But we also know that Sr Mabel was one of the Sisters who worked in Canada, and she presumably went out there after the 1911 census, although I do not have the date. But along with Sr Eileen, she was one of the last Sisters in Canada, and records show that she returned in 1920, arriving at Liverpool on the 13th August.

“First, I should like to write a little about Sr Eileen as I knew her. I was a pupil at All Hallows School in the war years (1939) and Sister was on the house staff then but I got to know her better after 1951 when I joined the Community. She had these sparkling dark eyes and was full of fun, and of tales of her time in Canada. Her cousin was Cyril Falls, a military correspondent …, but we did not discuss family backgrounds in those days. On dark wartime nights, I would walk

We do not have much information about All Hallows’ Creche, and what we do know mainly comes from East and West, an early Community magazine. Set up to provide working mothers with somewhere safe to leave their children, and allow older siblings to attend school, the Creche seems to have run from our earlier days in Norwich, in the 1880s, until at least the 1920s. Originally based in a house on Priory Yard, and sharing accommodation with work rooms and classes for those parish

Back in 1851, Herbert Frere, age 13, was living with his parents, Edward and Elizabeth, in King Street, Great Yarmouth. Edward was a priest “not having cure of souls”, meaning he did not have a parish. Ten years later, having studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Herbert, now 23, was staying with the Vicar of Worstead, Norfolk; his occupation was given as “B.A. Cambridge”. He was ordained Deacon in 1863, and became the curate at St James, Bury St Edmunds. When the incumbent

It is a long time since anyone has made their vows in the Community of All Hallows, so it was with joy that we celebrated Sr Jackie’s first Profession last Monday. It took place in the Chapel of our house in Bungay, where Sr Sheila and Sr Elizabeth live, and we were joined by friends of Sr Jackie’s, plus an Oblate and two Associates who live locally. The Profession took place in the context of the Eucharist, which celebrated the visit of Mary to Elizabeth (found in Luke 1), w

There are several Sisters who have spent only a few years in the Community. For some, such as Sr Martha, this was due to an early death, but others, such as Sr Philippa, left. It is often difficult to follow through the lives of these Sisters after they left, and to know what happened. There will be something in the Minutes of the Community Chapter about the fact of their leaving, but very seldom are any reasons given, although the Sisters may have been aware of them at the t

Finding the background of our Sisters can be complicated, and this is especially true for our Third Order, for whom we do not have a record of surnames. Established for those women who had been at the House of Mercy and wished to dedicate their lives to God through the Community, each Third Order Sister took ‘Faith’ as their second name. Thankfully, most used their birth names, and they appear in the census, which means I have managed to identify them. Sr Ellen Faith is first

Electoral Registers can give us a more detailed picture of where an individual was living in between census years, which is particularly true in the case of Sr Elizabeth Margaret, who was a member of the Community in the early twentieth century. Professed on the festival of St John Baptist in 1901, she probably joined the Community around 1899. Born in Ramsgate, Kent, in 1871, Elizabeth Margaret Maxted was the daughter of Thomas Gibson Maxted and his wife, Mary Margaret Maxte

There are some people linked with the Community, whose names we shall never know; others will be names in a census, whom I may be able to find out more about; other names resonate, with a vague memory, or are more well-known. Nora Kirkbride was one of these, as was Marguerite Miller. Both appear in the 1911 Census as Embroidery pupils at the Community House; their fellow pupil, Gertrude Creed, I have never heard of. I am fairly sure that Marguerite Miller appears on a photo,

Unlike many of our Sisters, Sr Eliza came from a local family. Originally from Bungay, her parents were living in Ditchingham by the time she was born in 1856, and it is here she was brought up. In 1851 Abraham Bull (born Bungay) and his wife Harriet (born Beccles), were living at Factory Cottages, Ditchingham, with their six children: Abraham (age 14), Sarah Ann (age 12?) and Eliza (age 10), all of whom were born in Bungay, and Mary Ann (age 3), Edward (age 2) and Charles (a

