Combe Bank, Kent

Introduction to the Combe Bank Kent Collection of Archives

Mayfield Convent and School was built from the ruins of an ancient palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury. It is believed that Cornelia and her sisters were informed about this historic site by one of the SHCJ’s benefactors, the Duchess of Leeds. In the Spring of 1863 the SHCJ school at St Leonards-on-Sea chose to visit the Palace ruins on their Whitsuntide picnic.

Eventually, the Duchess of Leeds purchased and offered the site to the SHCJ. Developing the ruins for the Society’s use was a long, difficult and expensive undertaking with sisters travelling through Europe and as far as Canada to raise money for the project. In 1868 the first SHCJ novices arrived to establish the Novitiate there and in 1872 enough building work had been completed to enable the first pupils to arrive.

In 1881 Mayfield became the centre of the SHCJ, the Motherhouse, until this was moved to a house in Rome in 1924. It continued as the European Province’s novitiate until the 1990s. Today the school is managed independently of the Society but maintains strong links with the SHCJ sisters while a small community remain in the local area.