Sisters of Sion Convent,
36, Chepstow Villas
History of the House
The Sisters of Sion came to the Bayswater area, at the request of Cardinal Manning in 1860, for the education of young girls. They were situated in houses close to the Church of St Mary of the Angels in Morehouse Road. The first house was in Westmoreland Place and then . moved to Colville Terrace and Powis Square, where they stayed for about twenty years, up to the early 1890's, when they moved to the Convent in Chepstow Villas.
As the number of students increased, it became clear that a larger property was needed to house the school and the sisters, including sleeping accommodation for those who wanted to be school boarders. So the search for a suitable site to build a new convent school began. Various permissions had to be obtained and money had to be raised, somehow.
Mother Judith, was the Superior at that time. It was through her hard work and persevering efforts that the majestic, red brick building, on the corner of Chepstow Villas and Denbigb Road was built between 1890 and 1892. Cardinal Henry Manning was very pleased to have the Sisters of Sion in the Bayswater area and just before he died wrote a very supportive letter to Mother Judith to sanction the building project of the new Convent and to give his backing for the raising of funds and added his own contribution.
The school was basically Catholic, however, all students of all faiths were welcomed to the school. So from the start, the Sisters of Sion were very ecumenical in their perception of Sion's mission. During the war, the school had to be evacuated to a house in the country for the safety of the children, so Acton Burnell House was purchased in Shropshire and in 1939, Sr. Alphonso and Sr. Edward organised the evacuation of the children and the sisters to Acton Burnell. In fact, a bomb did fall on the Convent building at Chepstow Villas and although there was some damage to the house, miraculously, the bomb did not explode. It stood by the statue of the child Jesus close to the side entrance of the school on Denbigh Road.During the war years the Convent building was used by the Army Vigilantes.
After the war, the school continued its works of education in London and in 1960 there were great Centenary celebrations to mark a hundred years since the Sisters of Sion came to England to make the first foundation in Bayswater. Within a few years more foundations were made in London and Worthing.