Anna was the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for seven years, although we do not know who her husband was. Now, in old age, she spent her time in the temple, in fasting and prayer, and was a prophetess. Like Simeon, she sees Jesus in the temple with his parents; unlike Simeon, she does not say anything directly, but Luke reports her as giving thanks to God, and speaking of Jesus. (Luke 2: 25-40). We know so little about her, and she takes up no

When I joined the Community, I was told that most Sisters were either teachers or nurses; I’m not sure that was entirely true, but we have had a number of Sisters from both occupations. One of the latter was Sr Augusta, Sister-in-Charge at All Hallows Hospital for many years. Our Hospital was built in 1873, although the work started earlier in a cottage in the village of Ditchingham. The Hospital is based in the village itself, unlike the Convent which is slightly outside. Sr

It is the Christmas of 1910; in Yale, Canada, a group of schoolgirls are going from door to door singing ‘Wake and Sing good Christians’, under the guidance of Sr Marion. That is all I noted down from East and West, the magazine we published between 1886 and 1919. It is enough, however, to justify writing about Sr Marion just before Christmas. A Christmas related blog is going nowhere. So, let me introduce you to Sr Marion. Born in 1869, she was the third child of John Cr

Buried at Westcliff-on-Sea, where she died, Sr Jane Mary is one of few Sisters who are not buried at Ditchingham. I have no idea why she died there: whether she was staying with her friends, or whether she had been ill and was there to convalesce; whether she knew she was dying when she went. I do know that she had friends nearby, as they arranged for her burial. M. Louisa was present, but (as far as I know) no other Sisters went. Neither do I know for certain who those frien

While looking through a book of early Associates, I came across some recognisable surnames; surnames that were the same as some of our early Sisters. I made note of these, to research a possible link. One of those Associates was Louisa Florence Gottwaltz, admitted as an Associate of the second order in 1897, and withdrew in 1912. She was the sister of Alice Frances Gottwaltz, who was professed as a choir Sister in 1897 and died in 1910. While there is an obvious link between

It would be very easy to assume that Sr Ethel was Irish; she was born in Ireland, as was her father, William Henry Johnston. However, William spent most of his adult life in England, and Sr Ethel seems to have spent very little time in Ireland. Moreover, Ethel’s mother, Fanny Lewis Johnston, was English. Her father, Rev Edmund Antrobus, was for some years curate in Acton, Middlesex; his wife, Frances Margaret Antrobus, was from Northumberland, where her father, Prideaux John

How does a woman whose family seem very focussed on Leominster, in Herefordshire, end up at a Convent in rural Norfolk? The answer to this question is lost in the midst of time, although, to be fair, few of her siblings seem to have remained in Leominster. But this was where Sarah Louisa Daggs, one of the younger daughters of William and Elizabeth Daggs, grew up; William was a banker, who also had links to one of the local rail companies. I think he and Elizabeth had eight ch

Our lives are so much more than the bare facts, which is something that can be most frustrating when researching past Sisters. Take Sr Rosamund, for instance (the first of that name, for those who have known the Community for a while!). I know plenty of information about her: I know something of what she did, and where she lived, but none of that tells me who she was. I have just one line from the Community Diary: “She was the most beloved Sister in the Community”. That is a

While I have researched many of our past Sisters, and some of those adults who had links with us, in order to give a rounded picture of our Community, it also involves those we worked with. This is a more sensitive area, as I know the Community at the time would do all they could to protect them, and their backgrounds. In telling this story of one of the residents at the House of Mercy, I will only use initials as it feels important to shield her identity, and one of our earl

There are times when I look at the information I have for a Sister and wonder if it is correct. Sr Elizabeth, the second person to take that name, is a case in point. Born Elizabeth Davis, all the information I had for her family was under ‘Davies’, a subtle difference. Was this just a case of misspelling the name, had I got the wrong family or was it my mistake? Further research proved it to be my mistake. The census data definitely referred to ‘Davis’, but for some reason I