York: Exhibition at the Bar Convent

The Venerable Mary Ward

A state-of-the-art exhibition has just opened at the Bar Convent in York - England's oldest living convent, which was founded in 1686 as a school for girls and is still home to members of the Congregation of Jesus today.

The story of The Bar Convent begins with a secret. In 1686, a time of great danger for all Catholics in England, a woman named Frances Bedingfield purchased a small parcel of land just outside York's walls. She signed the deed under an alias. The ladies who then lived and worked beneath the building's dull slate roof wore slate-coloured gowns, and called themselves the 'Ladies of the Bar'.

Nobody knew the truth they concealed. For the early sisters of The Bar Convent, discovery meant punishment - and even death. Over the three centuries that followed, the Community were no strangers to strife. Their home has been at times a school, a hospital ward, a refuge and a bomb-site, emerging into the present day in its current guise: the Living Heritage Centre. Every corner of the building has a tale to tell.

Discover three hundred years of history and the remarkable people who have shaped it. Meet the radical Yorkshire nun and pioneer Mary Ward, whose devotion to her cause took her on foot across the Alps - twice. Learn about secrets and spies, angry mobs and Luftwaffe bombs. Hide yourself away inside a priest hole - then find out how to hide an entire chapel.

The Exhibition is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm

Adults: £4.50 Concessions (OAPs and Students): £3.50 Children (6-15): £2.00 Under-6s: Free
Family Tickets (two Adults and two Children): £10.00 Plus One Extra Child: £1
Educational visits booked in advance are free.

For more information see: www.bar-convent.org.uk/