Laleham Abbey 1947 1952

A Memory of Laleham.

My sister Catherine and I attended Laleham Abbey from 1947-1952. Sister Margaret Rose was the Head and Sister Catherine Mechtilde her Deputy. We were sent away to boarding school after various entrance exams to day schools. My mother had died in 1944 and my father remarried in 1945. It was a strange time. I was 10 - my sister (stepsister actually) was 11. We lived the life the nuns lived - feast days and fasting days! The routine of the daily life was hard - there seemed always to be a chronic shortage of food for hungry girls. We enjoyed the lessons - English was inspiring under Sister Catherine Mechtilde and we could do extras - I did ballet for a while - a lay teacher came in - and then music. There was also horseriding. Summers at Laleham were lovely - by the river and we watched the punters practising for competitions on summer days when we were out on school walks - which were the only times we actually got out. There was literally no contact with the "outside world" - no radio - old newspapers occasionally and one letter from home per week with one "visiting day" per term. We did get very homesick at times especially in the very cold winters when there was inadequate heating and we all got chilblains.
We slept in the dormitory at first and then moved "over the bridge" literally a bridge leading to another long room cubicled off. Eventually we were moved to the top class accommodation which was little rooms with a bed and chest of drawers and nothing else.
When my younger sister joined the school - the Nuns decided we could all sleep in one room over in The Abbey itself next door to the head girl who was also there - Gilliam Yarham. This was only for one year as the experiment wasn't really working having us all in one room. I couldn't sleep much because of the Abbey clock booming out every half hour.
I do remember the senna tea - I used to drink mine as I quite liked it! Sister Pringle who was the sister of one of the nuns was the Sick Bay nurse and dished out various gruesome remedies. It was best not to be ill.
People who were there when I was there were: Michele Tooth, Verity Bargate, Patsy Gentry, Bridget Baverstock-Moran, Susan Hiddlestone, Monica Wareham, Jean B, and many others I can't recall at the moment. My name was Garnham then. Sister Marianna was the music teacher - a very good pianist. Sister Constancia was the maths teacher - she and I never understood each other. We were confirmed while at school and made our First Communion. The Priest was Father Joblin and we had to go to him for confession once a week...no comment!
Reverend Mother was a friend of Princess Marie Louise - grandaughter of Queen Victoria - and she was our patroness and came each summer to a specially organised concert and Prizegiving in her and parents' honour. Some of my memories of school are happy but it was a hard time really - austerity being the word and we really did live the life the nuns lived while we were there. I owe my love of English and subsequent interest in religion and theology to the school but I don't think it achieved the desired "independence" the parents hoped it would. I think it encouraged us to become more institutionalised as we never got outside the convent walls except once a term.