Convent of the Assumption

Last updated

The Convent of the Assumption at Sidmouth, Devon, was a Catholic girls-only, private boarding school.

Contents

History

Arrival of the Sisters of the Assumption (1882–1914)

The Sisters of the Religious of the Assumption are a Catholic, female congregation founded in Paris in 1839 by Saint Anne Eugenie Milleret (in her religious life took the name Marie Eugenie of Jesus) along with Fr. Theodore Combalot. [1] The nuns of this congregation arrived in Sidmouth in 1882 first settling at Cottington House, before relocating to their new, purpose-built convent two years later (in 1884). [2] The convent's chapel served the local Catholic parish at this time. [2]

It was reported at the laying of the foundation stone in 1883 that a chapel, convent and residence for a Mrs Monteith was being built on land on the Knowle estate and Mrs Monteith was defraying the cost. The buildings, described as ‘simple’ were built by a local builder. The estimated cost was between £2000 and £3000 and it was anticipated it would take 12 months to build.

Boarding House and Holiday Retreat

The convent took in female boarders. Advertisements were placed in newspapers from 1895. ‘Lady boarders received at the Convent and in a Villa adjoining. Climate mild and healthy. Apartments filled up with home comforts. For particulars apply to the Rev. Mother Superior’. By 1906 advertisements were being placed nationwide. ‘Assumption convent, Sidmouth, Devon. Lady boarders received in well furnished apartments, healthy position, lovely views of sea and country, excellent cuisine and attendance, terms moderate. Apply Superior’. In the 1901 census all of the boarders, who were single or widowed, were not in employment but living by private means. There were still a handful of these boarders in the 1939 census.

In 1885 an advertisement for retreats was placed. ‘Convent for the Assumption Sidmouth. The nuns receive a few delicate children for education and ladies for private retreats at any time throughout the year’ In 1897 the convent was recommended as a Catholic holiday resort and there were many visitors as well as the borders. ‘The nuns devote themselves to teaching, and are always most ready and willing to instruct the children of visitors in their cathecism’.

One notable boarder was Pauline Hingeston (1840-1906), a major benefactoress of the convent. Miss Hingeston moved to Sidmouth from Brighton following the death of her mother. There is a memorial plaque in the chapel and she is buried in the convent graveyard.

The Assumption Orphanage and school

The Assumption Orphanage for girls and a school was established at the convent in 1898. £1000 was raised and a two storey building was attached to the convent. The ground floor was a refectory and parochial voluntary school and upstairs a dormitory and further classroom. It was reported at the laying of the foundation stone that children would be educated in practical and technical subjects rather than theoretical and scientific and ‘they were not taught subjects that would not be of use to them in life to be a good servant’. According to the census’ there were 15 orphans resident in 1901 and 13 orphans in 1911. Girls in the orphanage, who came from anywhere in the country, were sponsored or maintained through funds raised. The orphanage was discontinued in 1914 and subsequently a fee paying boarding school was established.

A school is established (1914–1976)

One of the founding motivations for the congregation was the "regeneration of society through the education of girls and women" [1] therefore, when three Belgium girls sheltering from the devastation of the Great War were not able to return home (and were subsequently joined by other girls from Belgium), the sisters decided to begin teaching at the site. [3] The first lessons were held on 13 September 1914. [3] The convent's Mother Superior from 1911 to 1928, Ellen Lansdell (9 April 1861 – 18 June 1949), a nun who was also known as Mother Lelia, is credited with starting to teach at the site (along with two other sisters), effectively founding the school. [4] In 1921 there were 55 girls boarding at the school.

House system

There were two houses that the students gained admission to once they had achieved high academic and sporting prowess and demonstrated good conduct; these were St. Paul's (green) and St. Peter's (red). [5]

British Council association

The convent school at Sidmouth was the first and only independent preparatory school to be members of the British Council's Education Counselling Service, which accounts for the large international presence from the school's earliest days. [6]

Associated people

St. John's International School, Devon (1976–present)

The former convent's buildings now form St John's International School, a lay, independent, co-educational day and boarding school. In 2007, the school was brought under the International Education Systems (IES) umbrella. [11]

Related Research Articles

The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The congregation takes its name from the Marian shrine at Loreto in Italy where Ward used to pray. Ward was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2009. The Loreto Sisters use the initials I.B.V.M. after their names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Frances Xavier Warde</span> One of the original Sisters of Mercy

Mary Frances Xavier Warde R.S.M. (1810-1884) was one of the original Sisters of Mercy, a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Ireland by Catherine McAuley, and the foundress of the order in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of St. Joseph</span> Female Roman Catholic religious congregation

The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for Saint Joseph, has approximately 14,000 members worldwide: about 7,000 in the United States; 2,000 in France; and are active in 50 other countries.

