The oldest living convent in the UK is celebrating the lives of the brave women who have dedicated their lives to helping those in need and protecting the Catholic faith, in a new exhibition trail that uncovers the amazing stories of trailblazing women from throughout its history.
Foundress of the order who have lived at the Bar Convent since 1686, Yorkshire woman Mary Ward has such international significance that her followers and supporters are building a case to have her officially recognised as a Saint by the Catholic Church. She believed that women were intellectually equal to men, and deserved an education that reflected that equality. Providing a proper education for girlswas absolutelycentral to her work, and she travelled widely across Europe, founding schools in 10 European cities by 1628. She noted in 1617 that “There is no such difference between men and women that women may not do great things – and I hope in God it will be seen that women in time to come will do much.”
In the mid-18th century, Mother Ann Aspinal wanted to construct a new convent chapel with an Italianate style dome but it was still illegal to construct Catholic churches at that time rather than hiding the building project, she instead added a whole new suite of rooms to the front of the building, including a beautiful Georgian parlour, to disguise the real building project taking place at the back of the house.
More recently, Sister Gregory Kirkus wrote over 20 books about the history of the convent and researched the lives of many of the sisters who have lived here. She set up the first ever museum here at the Bar Convent and saved our historic books and documents. It is thanks to her that we know so much about the history of this building.
The Bar Convent is a living heritage centre which is open to the public and welcomes all faiths and none. The Chapel is free to visit and a public mass is celebrated on Fridays at 12noon. The relic of Saint Margaret Clitherow is also housed here.
Using QR codes throughout the exhibition, you are invited to discover more about the trailblazing women of the Bar Convent story whose bravery and determination made history locally, nationally and globally.
The trail is Included in admission to the exhibition. Complete the trail to be in with a chance to win a £30 voucher for the café.