St Monica's Priory, Spetisbury facts for kids

St Monica's Priory, also known as Spettisbury House, was an old religious building in Spetisbury, Dorset, England. It was a home for different groups of religious people, like nuns and canons, for many years. From 1800 to 1926, several religious orders lived there. The building was eventually taken down in 1927.

The Story of Spetisbury House

Spettisbury House was built in the 1700s as a large country home. It became a special place for religious communities.

Who Lived There First?

In 1800, a group of Augustinian nuns bought the house. These nuns were from a place called Louvain, which is now in Belgium. They had to leave their home country and came to England.

The Augustinian nuns ran a school at Spettisbury House. They taught students there for over 60 years.

New Groups Arrive

In 1861, the Augustinian nuns moved to a new place in Devon. They sold Spettisbury House to another group of nuns called the Bridgettines, who came from Lisbon, Portugal.

The Bridgettine nuns lived at the house until 1887. After they left, a group of religious men, called the Canons Regular of the Lateran, moved in. They were based in Bodmin.

The Ursulines and the End of the Priory

The Canons Regular sold the house in 1907. It was bought by the Ursulines, a group of nuns who had to leave their home in Mortain, France. They were also seeking a new place to live.

The Ursuline nuns stayed at Spettisbury House until 1926. They then sold the house to a builder. The builder took the house apart in 1927 to use its materials for other projects.

The Burial Ground Today

Even though the main house was demolished, the old burial ground was not sold. It still exists today as a quiet garden.