St. Agnes' Home Sister of Charity, Knowle, Bristol.

[Matt R]

Hello all,

I have recently obtained a probate for my 4x gt aunt, Louisa Fox previously Anderson and Brandt, nee Wertheim. She died in 1923 in Totterdown Bristol. In her will, she devises that a sum of £300 be left to "St. Agnes Home called the House of Charity Knowle".

What is rather unusual I find is that Louisa's sister, who dies five years later, also leaves her residue items to the same place.

My main concern is why this would be; that two sisters would leave money (and a considerable amount at that) when they were raised by an Anglican mother and a Jewish father who appears not to have brought them with his Jewish faith. Does anybody know if the Sisters of Charity house was a convent for Catholic women? The association has me rather taken aback and I am trying to figure it out. If anyone knows anything about this building, I'd love to hear from you.

I have so far found this online: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/6487308955/

It is nagging at me because these two sisters did have another who I have never managed to find. It is a real long-shot but it might be possible she was in St. Agnes' Home and changed her name?

If anyone could help, I would appreciate it because I am struggling with this one.

Cheers,

Matt.

[JenB]

St Agnes Home and School for girls. Managed by Sisters of Charity est for training 40 girls who are either orphans or without good homes for dom Service nursing or business
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/Bristol_and_Somerset/2005-12/1133565031

[Matt R]

Hiya Jen,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I wonder whether the two sisters had a link to the Home i.e their other sister was there for some time, or perhaps due to it being somewhere obviously where young girls were instituted, were sympathetic to the cause.  On that note, neither Louisa or Rebecca had any children.

Thanks again, I'll see if I can contact St Saviour, a site still on St. Agnes Avenue.

Matt.

[Liz in France]

Hi Matt,

I knew the convent of St Agnes quite well as a child and was given a tour of the whole place when I was preparing for confirmation at the church of the Holy Nativity Totterdown, although in the end it took place at St Martins Church which I believe to be a sister church.

The convent was anglican as far as I know, why else would the sisters be associated with an anglican church.  I wasn't aware that there were children there but it was surrounded by a very high wall with a little gate in the one side, so who knows what went on there.  I was aware that there seemed to be a big laundry there so perhaps young women were trained in the finer arts of domestic duties.

I remember the sister that was helping with my confirmation preparation visiting me one afternoon and I asked if she would like a cup of tea, to which she replied, 'we are not allowed to accept charity for ourselves but I wouldn't  mind a look at the newspaper' which she duly did, catching up on the scanda, no doubt.

Hope you find the missing sister.

Best wishes,
Elizabeth

[Matt R]

Thanks Liz,

I do recall seeing that the adjacent school along with the House of Charity did "prepare" girls who may have been orphaned or victim of some other unfortunate circumstances to go out and perform domestic duties and be taken into service.

Perhaps the fact that louisa and Rebecca had no children is significant then. Perhaps they had taken in some of these girls and employed them in service. I do know that they certainly had the money to do so.

Fascinating, really...

Thanks for your insight

Regards,
Matt.

[lizb]

I lived near St Agnes when I was a child. It was an Anglican convent. During the 1950s they ran an orphanage.

The sisters were very much part of the community. SEveral were close friends of my grandmother and she went to services in the chapel there. I visited with her.

In the 1960s they also had a farm shop and my mum bought produce there. They also ran a laundry and my sister had a weekend job helping there.

I visited a couple of years ago and enjoyed a tour of the beautiful chapels and grounds. The original sisters are no longer there. Numbers declined and they went to another convent on the South Coast. It is now leased to another Christian Order.

Lizb

[richard40]

Our Mother died recently aged 93 yrs, we since found out she spent time at St Agnes Bristol. the story is, she was an employee of Tillets Laundry in East London and had been sent to train someone there in the use of a new machine, our problem is, was this the real reason as mother would have been very young herself. she was married in 1939 just after her 21st birthday. How can we find out details of her stay.
Any visit would have been from her leaving school in 1933 to her meeting dad in 1938 making her between 14 and 18 yrs old, it seems a young age to be sent that distance from home to teach, especially as she worked for a Laundry not a supplier of the machines in question, this was never mentioned to us but came to light from another source.
Any knowledge of this place would be much appreciated, also any advice on obtaining records of Mothers time there.

[lizb]

When I visited society living there were very helpful. One of the sisters gave us a tour round and told us about the history. And wealso talked to the father in charge and another gentleman who knew about the history.

So I would suggest writing or phoning them. The contact details are on the Internet
Society of St Pious X, Saint Saviours House, St Agnes Avenue, Knowle, Bristol, BS4 2DU. tel 0117 977 5863

[richard40]

Thank you Lizb for your information.