Mayfield

Mayfield Convent and School was built from the ruins of an ancient palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury. The historic site was probably brought to the attention of Cornelia and her sisters by the SHCJ's most significant benefactor, the Duchess of Leeds, who like Cornelia was also American woman possessing an independent spirit. In the Spring of 1863, the SHCJ school at St Leonards-on-Sea chose to visit the Palace ruins on their Whitsuntide picnic. They were accompanied by Fr Searle, the Duchess' chaplain.

Eventually, the Duchess purchased and offered the site to the SHCJ. Developing the ruins for the Society’s use as a convent and school 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 SHCJ's motherhouse, a headquarters of the Society in which its work in education in Europe and America was centred. The convent held this status until 1923 when a motherhouse was established in Rome. 

As the numbers of pupils grew and the school adjusted to meet the wants of the age, new buildings expanded the capacity of the school and convent, which served as an SHCJ Infirmary for invalided sisters until the Harrogate Convent took on this role exclusively in the late 1990s. Sr Nesta Fitzgerald Lombard of the Mayfield Community was a qualified architect and drew up plans for additions and alterations to the site made from 1960s to 1980s. These additions became crucial when in 1976, the junior school at St Leonards was moved to Mayfield to form the St Leonards-Mayfield School.

Mayfield continued as the European Province’s novitiate until the 1990s. An SHCJ community has been based at Mayfield from 1865 to 2024. Today the school is managed independently of the Society but maintains strong links with the SHCJ sisters and is a member of the SHCJ Network of Schools.