Sister Thecla entered the Institute in Ascot in 1891 and spent her entire religious life there holding respectively the offices of cook and portress. Her diminutive little figure at the front door was familiar to generations of parents, children and visitors . After suffering from diabetesfor many years she died on 28 January 1943 and is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

SCOTT-ALLEN, Sister M. Joseph 1896-1989

Marie Josephine Scott-Allen, in religion Sister Joseph, was born in 1896 and, together with her two sisters, educated at the Bar Convent. In 1914, soon after leaving school, she entered the novitiatewhere the formidableMother Loyola Giles was Mistress of Novices As the whole of her active life was spent in teaching in Cambridge and Rome, her curriculum vitae makes dull reading, but it conceals an interesting and unusual personality . She was essentially eccentric, possessed of a good intellect but totally lacking in judgment and common sense! Many are the tales told of her odd but often endearing ways. When invalided to St. Joseph's in York she spent much time and energy writing often illegible letters to The Times and the Prime Minister on politics, morals and nature conservation She had a keen sense of humour and was always ready to laughat herself.

She died on 15 January 1989 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

SHELLEY , Sister M. John Berchmans

1898-1979

Annie Mary Shelley came from Tipperary, where she was born in 1898. In 1915 she was accepted into the Bar Convent novitiate, where her sister was already a novice. Like her sister she spent the whole of her religious life in the Bar Convent, where she served God and the communitywith dignity and courtesy.

She died suddenly of an unexpected heart attack on 31 May 1979 and is buried , with her sister, in the Bar Convent cemetery.

SHELLEY , Sister Margaret Mary

1892-1973

Joanna Shelley, later Sister Margaret Mary, was born in Tipperary and brought to England the gaiety and wit associated with that place She was received into the York novitiate in 1912

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and spent all her religious life in the Bar Convent, for manyyears serving the community as cook Carrying all her recipes in her head, she produced celebratory meals for every special guest and all festive occasions She died on 20 January 1973 and is buried in the BarConventcemetery.

SHERIDAN , Sister Austin 1791-1821

Bridget Sheridan was born in Ireland in 1791 and took the name of Sister Austin when admitted to the novitiate in 1816. One of her fellow novices was Teresa Ball, whom she might have joined in Ireland had her health been better In the event she 'assisted in the schools' in York for a few years before fallinga victim to the tuberculosis that was so prevalent at the time. She died on 15 June 1821 at the age ofthirty and was the penultimate member to be buried in Holy Trinitychurchyard, Micklegate.

SIDGREAVES , SisterM. Petra 1839-1909

Frances Sidgreaves , later Sister Mary Petra, was born in Preston in 1839 and was educated in the Bar Convent from 1851 to 1857. Two years after leaving school she entered the novitiate and spent the rest of her life in York as Sacristan, School Procuratrix and Second Mistress in the boardingschool Shedied on 16 February 1909 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery. (Her sister Mary also entered the Institute but left in 1863 to join theAugustiniannuns in Abbot's Leigh, Devon).

SMITH , Sister M. Benigna

1914-1998

Kathleen Smith was born in 1914 in Killymeatran, Co. Cavan, and was educated at St. Clare's school in Cavan Guided by Sister Bonaventure McCabe, herself from Cavan, she entered the Ascot novitiate in 1932, taking the name of Sister Benigna. She had a natural gift for cooking and it had already beencultivated by her mother and her school teachers, so it was no surprise in 1936 when she was sent to Hampstead to be the cook When World War II broke out she shared the trauma of evacuation with the community and children; Ashburnham Place was a spine-chilling house, and poor Sister Benigna had to share the kitchen with Lady Catherine's tall, one-eyed chef She found the experience so alarming that within a few months she was recalled to the security of Ascot, where she remained for the next thirty years She matured into a natural leader and from 1950 to 1970 she was Head Cook, not only producing culinary masterpieces but ruling over a very contented team ofyounger sisters But she was never strongand the demands of her office becametoo great for her, so in 1970 she was moved to York, still as cook but with

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lighter duties . She returned to Ascot in 1983 and spent her years of retirement in Errollston. There she died on 5 August 1998 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

SMITH , Mother Catherine c . 15831655

We know nothing of the family or background of Catherine Smith, and her name gives nothing away. It is certain, however, that she was one ofMary Ward's early companions in St. Omer and that she was Superior of a house in Flanders when Pope Urban VIII suppressed the Institute in 1631 with the Bull Pastoralis Romani Pontificis. Remaining faithful to Mary, she went to Munich where the Paradeiserhaus was still open and where she shared the dangers and extreme povertyexperiencedby the community when Gustavus Adolphus's troops surged round the city

She later went to Rome and accompanied Mary Ward back to England, where in 1645 she had the distinction of being at Mary's death-bed. The little group of companions remained in Heworth until 1650, when they moved to Paris. There, in the Rue du Vieux Colombier, Catherine died on 29 April 1655. We have no details of her service in the Institute, nor of where her body lies, but the words of an old necrology supply a fitting epitaph: 'She kept herself unmoved through all the troubles of the Institute, like a rock set in turbulentseas . "

SMITH, Sister M. deSales 1916-1990

Mary Ellen Smith, or Sister de Sales, was Sister Benigna's sister and, like her, was born in Killymeeham , Co. Cavan and was educated at St. Clare's Convent In 1933 she entered the Ascot novitiate and spent her whole religious life in Ascot; at one time she was in charge of the children's refectory, at another time she was portress, for some years she was responsible for the children'sclothes and she served the communityas a Consultress. She was strikingly good looking, with a dignified bearing and an airofserenity. She died of cancer on 27 November 1990 and is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

SMITH , Sister Michael 1867-1903

This mysterious member seems to have escaped all extant records except for a brief entry in the York Journal which reads: 'March 31th1903. Receivedtelegram announcing the severe illness and death of Sr. M. Michael Reverend Mother went by midday train to Cambridge. Found all there much distressed but at the same time greatly comforted by the beautiful death of the dear

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sister Unfortunately the Cambridge Annals for the period 19001910 are missing, and it is only from the Cambridge City Liber Defunctorum that we learn her baptismal name Elizabeth, that she died at the age of thirty-six and that she was buried in the Mill Road cemetery.

SNOWDEN, Sister M. Rodriga

1821-1878

Elizabeth Snowden was born in 1821 in Ugthorpe , a place hallowed by association with Nicholas Postgate, and one of the most Catholic of all North Yorkshire villages She worked for a time as a lay person in the Bar Convent kitchen and then in 1846 entered the novitiate, taking the name ofSister Rodriga when she received the habit the following year We know little of her subsequent history except that she had an extraordinarily retentive memory and a love of 'high-sounding words' , and that she was always ready with a helping hand whenever it was needed . She died on 23 February 1878 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

SPANGLER, Sister Speranda

1897-1993

Sophy Spangler was born in Hahenburg, Bavaria and was brought up in a very pious family She entered the novitiate in Nymphenburg in 1919 and acted as portress in Regensburg for some years before volunteering to go to the English house in Rome. She served there from 1939 to 1948 and then leftItalyfor England, where, after a few months in Ascot, she was sent to Hampstead and remained a valued member of the community there from 1949 to 1988. She was a prodigious worker and it is said that she was moved to St. Joseph's, York, in 1988 as the only means of preventing her from climbing ladders and washing down walls at the age of ninety-one. Even in St. Joseph's she insisted on doing the washing up until at last a dish-washer was installed to put an end to her over-activity. Her close companion during her last years was Sister Georgina Gaigl, a friend from their early days in Regensburg The two frail figures seemed inseparable, as they walked slowly over to Mass at St. Bede's, or sat chattingtogether in the garden But separation, for a while , came with Sister Speranda's death, at the grand old age of ninety-six, on 8 April 1993. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

STANFIELD, Sister Catherine d. 1716

So scanty is our information on Sr. Catherine Stanfield that she is little more than a shadow . There is no record ofher parentage or date of birth, but she is registered as 'an early member ofthe

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Bar Convent under Frances Bedingfield ' We are not even quite sure that she is the 'Dorothy' Stanfield who was buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate , on 13 January 1716/17 Thus she is age-less, feature-less and almost nameless!

STANFIELD, Sister Elizabeth

c. 17101777

Sister Elizabeth Stanfield plays a romantic part in the history ofthe Bar Convent She was born about 1710, the only child and heiress of Francis Stanfield of Holderness in East Yorkshire. The story of her admittance to the Convent novitiate is told dramaticallyin the Annals and needs to be quoted almostin full:

'One evening during the summer [of 1727] Reverend Mother Paston was more than ever oppressed, her debts amountingto many hundred poundsand there was no prospect ofany ability to discharge them. Thus anxious and weary she fell asleep [and] in a dream she saw the house falling to the ground, when a little crooked woman put her shoulders to it and effectually propped it up. A few days later, on being called to the parlour, she was not a little astonished to find that her visitor was identicalin dress and appearance with the little crooked woman of her dream. ' Do not imagine this 'woman' as old she was seventeen years of age! The story continues: 'Still greater was her surprise when her visitor announced that the purpose of her coming was to beg for admission into the noviceship The Superior answered that it was only just to inform her of the distressing poverty and embarrassment of the house. ' The episode, of course, ends happily with Elizabeth settling upon the Convent the estate that she has inherited; she then enters the novitiate, where she is a contemporary of Ann Aspinal, and Mother Paston is able to die solvent.

There the story of Elizabeth Stanfield used to end, but new material , equally dramatic, has come to light A letter from a Carmelite in Lierre, a relative of Elizabeth, has a message for her. 'Tell her [Elizabeth] that I have a silver medal which the King himself [ James III'] gave me for her after he had recited such prayers with it in his hand as he says before he touches any patient afflicted with the [King's] evil' The medal evidently reached its destination and proved efficacious for a further letter reports 'It seems that she [Elizabeth Stanfield] does wondersin curing the King's Evil ' Here is something to delight the imaginationour little Mistress Stanfield acting as proxy forthe Old Pretender and touching the citizens of York for the King's Evil! Perhaps she also formulated the very superstious remedy for the same disease, to be found in the Convent's recipe book of 1753

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After these surprising activities she died on 1 April 1777 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate .

