Nostalgia: The history of beloved at-risk monastery

The Monastery in Berry Road has been in the news recently as decisions are made on its future, however the history of the building is also worth looking at. 

Since the Marist Order left the Monastery in  1984 the building has been used in several ways. Hopefully a use may be found for it in the future but the state of disrepair may make this difficult. The position of the building at the top of a steep hill can also make access hard for some people.

The story of the Monastery and the people associated with it makes interesting reading.  It has had a profound effect on catholic worship and on education in Paignton over many years.

In 1881 a Catholic priest Father Pimore, wanting to provide a place of worship for Catholics in Paignton identified Quarry House as a suitable building to convert. It was felt that the current owner of the house was unlikely to sell to a catholic and the purchase was conducted on his behalf by a third party. Once purchased Fr Pimore set about making the changes to the building in order for it to become a place of worship. From the mid-1880s the monastery was home to hundreds of students on their way to the priesthood.  By the turn of the century the numbers had dwindled and by the start of the first world war the monastery existed by selling produce from its extensive gardens and by letting rooms.

Catholics continued to worship there but the steep access made it difficult for some people to attend. In 1896 a new priest recognising the problem, purchased the redundant Baptist Chapel at the foot of St Mary’s Hill and in 1898 opened the Church under the name of the Little Sacred Heart.  Catholics continued to worship there until the 1920s  By then the population of Paignton had grown and the building was too small.  In 1924 land in Spratt Lane (now Cecil Road) was purchased and a new church built which opened in 1931.

The Marist priests continued to use the Monastery as a Seminary training men for the priesthood until 1971. In 1984 the Marist priests finally left the monastery.

The Marist Order was founded in France with a particular interest in the education of young people. During their time at the Monastery various priests had an influence on the schooling of young children in Paignton. In 1893 Emily Parkinson opened her catholic school in Winner Street, a devout catholic, she always refused to take a salary, numbers expanded and the school moved to her home in Kirkham Street. The local priest Father Buckley took a great interest in the school and realised that a purpose-built school was needed.  Together with Miss Parkinson they identified a site at the junction of Well Street and Oldway Road and a school was built, opening in 1886  Miss Parkinson continued to teach there until 1900 when poor health caused her to retire. However a small group of Marist sisters arrived and took over the teaching at the school.  By 1930s this school was too small and a new school was built next to the Catholic church in Cecil Road, which is still thriving today,  The Marist Sisters continued to teach in various venues around the town and eventually bought Tower House in Mabel Place.  From there they opened the Marist Convent school in Fisher Street.  Unlike the school in Cecil Road this was a fee-paying school and for many years was considered the best in the area catering for both day girls and boarders. However in 1982 due to falling numbers the school in Fisher Street closed

Whatever happens to the monastery now, it will be remembered as having a profound influence on life and education in Paignton.  

October has been a busy month so far for the Heritage Society.  On the 4th we held our annual open day which was very well attended.  Our MP Steve Darling visited with his lovely guide dog Jenny.  Steve has been a valued supporter of the society and we are grateful to him for his interest.  We were delighted to have Kevin Dixon with us, his extensive knowledge of the history of the area was appreciated by many of our visitors.

We had an interesting visit from the experts from English Heritage,  discussing the history of Kirkham House and the plans for the future of the property.  We learnt the story behind the furniture in the house which is something we will be adding to our guided tours next year.

Last week we were delighted to host a party of German visitors from Hamlin. They were treated to a guided tour of Kirkham House and a visit to the Clink and the Bishop’s Tower.  We were all relieved that they spoke excellent English as none of the guides spoke German.

Our next meeting on 20th November at Gerston Chapel Torquay features a talk by Paul Hawthorne on the lost pictures of Oldway. This sounds fascinating and more details will be available next week

Talk starts at 7pm Entry £5 (£4 for members of PHS) includes tea/coffee