Bar Convent facts for kids

The Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre in York, England, is a very old and special place. It was started in 1686 and is the oldest Catholic convent still open in the British Isles. Back then, laws in England made it illegal to open Catholic convents. Because of this, the Bar Convent had to be set up and run in secret.

Before the Bar Convent, a similar group opened the first school for girls in England in London in 1679. The Bar Convent then became the second such school. The women who started these schools often pretended to be widows to avoid trouble.

Today, the Bar Convent is a popular spot for visitors in York. It offers places to stay, rooms for meetings, a gift shop, a café, and a museum. The museum tells the amazing story of the Convent's long history.

History of the Bar Convent

How the Convent Began

A man from Yorkshire, Sir Thomas Gascoigne, was a strong Catholic. He saw the good work of the sisters in London and wanted a school for Catholic girls in Yorkshire. He gave them £450, which helped buy land for the Convent. Soon, a boarding school and a day school for Catholic girls were opened by the nuns.

The Catholic community faced many challenges. In 1694, Mother Frances Bedingfield and her great niece were even put in Ousebridge Gaol for a short time. Two years later, in 1696, an angry crowd attacked the house and damaged it badly. Above the front door, there is an engraving of St Michael. A local story says that St Michael appeared on a horse, scaring the mob away.

Later, a religious leader named Doctor Jaques Sterne tried to close the Convent. He wanted the school shut down and the children sent home. Mother Hodshon and another sister were even called to court. They were accused of not taking part in Anglican church services. However, the case was dismissed because no service had happened that day. Surprisingly, Doctor Sterne later became a strong supporter of the Convent.

In 1699, Mother Bedingfield returned to Germany. Dorothy Bedingfield (who was also called Baston) became the new leader. Her time as leader, which lasted 34 years, was difficult. The Convent faced a lot of poverty, and she was not very popular.

Changes in the 1700s

Under Mother Ann Aspinal, the Convent grew and was rebuilt. The original building was mostly taken down and a new one was constructed. The sisters lived in a nearby house for two years while the work was done. The first stone for the new house was laid on March 4, 1766. By December 1768, the house was finished. Mother Aspinal also added an entire extra floor to the front of the house. This gave the building a new Georgian look and more rooms.

The most important new part of the Convent was its Chapel. Mother Aspinal wanted it to look like churches in Rome. She hired Thomas Atkinson, a famous architect. Because people were still not friendly towards Catholics, Atkinson decided to hide the Chapel's design.

The Chapel's dome was hidden under a slate roof, so it could not be seen from the street. Atkinson also built eight secret escape routes from the Chapel. This was to make sure that if the building was attacked, people could get out safely. The Chapel was finished in 1769.

Life became easier for the Convent after the First Catholic Repeal Act was passed in 1778. This law allowed Catholics to practice their faith legally and made Catholic schools legal. For the first time since the Convent began, the nuns could wear their religious clothes openly. The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 then allowed the Bar Convent to be a public place of worship.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Convent helped priests who had fled from Europe. Mother Superior Catherine Rouby also gave shelter to nuns from other orders. These included Carmelites and Poor Clares.

Families who had fled Europe also sent their daughters to the school. Some of these girls later became nuns at the Convent. The wars meant the Convent was cut off from its main group in Germany. So, Mother Superior Elizabeth Coyney asked the Pope to place the Convent under the care of Bishop Gibson in England.

The 1900s and Beyond

Mother Mary Aikenhead, who started the Sisters of Charity, lived at the Convent for three years (1812–1815) as a new nun. During the Second World War, the Convent was bombed. Five nuns died, and the East Wing of the building was destroyed.

The nuns continued to run the school until 1985. Then, control was given to the Middlesbrough diocese. The school was renamed All Saints School. However, the Convent still plays a part in the Catholic life of this excellent school.

Building Design

Outside the Convent

Exterior view of the Bar Convent on Blossom Street

The main building of the Convent has three floors and an attic. It faces directly onto Blossom Street. The front of the building has seven sections, with the middle three sticking out a little. On the ground floor, there are windows with 12 panes of glass. The window above the main door has a special frame and a small railing below it.

At the back of the building, there is a three-story extension with a sloped roof. This part has a square clock tower. The top of the tower has a curved roof and an open area with wooden columns. The school building next to the main Convent has two floors and three sections at the front. Its windows also have 12 panes, but they are different sizes on each floor.

Inside the Convent

The Entrance Hall was once an open courtyard. It has since been covered and now has Victorian tiles on the floor. The glass roof is held up by iron beams and columns. There is also a clock designed by Henry Hindley in this hall. Around 1970, it was connected to the clock on the front of the building facing Blossom Street.

To the right of the ground floor is the Great Parlour. This room has paintings of some of the important early sisters of the Convent. It also has a marble fireplace with rounded spaces on each side.

The Chapel

The Chapel building has two floors and two attics. Its front has five sections, but these are partly hidden by other parts like the Lady Chapel and a staircase. On the ground floor, there are two windows with four rounded Gothic lights. The first floor has three windows with central turning lights.

Inside the Chapel, a stone staircase with square iron railings leads up to the Chapel on the first floor. The Chapel itself has a domed area for the sanctuary, a main hall with three sections, and side areas called transepts. The sanctuary is a round, domed room with eight columns. It has carvings of vine leaves, pots, and flowers. The dome itself has eight sections, each with decorations of fruits and leaves. A painted glass lantern is at the very top.

The South transept leads into the Lady Chapel, which is lit by a small dome. Below the North transept is a square space that might have been a secret hiding place for a priest. The altar was made in 1969, but it uses parts from the original 18th-century altar. Behind the altar is a decorated screen from the 1900s. It has carved figures from the 1700s of Saint Jerome, Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, and Saint Gregory. These figures hold up an old Spanish crucifix made of ivory.

The Convent Today

The Bar Convent is still a living convent, meaning nuns from the Congregation of Jesus still live there. It is the oldest active convent in England. The buildings are Grade I listed, which means they are very important historically. They were fully renovated in 2015. Now, the Convent has a museum that tells its story, a café, meeting rooms, and a guest house for visitors.

See also

In Spanish: Convento del Instituto de la Santísima Virgen para niños

• Christina Kenworthy-Browne