The Daughters of the Cross of Liège are religious sisters in the Catholic Church who are members of a religious congregation founded in 1833 by Marie Thérèse Haze (1782–1876). The organization's original mission is focused on caring for the needs of their society through education and nursing care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious of the Virgin Mary</span> Roman Catholic community based in the Philippines

The Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (Spanish: Religiosas de la Beata Virgen María, abbreviated RVM, is a Roman Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women founded in Manila in 1684 by the Filipina Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espíritu Santo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Charity of New York</span>

The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York, most often known as the Sisters of Charity of New York, is a religious congregation of sisters in the Catholic Church whose primary missions are education and nursing and who are dedicated in particular to the service of the poor. The motherhouse is located at Mt. St. Vincent in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. They were founded by Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1809.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loreto Normanhurst</span> School in Australia

Loreto Normanhurst is an independent Catholic, primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls, located in Normanhurst, a suburb on the upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The Society of Helpers, formerly known as the Society of the Helpers of the Holy Souls, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Paris, France, in 1856, with the objective of assisting the souls in Purgatory through their service to the needy of the world. The Sisters use the postnominal initials of "A.P." in Europe, or, alternately, "H.H.S" in English-speaking countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community of St John Baptist</span>

The Community of St John Baptist (CSJB), also known as the Sisters of Mercy, or formerly Clewer Sisters, is an Anglican religious order of Augustinian nuns.

Sacred Heart College is a Roman Catholic secondary school for girls, and is located in Retreat Road, Newtown, Geelong, Victoria in Australia. It is now one of the largest Catholic secondary girls schools in Victoria.

St. Mary's Convent High School is a school for girls in the North Goa town of Mapusa, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd</span> Catholic religious order

The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, also known as the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, is a Catholic religious order that was founded in 1835 by Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in Angers, France. The religious sisters belong to a Catholic international congregation of religious women dedicated to promoting the welfare of women and girls.

The Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by the Venerable Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The Sisters of the congregation use the postnominal initials PBVM.

The Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery is a Roman Catholic congregation of women. whose motherhouse, St. Walburg Monastery, is located at Villa Madonna, in Villa Hills, Kentucky. It was founded in 1859 by three sisters of the Benedictine congregation of Mount St. Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania, who came to Covington to teach the German-speaking children of St. Joseph's parish. They became an independent congregation in 1867. Villa Madonna Academy, a private, Roman Catholic K-12 school is an integral part of the sisters' ministry in Kentucky. Besides operating the Academy, the sisters taught in parish schools and staffed St. John's Orphanage.

The Society of Saint Margaret (SSM) is an order of women in the Anglican Church. The religious order is active in England, Haiti, Sri Lanka, and the United States and formerly Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loreto College, Marryatville</span> School in Australia

Loreto College Marryatville is an independent Roman Catholic primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls in Marryatville, an inner-eastern suburb of Adelaide located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the Adelaide city centre, in South Australia, Australia.

Former religious orders in the churches of the Anglican Communion are those communities of monks, nuns, friars, or sisters, having a common life and rule under vows, whose work has ended and whose community has been disbanded. In a very few cases this is due to the termination of the work for which the community was established, but in most cases it is due to amalgamation or the death of the final remaining member of the community.

Catholic sisters and nuns in Canada have been an important presence since the 17th century.

Reverend Mother Saint Mathilde Raclot was a 19th-century French Catholic nun and missionary from the Sisters of the Infant Jesus who traveled to different countries in East Asia to set up Catholic schools and orphanages. In Singapore, she founded the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus girls' school and later traveled to Japan where she established a hospice and homeless shelter. In 2014, Mother Mathilde Raclot was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convent of Jesus and Mary, Shimla</span> Convent school in Himachal Pradesh, India

The Convent of Jesus and Mary, Chelsea, Shimla is a private English medium school, founded by a French nun, Marie Claudine Thevenet of the Religious of Jesus and Mary and run by the nuns situated in the hills of the Himalayas ranges. It started as an orphanage for the children of the British soldiers and established as one of the elite educational institutions in post colonial India. It is an all-girls elementary and secondary school, now affiliated with the CBSE board, established in Shimla in 1864. Its boarding school operated for over one hundred and thirty five years, until its decision in 2000 to close the boarding section and transition to a day school. As a day school, it expanded with new buildings to educate children from the stages of nursery, kindergarten, to higher classes of grades XI and XII. The Convent of Jesus and Mary School, Shimla, is favorably referred to as Chelsea'. Its students wear a red uniform and are called 'Chelseaites'. As an elite educational institution, it continues to provide not only academic achievements, but also attitudes imbued with social, moral and spiritual values in their students.

References

  1. 1 2 "Our Story". Assumption Religious. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 Diana Bowerman (16 November 2010). "Catholic Church celebrates 75 years in Sidmouth - News". Sidmouth Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "Ogilvie Godfrey Family Tree - Person Page". Ogilviefamilytree.com. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Börner, Tessa; Börner, Martin (5 August 2005). English Girl, German Boy: World War II from Both Sides. Hilary Borner. ISBN   9780973892604 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Welcome to St. John's International School". Study Center UK. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Matthew Bridges". Hymntime.com. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Matthew Bridges - The Center For Church Music, Songs and Hymns". Songsandhymns.org. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Mother Margaret Mary McFarlin". Telegraph. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Scott, Christina (1984). A Historian and His World: A Life of Christopher Dawson - Christina Scott - Google Books. ISBN   9781412816090 . Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "St John's International School, Sidmouth - MyEd". myed.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016.

50°41′07″N3°15′04″W / 50.6854°N 3.2510°W / 50.6854; -3.2510

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.