We have 1 Image Above Photograph(s)
Copyright of John Williams

Poor Clare Convent,
Convent Lane, GL5 5HS,
Woodchester, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

This Church had a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded in 1861, but we understand it was closed in 2011.

"Poor Clare" was a young Italian noblewoman, with a burning desire to follow in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi. She ran away from home to live under his guidance, at the church of San Damiano, where gradually she was joined by other women, also wanting to be "brides of Jesus". And so their Order was formed. Their abiding rule was they "should be allowed to live simply, without revenues, working for their living and relying on the gifts that people gave them". The Order was given papal approval two days before Clare's death in 1253.

The origins of the Poor Clares in England may be traced to 1619, when two English women fled to Belgium to escape religious persecution. They joined the Franciscan Friars in Brussells, and were later joined by others from England, seeking the freedom to follow their beliefs. The community survived in Belgium until the late 18th century, when revolutionary wars on the continent forced them to return to England. They settled first in Winchester, in 1794, and in 1808, moved to Taunton.

The Poor Clares Order in Woodchester was founded in 1860, when 16 volunteers from Taunton settled in an old farmhouse there. Their convent building, designed by Charles HANSOM, was built between 1861 and 1869, retaining the mid-17th century house at its core. It is set in 25 acres of ground, and now a Grade II Listed building. The chapel is at the south east end, on the upper floor, above the library and work rooms - see the British Listed Buildings website for more details.

There was still a full complement of 30 nuns in 1950, but by 2000 there were just 14. By 2010, when the convent celebrated its 150th year there were even fewer, and in 2011, the convent was closed.

It was said that the Order's presence would be sadly missed locally. Though an enclosed order, local people said that Woodchester Poor Clares did not shut themselves away from the outside world. The convent was well known for making altar breads and communion wafers for more that 200 churches and convents.

Until 1921 (1927?) it had an orphanage.

The graves of 10 orphans and nuns buried at the convent have been exhumed and moved to the nearby church.

Woodchester also had a Dominican priory until 1971.

The above information was compiled with the assistance of John Williams, and the former website of the Poor Clares of Woodchester (www.poorclare.co.uk).

There is a photograph of Convent of Poor Clares, Woodchester on the Geograph website.

Denomination

Now or formerly Roman Catholic (Convent).

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church was located at OS grid reference SO8392101362. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Poor Clare Convent, Woodchester shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Woodchester shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Woodchester, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Learn more about Buildings of special or historical interest on the British Listed Buildings (null) (verified 2018-09-19)
• You may like to see photograph(s) of Convent of Poor Clares, Woodchester on the Geograph website.

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.