Holy Cross Priory, Cross-in-Hand, is a priory of the Benedictine Sisters of Grace and Compassion which provides homes for the elderly. It was established in 1964 at a large

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

previously known as Possingworth Park, which was renamed as Holy Cross Priory. It now provides

supported living Supported living or supportive living refers to a range of services and community living arrangements (CLAs) designed with individuals with disabilities and their families to support disabled citizens to attain or retain their independence (see ind ...

and a residential care home.

The manor

In the Middle Ages the manor of Possingworth was within the Forest of Anderida. Between 1334 and the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1556 the manor belonged to Robertsbridge Abbey. It was then sold, and in 1635 Sir Humphrey Offley was the first to build a manor house at Possingworth. This survives less than a mile from the present house.History of Holy Cross Priory
holycrosspriory.co.uk, accessed 31 July 2021 In 1864, the manor of Possingworth was sold to Louis Huth, a merchant banker.

History of the house

Huth built a new country house at Possingworth, designed by Matthew Digby Wyatt at a cost of £60,000, which was completed in 1866. Ornate neo-Gothic, U-shaped, it is built of red brick and

York stone Yorkstone or York stone is a variety of sandstone, specifically from quarries in Yorkshire that have been worked since the Middle Ages, middle ages. Yorkstone is a tight grained, Carboniferous sedimentary rock. The stone consists of quartz, m ...

, with a slate roof. As built, the new house had several oak-panelled reception rooms, including a large picture gallery for Huth's art collection, 42 bedrooms, and a conservatory. Huth employed

Robert Marnock Robert Marnock (1800–1889) was one of the outstanding English horticulturalists and garden designers of the 19th century. He was considered by his contemporaries to be the best exponent of the Gardenesque school of landscape gardening. Life Bef ...

to lay out the park and garden. Possingworth Park was used as a convalescent home for soldiers during the First World War. In the 1920s, it became the Possingworth Park Hotel, and in the Second World War was used by the Canadian Army. In 1944, two V-1 flying bombs landed in the grounds and the impact from one of them destroyed the conservatory, called the Winter Garden. Beginning in 1946, much of the grounds of the Possingworth Park Hotel were built on. In the 1950s the main house and its garden were bought by

Augustinian monks Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo *Canons Regular of Saint ...

for a training school for the priesthood. In 1964 it was sold to House of Hospitality Ltd, for the use of the Benedictine Sisters of Grace and Compassion. They renamed the property as Holy Cross Priory and created a home for the elderly. House of Hospitality Ltd was a charitable organization registered with the Charity Commissioners. Its stated objects were “to alleviate need and distress amongst persons of both sexes (especially Roman Catholics) by providing homes, nursing and medical treatment; and to establish, equip, staff and maintain schools for the education of persons of both sexes (especially Roman Catholics)”.

Present day

Now providing supported living, with nursing care when needed, Holy Cross Priory has a separate care home in its grounds, providing long-term and short-term nursing care and respite care, inspired by the ethos of the Sisters of Grace and Compassion, who continue to own the property.

Notable residents

Mairin Mitchell (1895–1986), a Roman Catholic author, spent her final years living at Holy Cross Priory.“MITCHELL Mairin Marian of Room 19 Holy Cross Priory Cross-in-Hand E Sx died 5 October 1986” in ''Wills and Administrations 1987 (England and Wales)''
p. 5429
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Notes

{{coord missing, East Sussex Buildings and structures in East Sussex Gothic Revival architecture in East Sussex Benedictine nunneries in England