About the Project
The main sources of this research consist of approximately 28 boxes of loose, mostly unsorted, documents kept in the archives of Downside Abbey. It consists of the profession lists; obituaries; financial and legal documents; histories and other documents which demonstrate the social, cultural and religious activities of the nuns from 1597 to 1976. Most of the collection is in good condition and in a reasonably legible handwriting, with some of the later documents type-written. The documents are mainly in English, but there are some in French and Latin. I am very pleased to say that my History of the Monastery from its foundation to its suppression is about finished and will be hitting the publisher's desk in the next few weeks.
Dr Roberta Anderson
My email address is: thehaslemerecollection@gmail.com
Dr Roberta Anderson
My email address is: thehaslemerecollection@gmail.com
The Benedictine Ladies of the Monastery of the Glorious Assumption of Our Blessed Lady
The English Benedictine Monastery of the Glorious Assumption of Our Blessed Lady was founded in 1597/8 in Brussels by Lady Mary Percy. The Community were expelled by the French revolutionary forces in 1794, and on their return to England, were provided with accommodation in Winchester where they remained until they outgrew the premises in 1857. Their new home at Old Hall, East Bergholt was extended considerably until WWII, when it was requisitioned by the War Office. After the war the Community decided to move again, the buildings at St Mary's Abbey being so poorly maintained by the troops who had used it as a transit camp. Their final move, in 1945, was to Frensham Hall, near Haslemere. The order was suppressed in 1975, by Bishop Michael George Bowen, and the last Nuns moved out to various other houses in 1976.