IN THE LAP OF LUXURY: The Sisters of Notre Dame marked their jubilee year, commemorating 150 years of their British foundation, by returning to the site of their original convent, Ashdown Park, last month. The convent, situated in East Sussex, has had a major facelift since the Order left it in 1960 for a new home in London: Ashdown Park is now an award-winning country house hotel. More than
200 guests from all over Britain joined the nuns on 18 April at a reception, buffet lunch and liturgy where a commemorative plaque was presented to the sisters by the Hotel General Manager, Graeme Bateman.
Said Sr Patricia Short: "Sr Joan Brown and I have had the good fortune to make several visits to Ashdown Park Hotel in preparation for the 150th Jubilee Pilgrimage and on each occasion we have been made most welcome. I am most impressed by the sympathetic transformation from novitiate to deluxe hotel."
As part of the 1 million "sympathetic transformation" at Ashdown Park, the Church of Our Lady and St Richard, built in 1922 and boasting stained glass windows by Irish artist Harry Clarke, has now been restored to its full glory.