La Sagesse School was a 3–18,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

for girls in Jesmond,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

, England. It was established in 1906 and closed in 2008. It occupied Jesmond Towers, a Grade II* listed building and was located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle.

History

Jesmond Towers was built to a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

design in the early nineteenth century. In 1869 it was bought by

Charles Mitchell Charles Mitchell may refer to: * Charles Mitchell (footballer), British soccer player * Charles Mitchell (academic) (born 1965), professor of law at University College, London * Charles Mitchell (American football) (born 1989), American football pl ...

and his wife, Anne, who made it their family home. Their son, who was a great art enthusiast, displayed important paintings in the lounge. In 1890, Anne's sister, Emily, who was in a state of depression following the death of her husband, threw herself from the battlements of Jesmond Towers and is said to haunt the building: she is referred to as the ''Pink Lady''. Following Anne Mitchell's death in 1899, her son, Charles William Mitchell, inherited the house and, following Charles William Mitchell's death in 1903, the Mitchell family moved to Pallinburn, near Ford, Northumberland. Jesmond Towers was acquired by the ''Filles de la Sagesse'' (''

Daughters of Wisdom , image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg , image_size = , caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945 , ...

'' in English) in 1912. The school established its own board of governors and rented the building from the ''Daughters of Wisdom''. However the school faced increasing competition from other local private schools (e.g. the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle) and when the ''Daughters of Wisdom'' decided to treble the rent in 2008, the Governors decided to close the school. In 2009,

Freddy Shepherd Freddy Shepherd (29 October 1941 – 25 September 2017) was an English businessman and the chairman of Newcastle United football club from 1997 until 2007. During his time at Newcastle, both as an active assistant to and later replacement of ...

Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

shareholder) acquired the site for development and in 2013, sold the house to Jeff Winn, a solicitor, who secured that part of the site as part of a joint purchase with David Wilson Homes.

Notable alumnae

Gillian Allnutt Gillian Allnutt (born 15 January 1949 in London) is an English poet, author of 9 collections and recipient of several prizes including the 2016 Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. Life Allnutt was born in London, but was educated at La Sagesse Schoo ...

, poet *

Jo Beall Jo Beall, (born 1952) is a British economist and academic, specialising in development studies, economic development and economic history. Early life and education Beall was born in 1952 in London, England. She was educated at La Sagesse School ...

, academic *

Joanna Pickering Joanna Pickering is a British-born actress and playwright. She is known for her Trilogy ''Truth, Lies and Deception'', her acting work in ''Pelleas'' starring alongside Alice Eve, and is represented by 3 Arts Entertainment. Early life Picker ...

, actress, writer, activist and model * Linden Travers, actress * Susan Williams, junior minister *

Denise Welch Jacqueline Denise Welch (born 22 May 1958) is an English actress, television personality, writer and broadcaster. Her roles include Natalie Barnes in ''Coronation Street'' (1997–2000), Steph Haydock in '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2010), and ...

, actress and television presenter

Notes

References

External links

*
Archive
{{authority control Defunct schools in Newcastle upon Tyne Defunct Catholic schools in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle Educational institutions established in 1906 1906 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 2008 2008 disestablishments in England