STAPLES , Sister M.Alphonsa

1890-1963

Beatrice Staples was born in Brighton and was educated at St. Mary's Convent , Ascot She entered the novitiate almost immediately after leaving school and used to compare her commitment to religious life with the breaking of the jar of precious ointment over Our Lord's feet'Everything , all at once, and no looking back. ' She received the name of Sister Alphonsa and (since by then qualifications were expected of teachers) she was put through a course of study and examinations in a wide range of subjects She finally took a Cambridge Teachers' Diploma and then joined the staff successively in England's Lane , York and lastlyAscot, where she spent so long that she seemed to be part of the structure of the community Though clever and well-read she was always rather casual in her approach to teaching and her great contribution to the Institute lay in her work of accounting. From 1935 to 1958 she was Local and Provincial Procurator, grappling with all the financial complexities of the house, school and province in a tiny room that also served as her bed-room. With a failing memory she had to resign from her post in 1958 and she died on 8 November 1963. Her features wereplain and her manner often brusque but she had a kind heart and a quick perception ofwhere sympathy wasneeded. She is buried in theAscot cemetery

STEINHAUSER , Sister M. Josephine 1913-1976

Sister Josephine is yet another example of the debt owed to Germany by the English Province She was born in Weitenau in 1913, was accepted into the Institute in 1934 and came over to Ascot to receive the habit there in 1935, when Nazi ideology was beginning to threaten religious life in Germany. Of sturdy farming stock, she had a fund of physical energy and ran the Ascot laundry (no mean task!) after the death of the legendary Sister Crescentia Drexl. She developed a brain tumour and after an operation and a distressing illness she died in the hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth, London, on 12 February 1976. She is buried in the Ascot cemetery.

STEPHENSON, Sister M. Joannes 1868-1921

Annie Stephenson was born in 1868, the only child of her parents. At the age of ten she was sent to school at the Bar Convent and remained there until she was sixteen Though she

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would have liked to join the novitiate immediately after leaving school, she remained at home for ten years, entering only in 1894 . As a professed sister she taught in the Preparatory School and acted as Procuratrix and Dispenser. In 1913 she became an invalid and spent the rest of her life not only in the Infirmary but lying flat on her back She died on 27 February 1921 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

SWALES

, Sister M. Bernard 1822-1875

Mary Ann Swales was born of Protestant parents in 1822 , probably in York. She was educated at the Bar Convent and the English Convent in Bruges , and was received into the Catholic Churchat the age of eighteen. She entered the novitiatetwo years later, taking the name of Sister Bernard. After teaching in the schools and acting as Sub-Dispenser, she died on 5 March 1875 at theage offifty-two and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

TALBOT

, Sister M. Gertrude 1766-1810

Margaret Talbot was born in 1766, the daughter of William Talbot of Preston. At the age of sixteen she was sent to school at the Bar Convent and two years later, in 1784, she was admitted to the novitiate She taught in the schools and experienced the invasions of French girls and communities of nuns during the French Revolution No details of her religious life are recorded, except that she kept her Silver Jubilee in 1809 and died on 5 November 1810. We do not even know her place ofburial.

TASKER , Sister Elizabeth d. 1745

Elizabeth Tasker is described in an old list as 'the cook at the nunnery. She is often referred to as Betty Tasker in the procuratrix's log-book, and she was certainly a familiar member of the Bar Convent household; there is no absolute proofthat she was a nun, but she is given the benefit of the doubt and included here. The following mentions are made of her: 1739, 'Betty has bought a vat of new pewther'; June 1742, 'Betty Tasker's room new made up'; December 1742, 'A new wooden chair in the kitchen for Betty Tasker'; and January 1745, 'Shutters made of old wood for Betty Tasker's windows. ' She died on 8 September 1745 and is buried in Osbaldwick churchyard .

TATTAN , Sister M. Berchmans 1893-1984

Kathleen Tattan was born in Co. Cork in 1893 and was educated in the Loreto Convent in Fermoy She would have liked to join the Institute there but feared she would not be accepted

STEPHENSONTHOMPSON 165

on account of the childhood attack of poliomyelitisthat left her delicate and very lame A priest friend offered to introduce her to the Bar Convent in York and she was accepted into the novitiate there in November 1920. She lived the whole of her religious life in York, following in the footsteps of such old members as Sister Fanny Audas and Mother Davis by acting as Procuratrix , caring for the property and collecting rents. She accepted her lifelong disabilities bravely and reached the age of ninetybefore dying on 4 June 1984. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

TAYLOR, Sister Austin

1800-1828

Mary Ann Taylor was born in Ireland in 1800 and was educated at the Bar Convent, where her ebullient high spirits were evidently too much for the sober sisters, as her first application to be admitted to the novitiate was refused. A second , very sincere, petition was successfuland in 1825 she was given the habit and the name of Sister Austin But alas! high spirits were not enough to maintain the health of this gifted young member and she fell a victim to tuberculosis, the scourge of the 19th century, and especially of the Irish She was professed on her death-bed and died on 22 April 1828 , at the age of twenty-eight She was one of the first sisters to be buried in the newly-made cemetery ofthe BarConvent.

THOMPSON , Sister M. Alphonsus 1851-1912

Sarah Thompson was a Lancashire woman, born in Bartle in 1851. She entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1873. She was said to be very shy and retiring, so it is perhaps fitting that nothing is recorded of her life except that she was a good and faithful religious

This 'unsung sister' died on 9 July 1912 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

THOMPSON , Canon John, Chaplain and Benefactor 1814-1884

John Thompson was born on 28 August 1814, in the villageof Wycliffe in North Yorkshire, into a typically old Catholicfamily ofyeoman extraction. He was baptised in the chapel of Wycliffe Hall, where the Turnbull family had provided a safe haven for the Vicars Apostolic during penal days. These few facts place his life into its religious and social context.

Predictably he was sent to school at Ushaw, where his brothers and cousins were also educated He studied for the priesthood and was ordained in December 1839. Then, after less than two years' experience of parish life in Stalybridge and Leeds, he was appointed chaplain to the Bar Convent and held the post until

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

his death. His life was singularly devoid of incident, but was not without interest. On arrival in York he was described by the annalist as 'tall, black-haired, thin, ascetic and of priestly mien.' With his gentlemanly manner' he fitted easily into the community and soon became the friend of young and old alike. For his part, he said that 'all were very dear to him , but especially anyone in trouble.'

He took his duties very seriously, preparing his sermons carefully (the language, it was said, was 'rather flowery'), catechizing the children and putting new life into the liturgy by instituting the singing of Vespers and reviving the Holy Week services that had lapsed. His life was nevertheless leisurely and allowed time for wide reading and the collection of a considerable library ofbooks on Scripture, Theology and Church History. He grew old in the service of the community , till he was 'grey and ghostlike, his elongated features and parchment-like pallor making him look like one who had risen from the grave.' We have no details of his death, which occurred on 17 July 1884 , but the entry in the convent annals strikes a note of sincere grief: 'We could not believe we had lost him whose name seemed inseparable from the old house, him on whom we had leant trustfully for so many years ' Pride of place was allotted to him in death, for he lies buried in the very centre of the Bar Convent cemetery, surrounded by those who were 'all very dear to him . '

THORPE , Sister M. Magdalen

1866-1937

Johanna Thorpe was born in 1866 in Batley Carr, Yorkshire. Her mother, an Irish woman, was widowed early in her married life and Johanna was still only a child when she began to work in a local woollen mill She made good friends at the mill and when two ofthem left to enter the Bar Convent novitiate she too began to consider a religious vocation She remained at home, however, and was active in the parish until 1892; when, at the age of twenty-six, she finally decided to become a nun, it was natural that she should apply to the convent where she already had friends. So she became Sister Magdalen and was sent in 1898 as a foundermember of the new house in Cambridge. There nearlyall the domestic work-load fell on her shoulders, as Sister Berchmans Etheridge, appointed as cook, was suffering from incipient paralysis and a third sister unable to settle in Cambridge had to return to York. Fortunately Sister Magdalen was full of energy and zest for the new enterprise It was said that she 'always walked with head erect, and was remarkably good-looking and smart in appearance and manner ' This was just as well, because among her other duties she had to act as portress. For all her

THOMPSONTHWING 167

good looks her speech was rough, and having recently learned about the University hierarchy she once startled a Benedictine priestby opening the door to him and asking brusquely, 'Are you one of them Fellers?'

She alternated between York and Cambridge until 1917 , when she returned to the Bar Convent for good. A severe illness in 1935 seriously impaired her health and she died two years later on 5 October.

She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

THWING (later BECKWITH), Sister Anne 17th Century

Anne Thwing was the daughter of Sir George Thwing of Heworth Manor, and the sister of Catherine, Ellen and Bl Thomas Thwing the martyr. She married Leonard Beckwith of Handale, Loftus, in the North Riding of Yorkshire Just when she was widowed and when she became a nun are not recorded, but by 1677 she was a member of the Institute and was sentfrom Germany to assist Catharine Lascelles , her sister, in the foundation at Dolebank. She was therefore one of those who, on 29 September, 'took horse at the gates ofSir Thomas Gascoigne's mansion and rode forth to enter upon the possession oftheir new home. A few months later members of the community were arrested in connection with the Titus Oates and Yorkshire Plots There is no mention of Anne Beckwith in the Depositions of York Castle, so she must either have escaped arrest or been released without questioning. It seems that she went to Heworth where her uncle, Thomas Gascoigne, had purchased the Manor that her father had been obliged to sell A communitywas set up there and continued to exist until about 1686; Anne is thoughtto have been a member of it, but it is not known whether she was one ofthe founders of the Bar Convent or (as seems morelikely) returned to Germany.

(See also Family Notes, p 185)

THWING (later LASCELLES), Sister Catherine c . 1633-1695

Catherine Thwing was one of the many children of Sir George Thwing of Heworth, and one of the three daughters who entered the Institute. She was born in Heworth Manor and at the tender age of ten was imprisoned by 'Young Hotham' for being a member of a royalist family She was still very young when she married Lieutenant Edward Lascelles and was shortly afterwards widowed. No date or place is given for her entry into the Institute, nor do we know where she spent her early years as a professed member; but she was the Superior of the partythat 'took horse' from Barnbow Hall in September 1677 and rode

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

forth' to make a foundation at Dolebank, North Yorkshire. She was arrested in 1679 on suspicion of being implicated in the Yorkshire Plot and was imprisoned in York Castle, evidently without trial. It seems that she was not released until 1685, when she returned to Heworth Manor (which had been made over to the Institute by Sir Thomas Gascoigne) and was briefly the Superior of a small community there In 1686 she was almost certainly a founder-member of the Bar Convent. She died on 13 April 1695 and is buried in St. Mary's, Castlegate, near her martyr-brother, Bl Thomas Thwing

(See also FamilyNotes, p. 185).

