Whitstable
In 1899, on the advice of the Bishop of
Southwark, Canon St John asked for some Sisters from Bermondsey to take charge
of an Industrial School for Junior boys needing care and
protection. Whitstable was suggested as
a suitable location, and from there boys at the age of 10 years who still
needed care, could transfer to St Vincent’s in Dartford
which was under the jurisdiction of the Presentation Brothers.
Reverend Mother M Camillus Dempsey assented on
behalf of the Community and appointed Sr M Clare J. O’Brien as Superior of the group of
Sisters who established the school (for 40 boys) in a rented house on the sea
front, and dedicated it to Sr Joseph. At
that time, there was no church in Whitstable, so the Community had Mass only on
Sunday, when a Passionist Priest from Herne Bay
came to celebrate and give Benediction.
Lack of space and the many other inconveniences paled into
insignificance when compared with this deprivation.
A new school, dedicated to St
Vincent, was opened in 1902, in Castle Road and provided accommodation
for sixty boys and, for the next three years, for the Sisters. In 1905, the Community moved to the newly
built St Mary’s Convent and Private School, on land adjoining St
Vincent’s. At the same
time, the Foundation Stone of a new Church was laid on land donated by the
Community, the site being between St Mary’s and St Vincent’s. the Architect, who also helped with Finances,
was a brother of Mother M. Camillus.
From 1935, male teachers were employed under
the superintendence of the Sisters, as the boys no longer transferred to Dartford at the age of 10. Ten years later, the school which was now an
Approved School for boys sent by the courts, was handed over to the Southwark
Rescue Society (later to become the Children’s Society), the Home Office
bearing financial responsibility. Home
Office policy relating to Approved Schools changed, so a gradual phasing out of
St Vincent’s began in 1973; from 1978-1986, it was run as a Boarding School for
boys with special needs, but drastic cutbacks on the part of the LEA forced its
closure. Since 1986, it has been used as
the Southwark Youth Centre.
St Mary’s has been used as a Holiday House over
the years – for Sisters in the Bermondsey group of convents and the children
from Croydon – and has provided a pleasant Retreat Centre for Bermondsey
Sisters. In 1931, an extension was added
to St Mary’s and post-war years brought a complete reorganisation in that the
original buildings became a Primary School under Kent Education Authority,
while a new Convent was built between the School and the Church.
As a former Branch House of Bermondsey,
Whitstable has, since 1983, been a unit within the Institute of Our Lady of
Mercy and, since 1985, of Mercia
Province.
