Mayfield Papers

This flyer advertises the sale of 'the beautiful ruins of the Palace of Mayfield, the ancient seat of the archbishops of Canterbury'. It tells us the exact size of the parcel of land: 245 acres, 2 roods and 4 perches as well as the names of two tenants living there, Mr George Groombridge and Mr George Gaston. After the Duchess of Leeds purchased the site, she offered it to the Jesuits, the Benedictines and Bishop of Southwark, Thomas Grant, but all declined taking on such a project. Despite earlier advice to Cornelia to give up any idea of obtaining it, Grant 'most unexpectedly' suggested to the Duchess that the SHCJ should be given the Old Palace ruins and farm. 

This sketch was drawn by St Leonards-on-Sea pupil Cecilia (Cissie) Bellasis. It shows the party of sisters and pupils who, along with Revd Fr Searle, picnicked at the ruins of Mayfield Old Palace on Whitsuntide. It was the first time the sisters of the SHCJ had encountered the picturesque ruin, which had once been an archbishop's palace and which would become their school.

This memorandum was written by Lady Derby after being shown Mayfield Palace on 21st March 1896. As a girl aged 10 she had visited Mayfield when it was still only a ruin in 1834 with none other than Princess Victoria, the future Queen. The text includes a extract from the diary she kept at the time  recalling luncheon at Mayfield and a walk around the ruins before all left for the Tunbridge Wells on horseback, which created 'clouds of dust. I was nearly smothered'. She also recalled dining with the Duchess and Princess 'the first time I had ever dined out'. After her tour of the school in 1896, Lady Derby was 'struck by the manner in which the ruins had been adapted to so admirable an institution'. 

This plan is one of 50 made for constructions and restorations of the Mayfield buildings by Sr Nesta Fitzgerald-Lombard (Mother Maria Lorenzo), including 16 major works. Sr Nesta qualified as an architect in the late 1930s when the field was dominated by men. She was also a gifted teacher of Maths whose enthusiasm and kindness was warmly remembered by the girls she taught. The alterations shown in this plan involved sacrificing a section of the convent in order to provide boarding accommodation and free up classroom space for additional pupils.