Bar Convent Chapel, York

When Bar Convent was rebuilt in the 1760s, practicing the Catholic faith was still illegal in England. Thus the chapel was hidden from view and many of its features kept things covert. Inside the chapel is a lovely dome that is not visible from outside. The roof is high enough that pedestrians can't see it.

Bar Convent outside

Classical dome inside

The chapel has eight exits, allowing the congregation to scatter when a raid happened. The floor includes a priest hole where the celebrant could hide.

Chapel

Priest hole

The main altar was rebuilt in 1969 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the chapel and to accommodate the new style of Mass after Vatican II. From the original altar are the Pelican in her Piety (a statue showing a pelican feeding her young with her own blood, a simile to Christ's sacrifice) and the angelic heads.

Main altar

Pelican in her Piety

Above the altar are painted wooden figures of St. Jerome, Pope St. Gregory the Great, St. Augustine of Hippo, and St. Ambrose of Milan.

Four fathers of the church

A reliquary by the main altar has the hand of St. Margaret Clitherow, who was killed in 1586 for being Catholic. She had sheltered priests in her house and Mass was said there frequently. She was executed by putting a door on top of her and then 800 pounds of weights on top of the door, crushing her to death. Her body was thrown away by the authorities and recovered a week later by a Catholic. The hand was originally in the chapel's altar. In 1874 a special case was made for it.

Reliquary with St. Margaret Clitherow's hand

Statue of Margaret

The stations of the cross are from the early 1800s, crafted from mother of pearl in the Holy Land.

Stations of the Cross (click to enlarge)

The chapel also has some fine statues.

St. Michael the Archangel

St. Sebastian

St. Margaret

Bar Convent Museum, York

Since today (as I post) is the Feast of All Saints, here's the first part of my visit to a convent in York!

Bar Convent sits just outside the medieval walls of York. It opened in 1686 as a boarding school for Catholic girls even though practicing the Catholic Faith was legally forbidden at the time. The nun hid their identity and were known locally as "the Ladies of the Bar." It remained a school for 300 years but still has an active religious community, making it the oldest living convent in the United Kingdom. They now have a museum, gift shop, guest accommodations, meeting rooms, and a cafe.

Bar Convent, York

The museum tells what life was like during the recusant period from King Henry VIII to George III, when the Catholic faith was suppressed. The main display room includes a recusant altar. The Tudor headboard has a shelf that folds down for an altar and can be quickly folded up if and when the authorities make a raid. The bed could be rolled back in place and none would be the wiser.

Display/conference room

Recusant Altar

Display on martyrs John Fisher and Thomas More

 The original 1680 house key for the convent is also on display.

Convent key

On the stairs is a series of paintings depicting the life of Mary Ward, a Catholic pioneer in women's education and founder of a religious order, the Congregation of Jesus and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Mary Ward's life

The girls boarding at the school often did girlish things and this doll house is a toy modeled after the convent building.

Bar Convent Action Set

The museum includes a wide variety of art objects, original works and copies of other famous works, as well as some vestments and religious items.

15th century statue of the Madonna and Child

St. Cecelia statue copied from the one in the Roman catacombs

Liturgical items and dishes

Annunciation (sorry about the reflection)

Madonna and Child in the cafe

 The gardens are available for dining and provide a refuge from the busy city life.

Bar Convent garden

Tomorrow, the chapel!