The Nunnery at Hammersmith

Please join us for a talk about new research into the extraordinary history of our site on Hammersmith Road from 1669 to the present day. A tale that involves the Catholic wives of Protestant Kings supporting a clandestine convent at a time when it was illegal to be Catholic.

Links from the Gunpowder Plot to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution; and to the extraordinary fortitude of the nuns who lived and worked here with occasional spells in gaol, the threat of execution and even an armed raid by militia. What actually happened when France seized the property of religious orders at the beginning of the twentieth century; the legacy of Mabel Digby and a new discovery!

With drinks afterwards and an opportunity to see our Grade II* chapel and cloisters (normally inaccessible to the public) including 130m of wall painting of the Life of Christ. Some historical artefacts will also be on display.