In 1851, William Dredge, one time secretary to Berkshire Hospital and later house agent and accountant, was living in Reading, with his wife Sarah and their children Sarah, Elizabeth, William and Helen. The following ten years proved difficult ones for the family. Sarah, his wife, died in 1854 aged only 37, leaving all four children, the oldest only just into double figures, as well as a further son, James, who was only a baby. Tragically, the oldest child, Sarah, died two ye

The Boss was going away for a few months, and she entrusted her investments to some of her employees, each according to their ability. Sam had a look at what she had been given; she left some of the shares where they were, and had a good talk with the firm’s stockbroker about others; the money she used to trade with. Successfully playing to her strengths, and what she knew of the market, she doubled her money. Jo had been given slightly less, and was rather less confident abo

Our Sisters came from a variety of backgrounds, and many places. Several were born abroad, some came from East Anglia, but others came...

Looking directly through somebody’s window is normally seen as rather nosy, but right now you have the privilege of doing exactly that, legitimately. Peer through this window, and you see a small sitting room with five women in it; all are focussed on their phones, rather than each other; are they addicted to their phones? You can see that these are all older women, which maybe makes it even worse? these women didn’t grow up with mobile phones, so should be able to put them a

Sometimes, the history of our Sisters is quite clear; at others, it is almost impossible to discover; there are times, though, when what the evidence shows leaves me uncertain that I have found the correct family, and highlights my lack of knowledge of Victorian social history. Sr Lucy is a case in point. A Sister for only twenty years, she was a crucial figure in our history, being elected as our third Reverend Mother, and the first woman to lead the Community who wasn’t one

Five thousand people had been fed; the disciples were in the boat, rowing across the lake, while Jesus had remained behind to pray. It...

Walking through Norwich, I passed a housing estate; this particular estate was slightly different to others, though. This estate had, I...

Jesus was busy speaking to those who came to see him; people were crowding round him, and he was teaching them. According to Mark’s Gospel (see Mark 3:20-35), he couldn’t even eat, such was his popularity, so his family went to take charge of him. In both Matthew (12:46-50) and Luke (8:19-21), his family arrive, anxious to speak to him. Either way, Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive, as he is speaking to the crowds, and the message is passed to him that they are here. At this,

I have been able to discover many details about the backgrounds of some Sisters; others I can find only a little about, or occasionally enough to spark interest, but nothing further; some I can find absolutely nothing about at all – or, at least, not so far. Of these, possibly the most frustrating is M. Adele, M. Lavinia’s co-founder [both pictured]. She was present in the Community from its’ beginning in the 1850s, and an important influence on the Community’s development, b

Queen Vashti had been summoned to appear before the King; he didn’t wish to talk to her, he just wanted to show her off. He’d been giving...

Sr Mary Sophia’s profession seems to have marked a turning point in the Community’s history. Only the fourth Sister to be professed,...

Sparrows are not exactly two a penny anymore, so to be told we are worth more than many of them has a rather different impact now than in...

It’s nice to be proved right. The blog I wrote about Sr Harriet (see Fixed on God, August 22nd 2022) made it clear that I could not be...

I got it wrong. I’ve no idea why, but I mis-counted. In last week’s blog, I stated that in 1881 Sr Lenora was living with her parents and...

Sr Lenora wasn’t exactly late for her own funeral, but it did happen later than intended. She died on January 17th 1945, and it was arranged that the coffin be brought over on January 19th for the funeral the next day. But that January was a very cold one, and a blizzard meant that the roads were unsafe for travelling, so the funeral was postponed until Monday 22nd. The snow was so deep that only a few Sisters went to the Cemetery for the burial (at that point still Ditchingh

“Novices shall be allowed to retain their hair until Profession, owing to the great inconvenience to rejected Novices”. So states a...

“Do you love me?” asks Jesus of Peter (see John 21). “Do you love me?” asks Jesus of us – and how do we answer? Do we love Jesus? and how...

Anyperson didn’t like themselves. They knew they were horrible and stupid, and condemning, negative feelings of shame and hate would come...

Sister Elizabeth Sarah It is the 23rd December 1856; the day Sarah Maria Watts married Samuel Howes at the parish of St John Timberhill...

I was offered a tract the other week, by someone I passed in the street; when I refused, he pointed out that it would tell me how to be...