THWING, Sister Ellen (or Helen) b. c. 1636

Ellen Thwing, the daughter of Sir George Thwing and his wife Anne, née Gascoigne, was born in Heworth Manor about 1636 . She probably attended the school kept by the nuns in the Manor during the 1640's, and left for France with them in 1650. Shewas certainly a pupil of the Institute's school in Paris, and in 1653 accompanied Mary Poyntz to Munich, where she entered the novitiate . Her return to England is not recorded but in 1677 she tookpart, with her sisters Catherine and Anne, in the Dolebank foundation She seems to have escaped arrest in 1678 and to have returned to Heworth Manor which Sir Thomas Gascoigne had purchased for my niece Ellen' when poverty had obliged Sir George to sell it. She lived in the small communitythere, but was perhaps in the Thwing house in Castlegate on 23 October 1680 , the day of Thomas Thwing's martyrdom, because it is said that his sisters saw him drawn on a hurdle to his place of execution on the Knavesmire

It is suggested by Aveling that Ellen might have been a founder-member of the Bar Convent, but there is no evidence to support the theory. Her date of death and place of burial are not recorded.

(See also Family Notes, p 185).

THWING , Sister Jane d . 1724

She was a niece of Bl. Thomas Thwing the martyr and of his sisters, Catherine, Anne and Ellen who were all members of the Institute She entered the Institute in January 1680, almost certainly abroad, and was a member of the Hammersmith Community from 1703 to her death on 19 January 1724/1725 She was inevitably involved in the controversy regarding authority there; she abstained from signing the first document (c . 1709), declaring Bishop Giffard to be 'the ChiefSuperior ofthe house' , but put her signature to the second (c . 1712) which sought to confirm his 'full authority. '

THWINGTUITE

She is buried in St. Paul's churchyard , Hammersmith. (See also Family Notes, p 185).

TITTEL, Sister M. Catherine

1883-1970

Theresa Tittel was born in Postbauer, Bavaria, in 1883, and at the age of nineteen was sent by her father to learn English in England's Lane Within three years she had decided that her vocation lay with the Institute and she entered the Ascot novitiate. By this time it was recognised that the school needed a qualified staffand Sister Catherine was put through a course of examinations in German, French, History, Arithmetic and Geography; equipped with passes in all these subjects and a Cambridge Teacher's Diploma she embarked on a life-long teaching career . She was happy in England, but during World War I hostility to all Germans was so bitter that in 1916 she went backto her native land, returningto England, however, in 1922.

She was a pillar of the staff in England's Lane and then in Fitzjohn's Avenue, able to teach almost any subject She shared the evacuation experiences of the Hampstead communityduring World War II, and helped to found the school at Shaftesbury A gifted linguist and a clever mathematician , she further added unremittinghard work to her contribution to the community, and she extracted hard work from all her pupils. In her old age she coached individual children , and those who did not arrive five minutes before the appointed time were considered late! Though rather short on humour she was always ready to appreciate a joke, and she took teasing very well She will be remembered as a loving and much-loved member of the community.

She died in a nursing home on 29 October 1970 and is buried in the Wardour cemetery.

TUCKER , SisterM.Antonia

18291907

Teresa Tucker was born in London and educated in Paris, so it would be interesting to know how she came to enter the Bar Convent novitiate in May 1861. But no records exist of her family background, early history or personality She became Sister Antonia and spent two years as Mistress of the Boarding School and six years as Mistress of the Day School Then her teaching career seems to have come to an end in 1883 and the next mention ofher is her death on 16 September 1907 . She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

TUITE , Sister Benjamina d . 1767

Elizabeth Mary Benjamina Tuite entered the Hammersmith convent in 1758 and was thus one of the last four members to

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join the community. Her family seems to have had links with the convent, as there were several Tuite girls in the school and it was a William Tuite, goldsmith , who made a beautifulmonstrance for the communityin 1762. It is perhaps fanciful to see a connection between Sister Benjamina and the monstrance, but it might possibly have been a gift to celebrate her profession She lived to see the decline of the house, but died in 1767 before the school had to close for lack of teachers

She was buried in St. Paul's Churchyard , Hammersmith on 4 November 1767 .

VARLEY , Sister Rita

1910-1992

Elizabeth Varley was born in Manchester in 1910 , and was one of the stream of valuable postulants directed to the Ascot novitiate by the Franciscans of Gorton She received the habit and the name ofSister Rita in 1937 and then in Ascot, York and Cambridge she filled such offices as children's refectorian and keeper ofthe stores Always rather delicate, she was invalidedto St. Joseph's, York, in 1988 and died there on 15 May 1992. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

VARLEY , Sister Zita

1818-1865

Elizabeth Varley, later Sister Zita, was born in Pickering in 1818. Her parents were both Methodists and although conversion from Methodism was rare, she was received into the Church in 1832. She worked in the Bar Convent for some time in a lay capacity and then joined the novitiate in 1838. Nothing is recorded of her life after her profession in 1841, but she lived until 1865, dying on 18 June 1865 at the age offorty-seven .

She is buriedin the Bar Convent cemetery.

WAKELIN, Sister M. Gabriel 1874-1955

Annie Wakelin was born in London in 1874. Her parents were not Catholics She was educated at the James Allen School, Dulwich and shortly afterwards made friends with an Irish colleague from whom she learned something oftheCatholicfaith; she asked for further instruction and was then received into the Church Wishing to try a vocation to the religious life, she got into touch with her cousin, Mother Loyola Giles, and eventually entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1903. After the years of formation she was sent in 1908 to Cambridge, where she read History as an out-student of Newnham College She passed the Tripos examination and after teaching in Yorkfor two years she returned to Cambridge for the rest of her life In spite of her qualification it must be admitted that she was not a very

successfulteacher, and her great contribution to the work of the community was as an accountant; it was probably her long tenure ofthat office from 1914 to 1954 that gave rise to themyth that she was a Senior Wrangler ! To common life she brought an immense fund of humour and a sense of the comic that she maintained to the last

She died on 18 December 1955 and is buried in the Cambridge Citycemetery.

WALKER, Sister Helen

1668/91747

Sister Helen Walker was a very early member of the Bar Convent community Born in 1668 or 1669, she entered the novitiate in 1697, at the age of twenty-nine, when Mother Frances Bedingfield was still Superior. It was perhaps the good order she experienced in the early years of her religious life that prompted Helen to complain to the General Superior of the shortcomings of Mother Frances' successor , Dorothy Bedingfield or 'Madame Paston.' The complaints led to a Visitation made by Mary Cramlington and to further letters from Sister Helen and her sister Sr. Jane, from which we learn much of Dorothy Bedingfield and the troubles in York.

Sister Helen died on 21 February 1747; her place of burial is not recorded.

WALKER, Sister Jane

1676-1734

Sister Jane was the younger of the two Walker sisters from Lancashire . She entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1702 and served as Sacristan and Infirmarian. She plays a part in the history of the house because on 23 December 1713 she wrote a letter to the Chief Superior, Mother Agnes Babthorpe, severely criticising Dorothy Paston Bedingfield (her Superior) and high in the praise ofMary Cramlington(then acting as Visitor). The end of the letter strikes a poignant note, indicative of the isolation of the Bar Convent , when it refers to 'this poor house, so far distant from your Ladyship and the rest of our dear houses, which I hope do not forget us who labour in a heretic country though, thank God, very peaceable ' It was an isolation that was to last for a hundred years , with dire consequences . Sister Jane died on 4 September 1734 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Micklegate

WALKER , Sister Josephina 1810-1871

Little is known of Sister Josephina, born Helen Walkerin York in 1810. She passed through the usual stages of admission to the Bar Convent novitiate (1832) and profession two years later,

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

teaching in the schools and serving in a variety of offices: in her case these were as Caller, Librarian and Consultress. She died on 16 March 1871 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery

WALSH , Sister M. Assisium 1854-1885

Anne Walsh was born in Co. Sligo in 1854. Ten years later , on the death of her father, she and her mother came over to Batley Carr, where she later worked as housekeeper to the Rev. J. Earnshaw In 1864, shortly after her mother's death, she was received into the Bar Convent novitiate and was given the name ofAssisium. Sadly, the very next year she pronounced her vows on her death-bed and died on 8 August 1885 at the early age of thirty. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

WARREN , Sister JohnBaptist 1861-1942

Mary Jane Warren was born in Plympton, Devon, in 1861 into a non-Catholic family where her father was an inspector of tinmines She was educated at Colstock College where she showed a great aptitudefor teaching. She loved rural life and was delighted when offered a post in a country school near Helmsley in Yorkshire. On a journey one day she chanced to fall into conversation with a girl who told her of her happy school days in the Bar Convent. Mary Jane's curiosity was aroused and she decided to pay the convent a visit; there she made the acquaintance of Mother Loyola, took a course of instructionand was received into the Catholic Church in 1904. The following year she asked to be admitted into the Institute and in due course, as Sister John Baptist, became a professed member . A gifted teacher, she was soon appointed Mistress of the Day School, where she was devoted to the children and they to her In addition to the school curriculum she had a great interest in the foreignmissions and encouraged her pupils to supportthem . In 1924 failing health obliged her to resign her office and she was sent to the newly opened foundation in Egton Bridge, where she served the community as House Mistress for sixteen years. Shedeveloped a heart conditionthat rendered her inactive forthe last two years of her life and she died suddenly, though not unexpectedly, on 27 December 1942

She is buried in the cemetery at Egton, in the rural surroundings she loved so much.

