Devon House of Mercy

[DavidJMa]

Wow - so good to hear about 'Devon House' and the Sisters of (no) Mercy. I was born there in 1955 as were my 3 sisters. We had an apartment which included 'The Nursery' where us 4 kids slept. My mum who suffered in the Blitz was a no-nonsense brave person. But the young ladies with their babies that we thought were just mum's friends - were obviously not. We left and returned to London suddenly when I was 5. As adults, we know why - at age 18 my mum told me all the stories that she couldn't tell us when were kids. I think it was a monastery before it became the 'Home For Wayward Girls' If anyone can confirm that I would be interested to hear. It would explain some of the experiences mum had when she was there. Thanks

[StintonLomas]

Hi
According to  this it was a new build specifically for them.
http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/DevonMercy/?LMCL=GwOg7e


Edit
There was previously a Monastery in Bovey T decommissioned during the Henry VIII dissolution.
https://www.solosophie.com/cromwells-arch-bovey-tracey-history/

[DavidJMa]

Thank you, Stinton. Mum was perhaps mistaken but I recall her talking about a monastery in Bovey. this perhaps explains it.

[slightlyfoxed]

Bovey Tracey 1870
Very similar to the Roman Catholic church in Ireland where the nuns of the infamous Magdelen laundries  exploited young girls
The DEVON HOUSE OF MERCY, for reclaiming 'fallen women', was established here in 1861, and was formally opened in a temporary residence in 1863; the foundation stone of the present building was laid by the Earl of Devon in 1865; it contains accommodation for 72 inmates, and is supported by voluntary contributions; the members of the Clewsisterhood have the management of it.
Devon House of Mercy for Reception of Fallen Women - The Bishop of Exeter, visitor; the Hon. And

Devon House of Mercy Frances Billinge 2019
The Devon House of Mercy in Bovey Tracey was a sisterhood of Anglicans of the order of the Sisters of Mercy of the Community of St John the Baptist, whose mother house was at Clewer, Windsor. They established a home for abused women, at that time called fallen women, which started at Chapple in Bovey Tracey in 1863 and then moved to prestigious new premises near the parish church in 1868. (Fig.1) The sisterhood came to Bovey Tacey at the invitation of the local vicar, The Hon. Rev. Charles Leslie Courtenay. Courtenay was the brother of the Earl of Devon and was a Canon of Windsor. He supported high church ritual which at the time was called Tractarianism.  This sisterhood continued in Bovey Tracey until the end of 1939. The building has now become flats

 https://boveytraceyhistory.org.uk/devon-house-of-mercy/[/u][/u]
 
Rev. C.L. Courtenay, warden: Rev. F. Ensor, hon. Secretary
1902 entry Devon House of Mercy, The Bishop of Exeter, visitor ; the Archdeacon of Barnstaple, warden ; Rev. Charles- John Penrice B.A. sub-warden ; Rev. Prebendary Harry- Tudor M.A. hon. sec. ; Henry T. Ferguson esq. & E. Harding esq.
2009   Investigations into Abuse by RC Church institutions run by priests and nuns -includes Sisters of Mercy,