Sr Mary Katherine: Letting Go.

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 parishes the Sisters worked in, the Creche moved to Colegate when the Mission House moved there in 1900. Here there was room for the Sisters to live, work and pray alongside space for the creche and rooms for parish work. The Creche was run and supported by the Sisters; not having to pay rent or bills on the Colegate premises assisted their finances considerably. But it always had paid staff working alongside the Sisters, some of whom also lived in the Mission House. The Colegate Mission House had 23 private rooms and 11 public rooms, and was well-placed to support the Sisters work. However, in 1920, the state of the building meant that it was necessary to sell this House and by the 1921 census the Mission House itself had moved to Ber Street. The Creche did not move with it, but in 1921 is found in separate premises in St Mary’s House, St Mary’s Alley, Norwich. This was in the area of St Mary’s, Coslany, although I think the actual building no longer exists.

The Sister-in-Charge of the Creche during this move was Sr Mary Katherine. Born Mary Emma Mombert, her father was German and her mother British. Both she and her older sister, Annie, were born in Dusseldorf, although the family moved to England when Mary was 3 months old, and she lived in England from then onwards; her younger sister, Emily, was born in England. There is some confusion in my mind as to whether Mary was a German subject or a British one. Census data is inconclusive; some say that she was a British subject due to parentage, but the 1921 census says she is a German subject but resident in Britain since the age of 3 months. Annie is always registered as a German subject, and received a naturalisation certificate [as British] in 1926, so it seems likely that this means that Mary was also a German subject, especially as she filled in the 1921 census herself. Mary’s parents both died in Sussex during the 1890s, after which Annie and Emily seem to have lived together in London, living on their own means. Mary branched out, and in 1901 is living in lodgings while working as a district nurse. It was also in 1901 that she was received as a Sister Associate of the Community of All Hallows. Something was drawing her further in, though, and, in 1903, she became a choir Novice, taking the name Sr Mary Katherine. Several Sisters used two names, usually because there was already a Sister in the Community with their name. Sr Mary Katherine made her vows in September 1905, and in 1911 is working at the House of Mercy, under Sr Emmeline. At some point over the next few years, she moved to Norwich to take charge of the Creche. I know she was there by 1919, due to a mention in East and West of a grant the Creche had received.

In the early twentieth century, day nurseries, such as the Creche, became more formalised, and a Grant was given per child. All Hallows Creche seems to have been well-thought of, and found the money essential, but some changes were requested. A Creche Committee was formed, and a doctor started visiting regularly. Numbers at the Creche varied; many women found work fruit picking over the summer, so there were more children at the Creche in these months. I’m assuming Sr Mary Katherine’s work was mainly in managing the Creche, rather than in caring for the children, although Sisters were directly involved. There is a mention in East and West of the Sisters teaching the children, and of the older children teaching the younger ones the hymns once the Sisters had left.  

The 1921 census shows that Sr Mary Katherine lived at St Mary’s House with Sr Anna and three Creche workers. Her work is based at the House, whereas Sr Anna worked at the House and in St George’s Parish. When the Creche moved to St Mary’s House, it had been agreed that, at some point, the Creche would pass from the Sisters into the hands of the Creche Committee, and in 1922 there was a meeting to consider the future of the Creche, as this time seemed to have arrived. I do not know the outcome of the meeting, but I assume that the Creche was handed over during that year. Whether Sr Mary Katherine’s health had deteriorated, and whether that influenced the decision, I do not know, but she died the following year, in July 1923 aged 51. Her death is registered in the Erpingham district of Norfolk, so she may have staying at the Home of Rest we owned in West Runton, which was in that district. Her work for the Creche, supporting the poorer families of Norwich, was important, and those last years, managing changing premises and the handing over of the Creche, may have been the most crucial of all. It is not easy to let go of work you have put your heart into, but how that is handled can often be vital to the future of the work.