WESTON , SisterM. Josephine 1899-1999

Cecilia Weston, or Sister Josephine, always claimed to be a Lancastrian , but she was born in London in 1899. She took a course at the Liverpool Physical Training College, 1918-1920 ,

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WHITE 173

and emergedwith a 1st Class Teachers' Certificate. Thus qualified she was appointed as Gym Mistress at Ascot, and the tall, athletic teacher was very popular with the children . For her part, she soon fell under the spell of Ascot, and in 1922 was admitted to the novitiate. From then on her professional qualification was of little use, but it says much for her intelligence and general ability that for the next sixty years, in Ascot, Cambridge, Hampstead and Shaftesbury, she acted as Sacristan, Infirmarian, House Prefect and Accountant, as well as fulfilling some school duties . In Hampstead she found great happiness in the role of support to the Superior, especially as she shared Mother Aquinas's devotionto cats. Her duties graduallyslipped away, but she lived communitylife up to the age of ninety-four, when at last she had to give in to her infirmities and retire to St. Joseph's in York There she retained her clarity of mind, and many thought she would reach her centenary, but the supportive arm had to be replaced by a Zimmer frame, which in turn gave way to a wheel-chair. Her physique could not quite carry the burden of the years and she died on 2 August 1999 four months before her hundredth birthday. Sheis buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

WHEELER , Sister Agatha d 1894

Sadly, few details are known about Sister AgathaWheeler , but those we have are very significant She was a maid in the Institute's school in Gloucester, where the sisters had to struggle against the bitter hostility of the townsfolk The fact that she and four pupils joined the beleagueredcommunityis a telling witness to the happiness and edification of the household . She accompanied the nuns to Haverstock Hill and England's Lane, but at exactly what date she became a novice is not recorded.In 1885 she was one of the members taken by Mother Joseph Edwards to Ascot, to make the new foundationthere.

Shedied on 5 July 1894 and is buried in the Ascotcemetery.

WHITE , Sister M. Veronica 1794-1868

Amelia or Emma White was born in Whitby in 1794 and baptised in the Catholic chapel there She was admitted to the Bar Convent novitiate in 1813, and acted as assistant to the Infirmarian. She died on 26 September 1868 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

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WHITECHURCH, Sister M. Catherine 1803-1877

Elizabeth Whitechurch was born in Guildford, but the family must have belonged to the North, or moved there, because Elizabeth was educated in the day school of the Bar Convent She entered the novitiate there in 1829 and acted as Infirmarian to the boarding-school from 1831 to 1837. There is no further record of her life, but she died on 26 September 1877 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

WHITTAKER, Sister M. Vincent 1826-1915

Millicent Whittaker, in religion Sister Vincent , was born in Derby and educated at the Bar Convent She entered the novitiate there in 1841 and spent the active years of her life as Procuratrix and Assistant to the Superior , until ill-health necessitated early retirement from her duties She appears to have left no mark on the history of the Institute, but her hard work and enforced inaction are among the ingredients of which religious life is made. She died on 5 January 1915 and is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

WHITTAM , Sister M. Winifrid 1820-1896

Agnes Whittam was born on the feast of St. George, 1820. She entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1843 and was professed in 1847, but no details survive of her fifty years of service in the convent

Shedied on 5 November 1896 and is buried in the BarConvent cemetery

WHYTE, Sister Paul 1841-1920

Anne Whyte was born in Portabrigton, Ireland, in 1841 and educated at Balbriggan under Mother Ignatius Barratt She had already decided to enter the Institute when, in 1862 , Mother Ignatius declared her intention of leaving Ireland in order to make a foundation in England Anne was so devoted to her and to Sister Joseph Edwards that she begged to be allowed to accompany them. The question of expense probably determined her being left in Selly Park (where she had a relative) while the nuns visited Augsburg, but she was re-united with them in Gloucester where she received the habit from Mother Ignatius's hands. As Sister Paul she moved with the community to Haverstock Hill in 1872; and in England's Lane she not only taught in the school but was the overseer of all the domestic work in the house, kitchen and laundry. When Ascot was founded in 1885 she accompanied Mother Joseph Edwards and taught there, acting also as Infirmarian and Sacristan She

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175

suffered a stroke in 1919 and died on 16 March the next year. She is buried in the cemetery of the Convent she had valiantly helped tofound.

WIGMORE

, Mother Winifred 1585-1657

Winifred Wigmore was almost exactly the same age as Mary Ward, and was her very close friend, as the many letters beginning 'My dear Win' testify. The Wigmore home, however, was in Lucton, Herefordshire and the two girls came together only in 1605 on a chance meeting at Coughton Court, when Winifred was visiting her Throckmorton relations and Mary was travelling to London with her father They were immediately attracted to one another, but there seemed little likelihood of further acquaintanceship, as Mary was on her way to join the Poor Clares and Winifred had thoughts of being a Benedictine . They did meet again unexpectedly in London after MaryWard's Poor Clare episode, and when Winifred heard of Mary's tentative new venture she at once declared her support. She was intellectuallyvery able, but diffident and self-effacing, fearful of responsibility and never so happy as when acting as Mary's right hand. She is thought to have been her companion on the famous visit to ArchbishopGeorge Abbot, when Mary left her signature scratched on a window pane of Lambeth Palace On the Continent Winifred helped Mary to found houses in Liège, Rome and Naples and it was in Naples that she had to remain as Superior, sadly separated from her friend. In her Christmas letter of 1625 she wrote that she almost wished Mary's enemies would drive her from Rome so that she would be obliged to come to Naples. When the Institute was suppressed in 1631 and Marywas imprisoned in the Anger Convent, Munich, Winifred suffered the same fate in Liège

Eventually Winifred accompanied Mary back to England in 1639 and when Mary fell seriously ill in Hutton Rudby it was Winifred who organised a pilgrimage to Mount Grace, eight miles away, to pray for her recovery. Her last act of friendship and self-sacrifice for her friend was made in the winter of 1644 / 1645. Mary, terminally ill in Heworth Manor, longed to have news of her absent members and her wish could be fulfilled only by some one making a journey to London Winifred might justifiably have claimed the right to stay at the bedside of her lifelong friend, but instead she volunteered to make the difficult and dangerous journey She accomplished it with a single companion , on foot in the wintry weather, through the warring Royalist and Roundhead troops, returningjust eightdays before Mary's death on 30 January (O.S.) 1645.

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Together with Mary Poyntz, Winifred arranged for the burial at Osbaldwick, and it is amost certain that the first biographyof Mary Ward, The Breve Relation was the tribute of these two faithful companions They remained together in Heworth until 1650, when they moved to Paris and set up a school there. Winifred died in Paris in April 1657 and was buried in the cemetery of the Bernardine convent, but the violence of the French Revolutionobliterated every trace of her grave

WILLOUGHBY, Sister M. Gertrude 1815-1883

Though Henrietta Willoughby's life was by contemporary standards long, her chronicle is short and sad She was born in Malton in 1815, educated at the Bar Convent and admitted to the novitiate in 1833, when she was only seventeen Shortly after her profession, at the age of twenty, the dreadful symptoms of epilepsy and mental illness appeared By 1837 the disease was so advanced that she had to be sent to the communityof the Good Shepherd in Caen, where she was cared for until her death on 25 May 1883.

WILSON-LYNCH, Sister Anna 1869-1956

Frances Wilson-Lynch was born in Galway in 1869 and was educated at home, where her musical talents were carefully cultivated . How she came to York is not recorded, but she entered the Bar Convent novitiate in 1903. She was sent to Cambridge in 1909 and spent the rest of her religious life there, teaching music until, with failing eyesight, she was obliged to retire from the school. She remained a much loved and revered member of the community, 'speaking little and praying much' , until her death on 19 October 1956.

She is buried in the Cambridge citycemetery.

WOLFE, Sister M.Agnes 1879-1952

Teresa Wolfe, daughter of William Ferdinand Wolfe, jeweller, was born in London in 1879. She was educated by the Sisters of the Christian Retreat in Redhill and then by the Institute in England's Lane She entered the Ascot novitiate in 1896 and was shortly afterwards sent to Rome, to the English house recently founded by Mother Joseph Edwards Except for 1922-1926 , when she was back in England's Lane, she spent the rest of her life in Rome, teaching as a 'Registered Teacher of English in Italy' . For many years she workedunder Mother Magdalen Gremion, whom she greatly admired and then in 1926 she was herself appointed Superior When the English house was closed in 1948 she moved with the community to the Via Nomentana , where in the same

WIGMOREWOODHOUSE 177

year she suffered the first of a series of disabling strokes Under the devoted care of Sister Clare Mayne she was a semi-invalid , but had the courage and spirit to give English lessons to members of the Generalate and to refugee sisters moving to Englishspeaking countries She never lost her sense of humourand to the very last her lessons were valuable and enjoyable Little by little she lost her faculties , especially her power of speech, and eventually death came on 1 December 1952. She was the last member of the Institute to be buried in the Agro Verano, Rome

WOODHOUSE , Sister M. Monica

1878-1973

Clare Woodhouse, or Sister Monica, was born in Manchester in 1878. She entered the Ascot novitiate in 1916 and was perhaps the first ofthe steady stream of Lancashire candidates who came to strengthen the Ascot work-force She was very petite, and with her pale, oval face, pointed chin and delicate movements she reminded one irresistiblyof a little mouse. But there was nothing timid about her. She had once been a mere postulant , obliged (as she used to relate) to wear a bonnet when scrubbing the chapel sanctuary floors; but those who knew her later in life could not imagine her otherwise than ruling her little empire in the sewingroom, next door to the box-room. There with her assistant she measured her clients, cut the cloth and fashioned the garments, so that every novice on her clothing day was presented with two beautifully, professionally made habits of intricate , somewhat military design. She took great pride in her work and would brook no criticism . When a bold novice complained that one sleeve was longer than the other, she was told sharply that the fault must lie in her having one arm longer than the other! But life did not consist only in makingnew habits; old ones had to be patched, worn out sleeves replaced, ragged skirts repaired and faded veils turned. Individualsdid much of their ownmending, of course, yet the well-being of everyone's wardrobe depended on Sister Monica.

Every afternoon she would emerge from the sewing-room and take a walk round the grounds with her friend Sister Margaret, the Head Cook; they made a strangely contrasted 'little and large' pair as they wandered, deep in conversation, through the pine woods

Anyone who thinks that this was an existence so dull as to be almost soul-destroying must be reminded that there was much more to life than the daily work. Communities were large enough to provide congenial companionship for every one, and there was much coming and going, holidays, feast-days and celebrations.

