More from our tour of some of the interesting locations opened as part of York Residents Weekend, this shot showing a secret church.
In 1559, Queen Elizabeth 1 banned the Catholic Mass, and this began a period of 232 years of persecution, sometimes very intense, and at other times very mild.
In York, what is now known as the Bar Convent was founded in secret during this period, along with a school. It is the oldest surviving Catholic convent in England, being established in 1686.
During the 1760s, the property was rebuilt on a larger scale, and with the addition of a church - a remarkable achievement since it had to be built in secret.
This shot shows the altar and reredos of this church, with part of an impressive dome visible. The dome was built below a traditional pitched roof so that it wouldn't be seen from the street, and thus reveal the secret church.
The church was built with eight different routes in and out, to ensure that if the building was raided by the authorities, the worshippers would have a better chance of escape. There was also a priest hole where a priest could hide to avoid capture.
The fortunes of the Catholic church started to improve soon after. The passing of the First Catholic Repeal Act in 1778 made life easier for the Convent as it allowed them to practise legally and legalised Catholic schools. This led to a new climate of religious freedom within Britain that allowed the nuns to wear the religious habit for the first time since the creation of the Convent. The passing of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 in turn led to the Bar Convent being granted a licence to act as a public place of worship for the first time in its history.
Today the buildings, still run by the Catholic Church, have bed and breakfast accommodation, meeting rooms, a gift shop, café and museum exhibition about the Convent's history.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I was surprised to discover that the previous photos that I took at Bar Convent were taken in 2014. At that time the museum displays were rather different to today. The changes that have been made were just proposals then. The new displays make the rather long and complicated history much more understandable. The church too seems in better condition than it was then.
It is well worth reserving the last weekend in January each year for the Residents Festival. We have so many interesting museums, and this is a good chance to do a tour of some of them.
Thanks for posting and the details
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
I was surprised to discover that the previous photos that I took at Bar Convent were taken in 2014. At that time the museum displays were rather different to today. The changes that have been made were just proposals then. The new displays make the rather long and complicated history much more understandable. The church too seems in better condition than it was then.
Ian
It is well worth reserving the last weekend in January each year for the Residents Festival. We have so many interesting museums, and this is a good chance to do a tour of some of them.
Ian
Thank you both, I really enjoyed my visit.
Ian
Thank you Paul, it is a lovely church with a fascinating back story!
Ian