Agnes Mason (10 August 1849 – 19 December 1941) was a British nun, notable as the founder of a religious order of the Anglican Communion, the

Community of the Holy Family The Community of the Holy Family (CHF) is an Anglican religious order of nuns, originally founded in the Church of England, but now active in Italy and the United States. History In England In origin, the community was formed of well educated you ...

Family and education

Mason was born in

Laugharne Laugharne ( cy, Talacharn) is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tâf. The ancient borough of Laugharne Township ( cy, Treflan Lacharn) with its Corporation and Charter is a unique survival i ...

, Wales in 1849. She was the daughter of George William and Marianne Mason of

Morton Hall Morton Hall is a small village in the civil parish of Swinderby , in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated south-west from the City of Lincoln, and is centrally located between the nearby larger villages of Swind ...

in Nottinghamshire. Her brother

Arthur James Mason Arthur James Mason (4 May 1851 – 24 April 1928) was an English clergyman, theologian and classical scholar. He was Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. ...

was to be a Professor at Cambridge and her sister Harriet was a

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

inspector and

botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

. Another brother, George Edward Mason, was rector at Whitwell, Derbyshire, and later principal of a theological college in the Transkei (now

College of the Transfiguration The College of the Transfiguration in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, is the only provincial residential college of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, offering a contextual approach to theology studies. The college opened in 1993, following the amal ...

in South Africa). Mason spent some years educating Edward before, in 1883, she went to

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

to read moral sciences.

Career

After gaining her degree she lectured at

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

The Porch Holmhurst St Mary by Augustus Hare

From 1892 to 1895 she worked at the Guild of the Epiphany. She started the Anglican

with the help of several supporters. The purpose of the community was to improve women's education. Her supporters were

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his electio ...

;

Walter Frere Walter Howard Frere (23 November 1863 – 2 April 1938) was a co-founder of the Anglican religious order the Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield, and Bishop of Truro (1923–1935). Biography Frere was born in Cambridge, England, on 23 Nov ...

Bishop of Truro The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury. History There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Crediton ...

; William Collins, Bishop of Gibraltar; George Congreve of the

Society of St John the Evangelist The Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) is an Anglican religious order for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make monastic vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford, En ...

; Charles Lindley Wood, 2nd Viscount Halifax, president of the

English Church Union The Church Union is an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Church of England. The organisation was founded as the Church of England Protection Society on 12 May 1859 to challenge the authority of the English civil courts to determine questio ...

; and the Roman Catholic theologian Baron von Hügel.

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early life T ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, was another of her supporters and he used his authority to establish her as the

Mother Superior An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of this new group. The community remained small but it did establish teaching locations in London, St Leonards-on-Sea, Leeds, and Cambridge, and in India at All Saints' College,

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

. In 1913 it obtained its headquarters, or mother house, at Holmhurst St Mary, St Leonards. This was a house once owned by

Augustus Hare Augustus John Cuthbert Hare (13 March 1834 – 22 January 1903) was an English writer and raconteur. Early life He was the youngest son of Francis George Hare of Herstmonceux, East Sussex, and Gresford, Flintshire, Wales, and nephew of ...

and it had been extended using the profits from his writing.Augustus Hare and Holmhurst
Umilta.net, Retrieved 13 November 2016 Mason died at Holmhurst St Mary on 19 December 1941.Julia Bolton Holloway, ‘Mason, (Frances) Agnes (1849–1941)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 12 Nov 2016
/ref>

Works

In 1909 Mason published '' Saint Theresa: The History of Her Foundations'', which she had translated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Agnes 1849 births 1941 deaths 20th-century British Anglican nuns 20th-century British women writers Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge People from Laugharne