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

The individual's prayer-life evades the pen, but Ascotwasfamous for its beautiful chapel services , carried out with dignity and enhanced by a choir second to none There was almost daily Benediction, High Mass on all the great feasts and the annual excitement of Corpus Christi and Quarant'Ore . Life was never dull. Eventually Sister Monica had to retire from her sewing-room, and her eyes filled with tears when she saw a sister wearing the first habit made by other hands But old age was kind to her and she declined almost imperceptibly until death came on 17 June 1973 . She is buried in the Ascot cemetery

WOODS, Sister Joseph d 1822

Sister Joseph Woods was the last member of the Institute to be admitted to the Hammersmith Convent and the last to die, in the care ofthe Benedictine nuns. The Convent register ends withthe entry: 'Woods , M. Joseph died ye 20 April 1822, the last of ye Ladies of ye Establishment ' She was buried in the convent cemetery, but her name is not decipherable on any of the remaining tombstones and no other trace of her is to be found

FAMILY NOTES

BABTHORPE. No Babthorpe has an entry in the text of this biographical dictionary, since all five members who entered the Institute served it on the Continent. But the family merits a notice here because it was a factor in the very shaping of the Institute and its members played a leading part in the historyoftheorder.

In the early 17th century the ancient family of Babthorpe owned extensive property in East Yorkshire and occupied two manor houses in Osgodby and Babthorpe. At the impressionable age of fifteen Mary Ward was entrusted to Sir Ralph and Lady Babthorpe, her kinswoman , and in their household she followed an almost monastic order of the day; there were two Masses every morning, Evensong in the late afternoon and litanies followed by bed-time for all at 9 p.m. Meditation and confession weere common practices and on Sunday there were sermons and catechism. It was a régime to recommend itself to any pious young woman, and to this Lady Grace Babthorpe added a spice of gaiety, adventure and courage. As a young wife still in her teens she had been examined by the Earl of Huntingdon on a charge of recusancy and she told him boldly that she had heard more Masses than she could count . When committed with other gentlewomen to Sheriff Hutton Castle, she spoke impudentlyto the Keeper and was the life and soul of the party, organising noisy games of shuttlecock to disguise the sound of sawing through bars so that access was gained to a central court-yard and Holy Communiondistributed. It was at Osgodby, too, that Mary Ward first heard ofreligious life from the old sewing-maid, MargaretGarrett, and so became aware of her religious vocation

Thus it is no flight of fancy to see mirrored in the early Institute something of the character of this generation of Babthorpes.

Five members of this remarkable family joined the Institute, as follows:-

Barbara, born in 1592, was the daughter of Sir Ralph and Lady Grace, and was the young companion of Mary Ward seen in the Painted Life. She joined Mary in St. Omer, served as Superior and Provincial in Liege, and was elected Chief Superior on the death of Mary Ward in 1645. She died in Rome on 23 April 1654 and was buried in the Venerable English College

Mary and Elizabeth , born in 1611 and 1615 respectively, were the daughters of William Babthorpe and his wife Ursula , née

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Tyrwhitt. Both sisters entered the Institute in Munich. Elizabeth died in Rome about 1682. The date and place of Mary's death are not recorded .

Anna Barbara, (1647-1711) was the daughter of Sir Ralph Babthorpe and his wife Anna Lucretia, nee Hamilton. She was educated in Paris and Augsburg and became a novice under Mary Poyntz in 1663. After serving as Superior in Munich (1683-97) she was elected the fifth Chief Superior. She died in Munich in 1711 .

Mary Agnes, (1654-1720) was Anna Barbara's sister She entered the Institute in 1670 and was elected the sixth Chief Superior in 1711. She and her sister wrestled with the problem of authority in Hammersmith , but neither was able to woo its stiff-neckedcommunityback to obedience .

BEDINGFIELD (BEDINGFELD)

.

The ancient family of Bedingfield of Oxburgh Hall held extensive estates in Norfolk and Suffolk, and could boast of an honourable record of service to Church and King In the 17th and 18th centuries it was staunchly recusant and contributeddistinguished members to the Institute

The story of this relationshipbegins in 1603 with preparations for a marriage between Francis Bedingfield , a younger son, and Katherine, the daughter of John Fortescue "When all arrangements had been made, ' relates Foley, 'the bride-elect repented of her promise and then first communicated to her father her desire to enter religion Her father .. . declared that now, the matter being definitely settled and her dowry in part paid, he thought it too late for her to change her mind.' So the wedding took place and the reluctant bride found herself living in Radlington Manor, Suffolk, in full view of the ruins of a Benedictine convent that must have been a daily reminder of her earlier aspirations But her vocation was amply fulfilled in the next generation when ten of her eleven daughters opted for religious life. Three entered the Institute, Mary and Winefride in Munich, where Winefride was at one time the Superior of the Paradeiserhaus and performed the near-miracle of clearing the house ofdebt; while Frances entered in Rome and laterplayed an important role in England The eleventh daughter, Elizabeth, married Sir William Alexander and had two daughters who both became nuns; Catherine made her novitiate in Munich and died in Augsburg in 1685. To complete this surprising story, it must be related that Elizabeth, when a widow, lived for manyyears in the

FAMILY NOTES

Convent of the Poor Clares in Gravelines and died a professed nun in the English Convent in Bruges, where her seconddaughter was Novice Mistress A third generation of Bedingfields, also of Redlingfield , gave Dorothy or 'Madam Paston' to theInstitute. The Bedingfields still live in Oxburgh Hall, their daughters still educated by the Institute, and a Sister Francis Bedingfield, I.B.V.M. ofthe Loreto branch, died recently in South Africa. (There is an article on Frances and Dorothy Bedingfield in Recusant History, Vol 25, No. 1 , May 2000)

BEVAN. The Bevans were related to the formidable father of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, so vividly portrayed in the play The Barretts of Wimpole Street The lively generation connected with the Institute consisted of four brothers and four sisters . All became Catholics except Araby, the youngest; one of the brothers, James, served in the Royal Navy and then became an Oratorian

CALEY. Eighteen of this name were educated at the Bar Convent between 1718 and 1877. Twelve were from Lincolnshire and all seem to have belonged to the same family network. Three entered the Institute: Sisters Constantia and Mary were sisters and Sister Regis (Susannah) was their niece.

GILBERT. The Ascot Gilberts were closely related to Sir William Schwenk Gilbert of Gilbert-and-Sullivan fame, and to Alfred Gilbert the sculptor who created the Eros in Piccadilly Circus . The eight daughters and one son of John and Caroline Gilbert evade evaluation and description. They would not have been rated high on the conventional I.Q. scale, but they were unusually gifted, especially in art Like William Schwenk they had strong characters and original personalities, but whereas William's genius lay in his manipulation of words, the girls of this generation could neither spell or get the words quite right So an aertex shirt became a vapex shirt, and a vicious circle was described as a facetious circle Some were slow to learn to read, but most of them had ability in mathematics and they all inherited from their father, who was an architect, an instinct for building and design

Four of the girls entered the Institute, though Christine, who joined the community in Italy, later transferred to a contemplative Benedictine order The other four sisters married (Millicent becoming a war widow) and brought up families of good practising Catholics .

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

the hob to welcome every visitor with a cup of tea. There was no garden, but flowers could be grown in windowboxes

The family was devoutly Catholic ; it belonged to the Franciscan parish of Gorton, joined the sodalities, walked in the Whitsuntide procession and was such a family as every parish priest longed to number among his flock

MURPHY. A single generation of this family provided four distinguished members for the English Province. All held important offices and they were so dominant in York and Cambridge that an irreverent newcomer declared: 'I thought I had entered the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but it seems to be the Institute ofthe blessed virgins Murphy' .

The four sisters were born in Co. Cork and it was the eldest, Annie Laura , who made a link with England by taking a teacher's training course in Swansea and then (by steps that are unrecorded) entering the Bar Convent novitiate The three younger sisters followed her to York and the ability of allfour were such that in time they came to have almost a monopolyof the offices of Superior, Head Mistress and Novice Mistress in both York and Cambridge They were charismatic figures and had a charm and goodness that elicited loyalty and affection from their communities; there is no evidence of thejealousythat such a situation might have created in a secular setting. They acceptedoffice and retirement with equalgrace.

All four are buried in the Bar Convent cemetery and their memory is held in veneration .

SALVIN . The Salvins were just such a family as the Institute had in mind when it founded the Bar Convent in response to Sir Thomas Gascoigne's dictum, 'We must have a school for our daughters Established in the north of England it was an ancient, landowningfamily; its members were recusant, though occasionally conforming, and therefore needing the support of Catholic education It boasted a Jesuit, Ralph, in its ranks and was ardently Royalist during the Civil War. Four Salvins fought for the King, two giving their lives in his cause Francis was described as 'Lieut. Col. of Horse in the reg of Sir Rich. Tempest, Bart; slain at Marston-moor 1644 in the service of Charles I. Gerard Salvin, of the next generation, was killed at Northallerton in the same year

The Bar Convent, however, was not élitist; it opened its doors to the daughters of humbler families But it remained at the service ofthe landed gentryand the Salvins made good use of the education it offered. The family was very prosperous in the

FAMILY NOTES 185

eighteenth century; it re-fashioned and enlarged Croxdale Hall, laid out extensive gardens and planted exotic trees, and it was during this century that nine Salvin girls, seven of them from Croxdale, came to school at the Bar Convent Three more followed in the early nineteenth century, so with Dorothy from Pridhoe, Ann from Easingwold and two daughters from Burn Hall, the Salvins make a brave show of fourteen past pupils of the convent . Only two became nuns, but the Institute had every opportunity ofleaving its mark on thefamily

THWING . Some members of the prolific Thwing family were Catholic in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, but only in the early 17th century did the family definitely declare itself recusant The Heworth branch, under Sir George Thwing, experienced many ups and downs of fortune, suffering fines for recusancy and sequestration for loyalty to the Royalist cause in the Civil War. Heworth Manor had to be sold, but was re-purchased by Sir Thomas Gascoigne, allegedly for his niece Ellen (Thwing), but more likely as a place of refuge for members of the Institute(who had previously lived there from 1645 to 1650)

Sir George, with a large family to provide for, sometimes conformed and thereby earned from Aveling the epithet 'a shifty recusant,' but his children remained true to their faith Thomas became a priest and was martyred on the Knavesmire, York, in 1680. Catherine, Ann and Ellen were members of the Institute members of the Dolebank community and probably foundermembers of the Bar Convent Jane Thwing (a member of the Hammersmith Community) belonged to the next generation. Her father was Albertus Thwing of the parish of St. Martin's, Coney Street, York, and she was almost certainlythe niece of Thomas, Catherine, etc., and therefore the great-niece of Sir Thomas Gascoigne

ADDENDAE

BELL, Sister Elizabeth

17th century

Nothing is known of this sister except that she is registered as anearlymember ofthe Bar Convent community.

