PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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CONVENT OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
This Six Sisters of Notre Dame from their Mother House at Namur in Belgium were invited by Bishop William Vaughan to look after the schools for the poor that had been set up in Plymouth. On July 25th 1860 they arrived at the presbytery of Saint Mary's. From here they taught at the Roman Catholic Cathedral and at the Devonport Mission.
Soon after, they purchased land to the west of the Cathedral and in driving rain on the late afternoon of Monday November 21st 1864 the Very Reverend Canon Richard Mansfield laid the foundation stone of their Convent. Coins from all over Europe and a parchment scroll were placed in a cavity in the stone. The architect was Mr Joseph A Hansom of Fulham Road, London, who was assisted by Mr Charles Clifton of Penlee Villas, Stoke, Devonport. It was built by Mr Samuel Hallett of Plymouth and Mr Thomas Jenkins of Devonport, with Mr John Ley acting as clerk of the works. On October 19th 1865 this was opened both as a Convent and also a girls' school for boarders and day pupils. The Chapel was opened shortly afterwards. Pupils came from all over the world. The sister superior of the Convent was Miss Mary Mesnard, Sister Mary Teresa. There were at its opening just ten nuns. In 1936 the Convent was extended by the addition of the old Presbyterian Chapel that stood on the corner of Wyndham Street and Anstis Street. It was linked with the main building and the opening ceremony took place on December 16th 1938. However, this happy situation was not to last. During the bombing of the Second World War the Convent was completely destroyed. The site is today a residential complex called Notre Dame House. When the decision was made not to rebuild the Convent on that site, the Sisters moved to a large house named Trenley, between Woodbine and Weston Lodge, in Seymour Road, Mannamead. That was in October 1943. The present-day Convent of Notre Dame is situated in Looseleigh Lane at Derriford, Plymouth, and the chapel was built in 1971 to the designs of a Mr Lane. It contains a stained glass window Father Charles Norris of Buckfast Abbey, Devon, who sadly died in Torbay Hospital on Wednesday May 12th 2004. He was 94-years-old and had joined the Buckfast Community in 1930. He served as an army chaplain in Africa and Italy during the Second World War and was awarded the MBE in 1943. In 2003 his last major work was given to the New York Fire Department as a tribute to their work and losses in the aftermath of the September 11th 2001 atrocities. Sources:
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