Sisters not just doing it for themselves as nuns plan to put convent on the map

Sister Frances and Sister Mary rarely miss a trick.

We’re chatting over coffee in York’s Bar Convent about their ambitious plans to raise £2m to create a state-of-the-art tourist attraction. Also taking some refreshment are a Jane Austen study group who have taken over one of the convent’s conference rooms for the day.

“Have you given them a leaflet?” whispers Sister Mary, surveying the room for likely donors.

“Already spotted them,” replies Sister Frances, tapping a pile of promotional brochures.

It’s this kind of savvy approach which has seen the convent not only survive, but thrive when many thought the end was nigh. Originally attached to a Catholic girls school, the classrooms went in the 1980s under comprehensive reorganisation and so for a while did the nuns’ purpose.

“There was a need for a bigger school, but education had always been our focus,” says Sister Mary, whose link with the convent stretches far back. She was a pupil there in the 1950s before taking holy orders. “It did leave us with the question of what to do next.”

Dating back to 1687, it’s the oldest active convent in England and while the sisters were forced to do some soul searching, they felt a duty not only to preserve the buildings, but also ensure it remained a living, breathing space for the wider community.

“I don’t think the bishop at the time thought we stood much chance of success,” adds Sister Mary with a twinkle in her eye.

“But we had more belief. When we were a school, we were in some ways a little cut off from the city. Terms came and went, but when we no longer had to teach we realised it was an opportunity to put ourselves much more at the heart of the community.”

After seeking some professional advice, the nuns helped design a blueprint for the next chapter in the history of the convent which had already been used as a military hospital during the First World War and makeshift clinic long before the arrival of the NHS.

Today it not only boasts the café, but the rabbit warren of buildings is also home to a 19-room guesthouse, a series of conference rooms and a small museum dedicated to the order’s founder Mary Ward. The latter hasn’t changed much in 20 years and it is now the focus of the nuns’ most ambitious project to date.

“It is very dated and we’re also not sure we like the term museum,” says Sister Mary, a sprightly 72. “It makes us feel that we are being preserved in aspic. It’s part of the reason why were are describing it as a living heritage project.”

They first had the idea to bring the exhibition space into the 21st-century in 2009, but are game enough to admit that while they got so far with the plans they needed some professional input.

“We needed a fresh pair of eyes,” says Sister Frances. “We spend every day here and you do lose sight of what’s important.

“One of the architects did say he thought the entrance looked a bit like a working man’s club. As we talked it really changed our thinking about what was possible and what, if we can get the money together, we can achieve.”

They officially launched the fundraising drive earlier this month and thanks to a sizable donation from the order itself and many of the Friends of the Bar Convent dipping into their pockets they already have £340,000 in the coffers. However, they need more.

“We have always enjoyed great support from the wider community,” says Sister Frances, recounting a tale from the Second World War when the convent was hit in a bombing raid. “They were aiming for the railway, but missed their target. There was a story of how one young boy went running through the streets, crying out, ‘the nuns have been hit, the nuns have been hit’ and the community immediately turned out to help.”

It’s that kind of hospitality – always central to the order’s philosophy – that they have been keen to repay. However, even having God on your side doesn’t make the planning process any easier.

One aim is to increase awareness of the convent from the outside, but the kind of sign they want to erect may not meet regulations; neither may a ramp to improve disabled access.

“There’s a little to-ing and fro-ing,” says Sister Mary diplomatically. “We may not get everything we want, but we are determined to push along.”

Today there are just eight nuns working the Bar Convent. They are all over 60, but along with general manager James Foster they make a pretty formidable force, one convinced that Mary Ward’s story is not only worth telling, but has resonance far beyond the Catholic church.

Born in 1585 at Mulwith, near Ripon, she arrived into a world of religious intolerance. As the Reformation deepened, the persecution of “nonbelievers” was commonplace. For women, the situation was even worse and even within the Catholic church they were deemed both weak and fickle. Undeterred, Mary founded a religious order and then set out to spread her message across Europe. With twists and turns worthy of Hollywood, she crossed the Alps several times on foot, was described as a heretic and imprisoned by the Inquisition.

When she finally returned to England she took to disguising herself as a peasant, travelling around the country giving girls a Catholic education.

It certainly sounds like it has the makings of a tourist attraction and the nuns hope it might also benefit an entire area of York. The convent is just a short stroll from Micklegate which has long been in need of regeneration. While the pubs have thrived thanks to stag and hen dos, many of the shops and businesses have struggled.

“We know that York already has a lot of big attractions,” adds Sister Mary. “But the convent is not only a part of the city’s history, but it also has an international reach.”

If the success of their previous ventures are anything to go by, the Mary Ward experience should be a done deal. Reviews on TripAdvisor for the bed and breakfast are overwhelmingly good and one café regular described the full breakfast as “better than Bettys”. The nuns admit it’s not always been a smooth run.

Early on, they decided to turn a corner of the convent over to a youth group. It turned out there wasn’t enough space for those who turned up and some began amusing themselves by pouring water out of the windows on the bus stop queue below.

Then there was the diplomatic incident in 1995 when the nuns decided to open their doors to a group of refugees from Bosnia Herzegovina. The civil war had just come to a bloody end and the sisters’ plan – to house 25 Muslim children – seemed a fine one. Unfortunately, there were no checks the other end and those who found themselves on their way to York were the ones who scrambled on the plane first.

The convent ended up with three Muslim mothers, each with two children, and a tall good-looking man, who claimed he was 16, but looked significantly older. The rest of the party was made up of Croatian youngsters.

“The civil war continued in York,” says Sister Mary. “Let’s just say we’ve been on a steep learning curve over the last 25 years.”

One constant, however, has always been the convent chapel, a hidden gem, which neatly illustrates the problem the nuns face. It boasts an impressive domed ceiling, but from the street there’s no hint of the architectural treasure inside.

“When the convent began, Catholicism was illegal and they had to disguise what went on here. A few hundred years on and we still suffer a little from that mentality,” says Sister Mary as she points out the small wooden shrine which houses relics of York martyr Margaret Clitherow. “Those relics are a big draw for our New York branch. Whenever any of them come here it’s the one thing they want to see.”

“Now there’s a thought,” says Sister Frances.

“We really should drop them a line, they’ve always been very supportive in the past.”

Expect a couple of those brochures to be winging their way across the Atlantic as we speak.

Legacy of Mary Ward

The Bar Convent in York has been home to members of the Congregation of Jesus Community for more than 300 years.

It was one of two orders founded by Mary Ward, who the nuns hope to celebrate in a new tourist attraction.

The convent itself was established in the 17th-century by Frances Bedingfield and over the years it has been a refuge for priests fleeing the French Revolution and during the First World War it provided safe haven for a group of Belgian nuns.

During the Second World War five of the sisters died when the convent was bombed.

To find out more about the Bar Convent plans go to www.livingheritageproject.org.uk