CERIBELLI

1886-1952

Anna Ceribelli was born in Rome and was sent to England to learn English. She found her religious vocation in Ascot, where she entered the novitiate in 1910. She served as Sacristan and House Prefect in Ascot, England's Lane and Fitzjohn'sAvenue, endearing herself to the communities there and amusing them with her quaint English expressions some of which became household words She returned to Rome in 1928, joining the English communityuntil it was absorbed into the Italian house in the Via Nomentata . She died there and is buried in the German cemetery besideSt. Peter's.

CLIFTON, Sister Mary

1680-1720

MaryClifton was born in London and educated in Bruges. She was the first novice to be admitted to the Bar Convent (1697). She was one of the members who wrote to Reverend Mother Agnes Babthorpe about Mother Dorothy Bedingfield's shortcomings as Superior. She died on 5 May 1740 and is buried in HolyTrinityChurchyard , Micklegate

PALIKONOVA, Sister M. Augustina

1927-1993

This stranger to the English Province is included here because she died, dramatically , in England Sister Augustina Palikonova of the Czech Province was elected delegate to the 1993 General Congregation held in Ascot When the business of the Congregation was completed all the delegates travelled to York to spend a few days visiting Mary Ward country. On the rather warm afternoon of their arrival they found rooms at the University, and then were taken by motor coach to Osmotherley, where they dismounted and walked as pilgrims, up the hill, to Mount Grace Chapel. Sister Augustina accompanied the others and then, on reaching the top, had a heart attack and died immediately. Her body was flown back to the Czech Republic.

PEACOCK , Sister Elizabeth

17th Century

All we know of Sister Elizabeth Peacock is that she was an early member of the Bar Convent.

SWALE, Sister M. Bernard 18101832

Margaret Swale was born in Knaresborough After education at the Bar Convent she was admitted to the Novitiate, despite having poor health. As Sister Bernard she taught in the schools for less than a year before dying of tuberculosis on 13 March 1832. She is buried in the Bar Convent cemetery.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. The Structure of the Institute The government ofthe Institute is hierarchical A General Congregation elects the General Superior (or Chief Superior as she was known in the early days); she appoints the Provincial Superiors who, in turn, appoint the Local Superiors. At first the General Superiors held office for life and there were no rules determining the length of office of Provincial and Local Superiors Even when terms were specified, dispensations were readily granted, so that many Superiors remained in government for very long periods The rules for the terms of office are now plainly stated

2. The Suppression of the Institute and its subsequent Approbation. The nature of Mary Ward's Institute, with its government by a woman and total lack of enclosure, aroused much opposition from the early days of its foundation. Conservatives, Pauline fundamentalists , ecclesiastics who felt threatened by the activities of these young women and bona fide supporters of the enclosure decrees of the Council of Trent, all raised their voices in protest against the 'galloping girls' . The Jesuits gave the Institute little support, for St. Ignatius had ruled out the possibilityof a female branch ofthe Society, but Mary Ward's known inclination to Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit way of life earned her further enemies among the secular clergy who were the bitter opponents of the Society. To this general acrimony was added the personal spite of one Mary Alcock who had left the Institute and who expressed her jealousy of Mary Ward by spreading scurrilous stories about her. In time these adversaries won the credulous ear of Pope Urban VIII, who accepted the calumnies at face value He first ordered the closure of several individual houses and then in 1631 issued the Bull Pastoralis Romanus Pontificis, suppressing the Institute in the severest terms he could muster. Shortly afterwards, however , he took the nuns in Rome under his special protection and gave

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

permission for a limited number of sisters to remain in the Paradeiserhaus He did not rescind the Bull, but provided a loop-hole by means of which the Institute survived. During the 18th century several attempts were made to reverse the ban and gain papalapprobation , but though supported by bishops, queens and princes the petitions all met with refusal. By the mid 19th century approbation was overdue, for there were many orders of women operating under papal blessing, yet governed by women and knowing no enclosure. It was only just, therefore, that Mother Juliana Martin's petition was granted by Pope Pius IX, and that the Institute at last received full Papal Approval and Confirmationin 1877 .

3. The Hammersmith Controversy. The controversy over authority in the Hammersmith house is frequentlyreferred to in the text. The story is told in detail in an article in Recusant History, Vol 24, No. 2, 1998, and is summarised in the Introduction to this Dictionary.

4. St. Joseph's, York St. Joseph's is mentioned so frequently in the text that it merits a short note. When the Bar Convent Grammar School became part of the comprehensive system, the nuns were left in full possession of all their property in Blossom Street One of these houses, No. 27, was enlarged and adapted as a home for the old and invalid sisters who needed round-the-clock-nursing, a care that is still provided by a team ofdevoted nurses The housewas named St. Joseph's and now serves the whole Province as a place of retirement.

SOURCES

Books

J. C. H. Aveling : Recusancy in the City ofYork, C.R.S. 1970

Sr. Catherine Chambers : Life ofMary Ward, 2 vols 1882, 1885.

H. J. Coleridge [ed .]; St. Mary's Convent, Micklegate Bar, York (Quarterly Series) 1887 .

T. Corbishley: The life of Rev. Mother M. Cecilia Marshall, I.B.V.M. 1969

H. Foley: Records of the English Province of the Society of Jesus Vol.5 1879

D. Forristat: The first Loreto sister, Mother Teresa Ball 1994 .

Sr. Philip Hardman : Companions ofMary Ward. 1939 .

Sr. Henrietta Peters : Mary Ward, a world in contemplation; trans by Sr . Helen Butterworth 1994

J. Raine: Depositionsfrom the Castle ofYork (Surtees Society, Vol 40. 1861)

Roy Wake: St. Mary's School, Ascot. 1994. "A will to do well": a history of St. Mary's School, Cambridge . 1999

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Archives of the Bar Convent, York

GENERAL

Sr. Philip Hardman : History of the Institute ofthe B.V.M. (typescript). C 15-16.

Sr. Philip Hardman : Some daughters ofMaryWard (ms. In hardback book). G 21.

Card catalogues of members:

(1) Early English members who entered on the Continent 1609 c . 1667.

(2) Members who entered the Hammersmithhouse and the Bar Convent, York c . 16671928 .

(3) Members who entered the Institute in Gloucester, London and Ascot, 1862

Necrologies of deceased members, 4B and D22b

INDIVIDUAL

:

FOUNDATIONS

Hammersmith RegistersC44, C45

Boxes 2 (folder A) and C43 .

TheBar Convent ,York

History: Box 3, A-E and Volume 17

Annals and Journals: Box 3F and Volumes 6, 1-9 (Egton Bridge, Volumes 10-11)

Customs books: Volumes 22, 34, 35, 37.

Family histories: Box 3G .

Schools: Box 5 A-D, Volumes 42, 43, 44, 45.

Bills: Box 7B

Account Books: A/C Bl; A/C D1; A/C E5.

Community: Boxes 4A-G, 4H-J, 4K-R.

Gloucester , London , Ascot

Various papers in Boxes D15 D21b .

Hard-backed exercisebooks, D18a, D18b, D21a.

Letters of Mother Joseph Edwards and Father John Morris, B25 and Box G12.

Cambridge

Property : M3, Box 1

Finance: M3, Box 2.

History: M3, Box 3

Annals : M6-M26

SOURCES

Index

Register of boarders, 1895-1953 M28

Sheringham Folders: D57, D58

Ashburnham , Bratton, Shaftesbury Box D59.

Photographs

Albums: H11, H12, H14-H17.

Further sources:

Traditions , word-of-mouth information.

Experiencesand personal memories of the writer

Index

INDEX

Agar, Sister Teresa 31

Aikenhead, Mother Mary 10

Allanson , Sister Teresa 31

Anderton, Christina alias

Hastings, SisterChristina 31

Anderton, Sister Ursula 32

Andrade, Sister Philippa 32

Ardizzone , Christianne30

Arundel, SisterDorothy or Winifred 4, 33

Ascot, Errolston 20

Ascot, The Glebe 12

Ascot, St. Mary's Convent 12, 17-20, 46-47, 80

Ascot, St. Francis' Primary

Schol 48, 88, 93, 100, 110-111 , 121

Ashburnham Place, Sussex 37, 88

Aspinal, Mother Ann7-8, 33

Asquith, Lady Helen 34-35

Asquith, Herbert Henry 34

Atkinson, Sister Elizabeth 35

Atkinson, SisterTeresa 35

Atkinson, Thomas 34

Audas, Sister Francis36

Augsburg, Bavaria 31, 32, 39

Austin, Sister Mary 36

B

Babthorpe Family 179-180

Babthorpe, Mother Agnes, Chief Superior 1711-1720 4, 5, 180

Babthorpe, Mother Anna Barbara, Chief Superior 16971711 4, 33, 180

Babthorpe, Mother Barbara , Chief Superior 1645-1653 179

Babthorpe, Lady Grace 179

Balbriggan 10, 40, 79, 174

Ball, Sister Alphonsa 36

Ball, Mother Teresa 10, 36

Baines, Mother Michael 37-38

Bar Convent, The, York. See under York

Barnborough Hall, near Doncaster 132

Barnard , Mother Francis39

Barnbow Hall, near Barwick 6

Barratt, Sister Petronilla later Mother Ignatius 10, 39-40, 79

Barton , SisterAncilla40-41

Battles, Sister Catherine 41

Beauregard, Sisterde Sales 41-42

Beckwith, Anne née Thwing. See under Thwing.

Beckwith, Leonard 167

Bedingfield Family 180-181

Bedingfield, Mother Dorothy 6 , 7,42-43

Bedingfield, Mother Frances 2, 3, 6, 7, 31, 43-44

Bell, Sister Elizabeth 186

Bellis, Sister Dolores44-45

Benedict XIV, Pope 9, 67

Benedictine nun 5

Benson, Robert Hugh 16 , 17

Bertini, SisterBarbara45

Bevan Family 181

Bevan, Sister Bernardine46

Bevan, Sister Catherine46

Beveridge, Mother Ignatius 18, 46-47

Birmingham Oratory 96

Bishoprick , SisterMary47

Blagden, Mother Gertrude 18 , 47-48

Blagden, Sister Raphael 40-48

Blagden, Mother Teresa 11 , 18-20, 48-49

Blundell, SisterM. Aloysia49

Bonneuil, Sister Mary 49-50

Bough, SisterJosepha 50

Boys' Brigade 92, 142

Brady, Sister Carmel50-51

Bratton , Wiltshire 27-29, 37, 89

Brennan, Sister Liguori 57

Breve Relation , or Brief Relation, The 176

Briggs, John, Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District, later Bishop of Beverley 9, 52, 77 , 109

Broadway, SisterJoanna 51

Brown, Sister Christina 51

Brown, Sister Elizabeth 51-52

Browne, Mother Angela 10, 36, 52

Bruges, English Convent of Canonesses ofSt. Augustine 129

Burgess, SisterMaryAnn 53

Burgoyne, Sister Francis53

Butcher, SisterElizabeth 6

Butterworth, Sister Benedict, later Sister Helen 53

Byrne, Sister de Sales 54

Byrne, Sister Teresita 55

Caley Family 181

Caley, Sister Constantia 55-56

Caley, Sister Mary56

Caley, SisterRegis 56

Calvert, SisterAgnes 56

Cambridge, The Elms 15-16

Cambridge, Furness Lodge 13 , 15, 17

Cambridge, Paston House 16

Cambridge, St. Mary's Convent 15-17, 149

Cambridge, St. Bede's Secondary School98

Camm, Dom Bede 16

Carlon, SisterMagdalen56-57

Carr, SisterIgnatius 57

Carter, Andrew 41

Carter, Sister Xaveria 57

Catherine ofBraganza, Queen Consort of Charles II 3

Cavan, St. Clare's Convent 41, 59 , 160

Ceribelli, Sister Anna 186

Chadwick , Sister Agnes57

Chadwick, Sister Augustine or Austin 58

Chadwick, SisterMagdalen58

Chadwick , SisterTeresa 58

Chalmers, Mother Austin 58

Chambers, SisterCatherine 12, 19 , 59-60

Charge, SisterJane 60

Charles II, King of England 84

Chester, Sister Mary 60

Clark or Clarke, Sister Elizabeth 61

Clark, Sister Philomena61

Claude de la Colombière , Saint 3,97

Clayton, Sister Agnes 24, 61

Cleary, Sister Paschal 61-62

Clement XI, Pope 4

Cleveland, Yorkshire2

Clifford, William, Bishop of Clifton 40

Clifton, Sister Eleonora 7-8, 62

Clifton, Sister Mary 186

Coffey, Sister Anthony 62

Colbeck, Sister Xavier 63

Coldham, SisterBridget 63

Coleridge, Henry James , S.J. 59 , 93

Concordia, alias. See Cramlington, SisterMary Conference ofMajorSuperiors 117

Connor, SisterAssisium 63

Convent SchoolsAssociation 117, 128

Conybeare, Edward 16

Conyers, Mother Esther64

Cornelius, Sister de Sales 64

Cornelius, SisterPaula 64

Cornelius, SisterWinefride 21 , 65

Cornthwaite, Robert, Bishop of Beverley , later Bishop of Leeds 9, 10

Cornwallis, Mother Cecily 3-5 , 10, 32, 65-66

Corr, Sister IgnatiusSee Carr, Sister Ignatius

Corry, SisterAloysia 66

Coyney, Mother Elizabeth9-10, 52, 66-68

Cramlingtonor Cramblington, Sister Mary 4-5, 42, 66, 68

Croskell, SisterMichael 68

Curr, Sister Gertrude 68-69

D

Dagnall, Mother Stanislaus 13 , 69

Dallison, SisterMary 69

Dalton, SisterMary 69-70

D'Arcy, Martin, S.J. 35

Davenport, Mother Campion 18, 70-71

Davis, Mother Dominic 21 , 71-72

Davis, SisterMary 72-73

Diamond, Sister Denis, later SisterWinifred 23-24 , 73-74

Dillon , Sister Marcella 74

Dolebank, North Yorkshire 6, 31, 84

Dominican Friars 11

Donelan, Anna Maria 13

Dorothea, Sister 1

Douglass , John, Bishop, Vicar Apostolic of the London District 5

Doyle, SisterLucy74

Doyle, Sister Patricia 74-75

Drake, Francis , historian 8

Dresden Conservatoire 70

Drexl, Sister Crescentia 18 , 75-76

Dugdale, SisterEuphrasia76

Duhamel, SisterVincent 76

Dunderdale, SisterAnne 76

Dunkirk, Benedictinenuns 5

Dunn, Mother Agnes 9, 76-77

Dunn, Mother Elizabeth 16 , 77-78

Dunn, Sister Francesca 78

Duran, Mother Aquinas 18 , 78-79 E

East Grinstead, St. Margaret's Convent46

Eastwood, SisterFrancis 79

Edinburgh, Craiglockhart College 145

Edwards, Mother Joseph 10-12, 17-19, 40, 59, 79-80

Egton Bridge, North Yorkshire , Esk Villa 23-24, 83

Egton Bridge, NorthYorkshire School 83

Eichner, SisterAlberta 80-81

Eiffe, Sister Gonzaga 81

Elliot, SisterJohn Baptist 81

Ely, Sister Anne 81-82

Etheridge, SisterBerchmans 13-82

Evans , Sister Elizabeth 82 F

Finn, Mother Paul 39

Fitzgerald , SisterAustin 82

Fitzgerald , SisterXaveria 82-83

Fitzsimmonds, SisterThérèse 23,83

Fitzsimons, Catherine Henrietta

O'Connell, afterwardsMrs. Hewett 182

Foley, Sister Catherine83

Franciscan Friars 18

Fuller, SisterMichael 83-84

INDEX

Hardman , John 96

Gaigl, Sister Georgina84

Gascoigne, Sir Thomas5, 84-85

Gasquet, FrancisAidan, Cardinal 93

Gaynor, SisterChristina 85

Gentil, Mother Francis 86

Geoffrey-Smith, Mother Bridget 86-87

Giffard, Bonaventure , Bishop, Vicar Apostolic of the London District 4, 39, 66

Gilbert family 181-182

Gilbert, Alfred 181

Gilbert, SisterFelicity 40, 87-88

Gilbert, Mother Imelda 27, 88-90

Gilbert, Sister John 40, 90-91

Gilbert, Sir William Schwenk 181

Giles, Mother Loyola 10 , 19 , 91-92

Gloucester , Malvern House 10-11, 40

Gloucester, Suffolk House , Greyfriars 11

Goldie, Sister Walburga92

Gray, Sister Gerard 92-93

Greenhaigh, SisterChantal93

Grémion, Mother Magdalen 18 , 19 , 93-94

Guyon Beaufort, SisterChantal de 94

Haigh, Rev. Daniel Henry 94

Haigh, Sister Hilda 10, 94-95

Hamilton, Sir Alexander 43, 180

Hamilton, Sister Catherine 43

Hammersmith , The Great House 3-5, 43

Hansom, Joseph Aloysius 95

Hansom, Sister Martha 95

197

Hardman, SisterPhilip96-97

Hargitt, Sister Augustine 97

Harrison, Sister Agatha97

Harrison, Sister Augustine97

Harrison, Sister MaryMargaret 24, 98

Hastings, SisterChristina, alias Anderton 98-99

Hatfield, SisterFrancis 99

Hatfield, Sister Winefried 99

Hattersley, SisterRegis99

Haughie, SisterMarie-Thérèse 99-100

Haussman, Sister Hilda 100

Hayes, Sister Cecily 101

Healy, Sister Teresa 50, 101

Heissing, SisterAloysius 101-102

Heller, SisterCecily102

Henslow , SisterElizabeth 102-103

Hevey, Sister Bernard 103

Hewett Family 37, 182-183

Hewett, Sister Barbara 103

Hewett, Ellen, laterMrs. F. Baines 182

Hewett, Col . George Ludlow Kennedy 182

Hewett, Jessica 26, 182

Hewett, Mother Joseph 103-104

Hewett, SisterMargaret Mary 104

Hewett, Sister Patricia 21

Hewett, Veronica21, 182

Hewett, William S.J. 26, 182

Hewett, Sister Winefride 104

HeworthManor, near York 2, 32, 43

Hickey, Sister Agatha 104-105

Hildyard, SisterMonica 105

Hines, Sister FrancisBorgia 105-106

Hodkinson, SisterMagdalen 106

Hodshon, SisterElizabeth 106

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Hodshon , Mother Mary 106-107

Hogarth, Sister Dominica 107

Hollis, Crispian, Bishop of Portsmouth 35

Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, Yorkshire 24

Horbury, SisterMary 107

Horner Family 34

Hostage, Sister Angela 107-108

Hotham, John (called 'young Hotham ') 167

Hugalin, SisterMagdalen 108

Hughes , Elizabeth 14

Hughes , Rev.Philip 26

Hunter, Sister Gonzaga 108-109

Hutton Rudby, North Yorkshire 2

IIdelson, SisterSebastian 109

Ireland, Sister Angela 109

J'James III, King of England' , called The Old Pretender 162

Jenkins, Sister Dorothy 110

Jordan, Sister Vincent 24, 110

KKane, Sister Anthony 110

Kavanagh, SisterFrancis 110-111

Kavanagh, Sister Stanislaus 111

Kelly Family 183

Kelly, Sister Anne 111

Kelly, Sister Borgia 112

Kelly, Mother Cecilia 112

Kelly, Sister Etheldreda112-113

Kelly, Rev.Nicholas 183

Kennedy, ProfessorBenjamin Hall 15

Kenny, SisterAnselma 113

Kenny, Sister Lucy 113

Kerr, Sister Bernard 113-114

Kettenburg, Augusta von , General Superior89, 136

Kilgallon, SisterAmbrose 114

King's Evil, The 162

Kirby, Sister Joseph 114

Knight, Sister Stanislaus 114

Knox, Rev. Ronald Arbuthnott 35

LLambspring Abbey, Germany 85

Lane, Sister Lucy 114-115

Langhorn , Sister Laetitia 115

Langley, SisterAugustine or Austin 115-116

Lanphier, Sister Ignatius 116

Lascelles, Lieutenant Edward 167

Lawler, Sister Mercedes 116

Lawler, Mother Perpetua 116-117

Layton, SisterIsabella 3 , 117

Liège 175

Littlehales, SisterScholastica 117-119

Lodge, Sister Dorothy 36, 119

London 2

London, England'sLane 12, 79

London, Fitzjohn's Avenue 12 , 37

London, GiffordLodge 12

London, Hampstead 12

London , HaverstockHill 11-12 , 59, 79

London, Kentish Town 30

London, Royal Academy of Music 40

London, St. Martin's Lane 3 , 149

London, Spitalfields 1

London, Tufnell Park 30

Long, Frances alias, see under Bedingfield Frances

Loreto Sisters 13 , 37, 101

Lowe, Sister Martha 119

Lowery, Sister Clara 119-120

Lukas, Sister Ludmilla120

Lund, Sister Gabriel 18 , 120

Lund, Sister Veronica 18 , 121

McAndrews , SisterJohn 121

McCabe, Sister Bonaventure20, 121

McCabe, SisterTeresa 121-122

McCarthy, SisterMargaret 122

McClorry, Sister Gerard 24, 123

McDonough, SisterAlphonsa 11 , 123

McDonough, Sister Francis 11-12, 123-124

McErlean, Sister Alphonsa 124

McGovernFamily 183-184

McGovern , Sister Francis 124

McGovern , SisterLouis 124-125

McKenna , SisterDamien 125

McLaughlin, Sister Bernard24, 125-126

Maher, Sister Colette 126

Manning, Henry Edward, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster5, 11

Marsh, Sister Dympna 127

Marshall, Mother Cecilia 18 , 20, 27, 127-128

Marshall, SisterMartha 128

Marshall, Sister Mary Baptist 128

Marshall, Sister Teresa 128-129

Martin, Mother Juliana 10, 129

Martin, Sister Teresa 129-130

Martindale, Cyril Charlie, S.J. 145

Mary Beatrice of Modena , Queen Consort ofKing James II3

Mason, Sister Anne 130

Maxwell, SisterAnn 130

Maynard, SisterMary Magdalen 130-131

Mayne, Sister Clare 131

Mazzoni , SisterRosita 131

Melba, Dame Nellie 10

MellsManor, Somerset 34-35

Metcalfe, SisterMary 131-132

Middlesbrough , John Paul Centre 53-54

Moore, SisterFidelis 132

More, Daisy and Dorothy 14, 17

More, Sister Margaret 1 , 132

More, Sister Mary 1 , 132–133

Morris, John, S.J. 19, 32, 129 , 133

Munich, Paradeiserhaus 2, 44

Mulcahy, SisterEmmanuel 133-134

Murdoch, SisterM. Aloysius 134

Murphy Family 184

Murphy, Mother M.Alacoque 135

Murphy, Sister M. Aquinas 135

Murphy, Sister Brendan 24, 135-136

Murphy, SisterGertrude 136-137

Murphy, Mother Paul 16, 137-138

Murray, Daniel, Archbishop of Dublin 36

N

Naples, Italy 175

Nason, SisterJoseph 138-139

Nazi Party 102

Neary, SisterVeronica 139

Newman, John Henry, Cardinal 13,59

Noble , Mother Germana 139

Noble, Sister Josepha 139

Norwith 30

Nymphenburg , Bavaria20

Oates, Mother Salome 10 , 17 , 19, 140

Oates, Titus 6, 65 , 84 , 132

O'Connell, Daniel, called The Liberator 37, 103

O'Connor , SisterPatricia 24, 140-141

O'Connor , SisterPhilomena 141

O'Donoghue, Sister Xaveria 14 , 17 , 141-142

Oldfield, SisterCampion 142

O'Melia, SisterStanislaus 142-143

Orchard, Sister Gillian 143-144

O'Reilly, Sister Gonzaga 143

Osbaldwick, near York 41, 130

Osmotherley, Mount Grace Shrine 175

O'Sullivan, SisterClare 144

Overback, Sister Benedicta 144-145

Oxford, Somerville College 34 , 145

PPachman, Vladimir 16

Palikonova , SisterAugustina 186

Papal Bulls: PastoralisRomanus Pontificis 187 Quamvis Justo 67

Paradeiserhaus, Munich See Munich

Paris Convent of Bernardine nuns 176

Paris, I.B.V.M. school in Rue du Vieux Colombier 2, 31

Parker, Sister Pauline 145-146

Paston House, Cambridge. See Cambridge

Paston, Madamealias, see Bedingfield, Dorothy

Peacock, SisterElizabeth 186

Pendrill, SisterDorothy 146

Peters , Sister Henrietta54

Pfeiffer, Sister Benedicta 146

Phillips de Lisle, Ambrose 133

Pius IX, Blessed , Pope 129 , 146-147

Pius X, Saint, Pope 48, 93, 147

Pius XII, Pope 147

Plunkett, Anthony, O.P. 55, 148

Polding, Sister Teresa 148

Pope, Mother Francis 13, 17 , 19 , 148-149

Porter, Sister Cuthbert 149

Portington, SisterMary37 , 42, 149-150

Poulton, SisterIgnatius 18, 150

Powell, SisterAnne 150

Poyntz, Mother Mary2, 31 , 150-152

Pracid, Jeremiah or John , S.J. 31,98

Pusey, Dr. Edward Bouverie 59, 133

Q

Quiller-Couch, SirArthur 16

R

Radcliffe, SisterIgnatius 152

Raine, Canon James 132

Rankin , Sister de la Colombière 152

Rathfarnham Abbey 13 , 37

Reading University 102

Reaney, Sister Martha 21 , 153

Reilly, Sister Anne 153

Reilly, Sister Helen 153-154

Robinson, Sister Regis 154

Rocher, SisterSophiedu 154

Rome, English house 19, 49, 80, 93

Rome Generalate, Via Nomentana 38

Rome, German cemetery38

INDEX

Rome, Venerable English College 133

Ronan or Rowan, Sister Philomena 154

Rooke or Root, SisterMary 6, 154

Rouby, Mother Catherine8, 155

Rujanski , Sister Étienne 156

Rujanski , SisterPriska 156

Russell, Sister de Sales 155

St. Luke's Fair 73

St.Omer 1

Salvin Family 184-185

Salvin, Sister Baptist 157

Salvin, Sister Gertrude 157 W

Salzbacher, Mother Edelburga, General Superior 156

Sandwich Islands 59

Santiago, Chile 46, 118

Sassoon, Siegfried 35

Saunders, SisterMary 157

Scarborough foundation32, 36

Schreiber, SisterRaphael 157-158

Schreiber, SisterThecla 158

Scott-Allen, SisterJoseph 158

Scroggs, SirWilliam, Lord Chief Justice 85

Scutari Hospital59

Sellon, Priscilla 59

Seymour Family27

Shaftesbury, CoombeHouse , later St. Mary's Convent 25-30, 38, 89

Sharp, John, Archbishop of York 44

Shelley, Sister John Berchmans 158

Shelley, SisterMargaret Mary 158-159

Sheridan, SisterAustin 159

Sheriff Hutton Castle , Yorkshire 179

201

Sheringham, Norfolk20-22, 71

Sheringham, Inglewood22, 54

Sidgreaves, SisterPetra 159

Smith, Sister Benigna 159

Smith, Sister Catherine 160

Smith , Sister de Sales 160

Smith, Sister Michael 160-161

Snowden, Sister Rodriga 161

Society of the Sacred Heart5

Spangler, SisterSperanda 161

Stanfield, Sister Catherine 161-162

Stanfield, Sister Elizabeth43, 162-163

Staples, Sister Alphonsa 163

Steinhauser, SisterJosephine 163

Stephenson, SisterJoannes 163-164

Sterne, Dr. Jacques, Precentor of York Minster 7, 106

Stuart, Mother Janet Erskine96

Swale, Sister Bernard(18101832) 186

Swales, Sister Bernard(18221875) 164

TTalbot, SisterGertrude 164

Tasker, Sister Elizabeth 164

Tattan, Sister Berchmans 164-165

Taylor, Sister Austin 165

Teignmouth, Devon5

Thompson, Canon John 165-166

Thompson, SisterM. Alphonsa 165

Thorpe, Sister Magdalen 13 , 166-167

Thwing Family 185

Thwing, Sister Anne (Mrs. Beckwith) 6, 167

Thwing, Mother Catherine (Mrs. Lascelles ) 6, 167-168

I.B.V.M. BIOGRAPHIES

Thwing, Sister Ellen or Helen 6, 168

Thwing, Sir George 2

Thwing, SisterJane 168-169

Thwing, St. Thomas , martyr 185

Tittel, Sister Catherine 169

Titus Oates Plot 3 , 85

Tucker, Sister Antonia 169

Tuite, Sister Benjamina 169-170

Turner, Sister Anne 2

Ushaw , St. Cuthbert'sCollege 165

Varley, Sister Rita 170

Varley, Sister Zita 170

W

Wake, Roy 18

Wakelin , Sister Gabriel 16 , 170-171

Walker, Sister Helen 171

Walker, Sister Jane 171

Walker, SisterJosephine 171-172

Walmsley-Carter, Canon

Thomas 20, 72

Walsh, SisterAssisium 172

Ward, Mary 1 , 2, 19

Wardour cemetery, Wiltshire 45, 75, 111 , 124, 169

Warren, SisterJohn Baptist 172

Watkin, Edward Ingram 22

Waugh, Evelyn 35

Wenham, Peter 41

West Indian Islands 41-42

Weston, SisterJosephine 172-173

Wheeler, Sister Agatha 11 , 18 , 173

White, Sister Veronica 173-174

Whitechurch , SisterCatherine 174

Whittaker, Sister Vincent 174

Whittham, Sister Winifride 174

Whyte, SisterPaul 10, 18, 40, 174-175

Wigmore, Mother Winifred 2 , 175-176

Wilberforce, Bertrand, O.P. 11 , 79

Wild, Mother Isabella, General Superior20, 127

Willoughby, Sister Gertrude176

Wilson -Lynch, SisterAnna 176

Wiseman, Nicholas, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster 133

Wolfe, Sister Agnes 176-177

Woodhouse, SisterMonica 177-178

Woodruff, Douglas35

Woods, SisterJoseph 178

Worcester, Marquis 2

World War I 20, 70, 140

World War II 12, 22, 24, 102, 110

Y

York, The Bar Convent 5 , 6, 22-25, 32-36, 41, 43-44

York Castle 1 , 32, 132

York, English Martyrs Church: school 25

York, Little Blake StreetChapel 31, 97, 155

York, Nunnery Lane 6

York, Ousebridge Gaol 6, 42

York, St. Clement's Convent6

York, St. George'sChurch : school 52, 82

York, St. Joseph's 188

Whately, Richard, Archbishop of York, St. Wilfrid's Church 31 Dublin 148

Yorkshire Plot 6, 66, 85, 132