Mayfield School, previously St Leonards-Mayfield School, is an independent

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18. It is situated in the village of Mayfield in East Sussex. The current headmistress is Miss Antonia Beary. The school was founded by Mother

Cornelia Connelly Cornelia Connelly, SCHJ (née Cornelia Peacock; January 15, 1809 – April 18, 1879) was an American-born educator who was the foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, a Catholic religious institute. In 1846, she founded the first of man ...

, S.H.C.J., in 1872, with the oldest buildings dating from the 14th century.

History

Mayfield School has its origins in the Convent of the Holy Child Jesus school at

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...

. Mother

of the

Society of the Holy Child Jesus The Society of the Holy Child Jesus is an international community of Roman Catholic sisters founded in England in 1846 by Philadelphia-born Cornelia Connelly. History Born Cornelia Peacock in Philadelphia, she was raised a Presbyterian. In 183 ...

chanced upon the Old Palace at the idyllic village of Mayfield. At that time Louisa Caton, the Duchess of Leeds (widow of

Francis D'Arcy-Osborne, 7th Duke of Leeds Francis George Godolphin D'Arcy D'Arcy-Osborne, 7th Duke of Leeds (21 May 1798 – 4 May 1859), styled Earl of Danby from birth until 1799 and Marquess of Carmarthen from 1799 until 1838, was a British peer and politician. Early life Osborn ...

) had requested Mother Connelly to take her in as a nun. Despite her efforts Mother Connelly remained unimpressed. The Duchess then turned her attention to setting up orphanages. She purchased the Mayfield estate which included the Old Palace and presented it to the Society. On the morning of 18 November 1863 Mass was celebrated at Mayfield for the first time since the mid-16th century. The original school at St Leonards and the new school at Mayfield merged in 1953 to form the current school. The junior school was closed in 1975 and St Leonards-Mayfield thus became solely a senior school. In March 2015 the school changed its name to Mayfield School, but it retains its strong links with the SHCJ. The teachers are mostly lay staff but the nuns still maintain a strong presence as members of the Board of Governors and pastoral care staff.

Old Palace

The Old Palace was originally a holiday residence of the

Archbishops 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 ...

during the 14th and 15th centuries. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, it was handed over to

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

who gave it to several leading noblemen of his day.

Thomas Gresham Sir Thomas Gresham the Elder (; c. 151921 November 1579), was an English merchant and financier who acted on behalf of King Edward VI (1547–1553) and Edward's half-sisters, queens Mary I (1553–1558) and Elizabeth I (1558–1603). In 1565 G ...

lived there and

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

was among his guests at the Old Palace. It was bought by the Baker family, a prominent family in the

iron foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

industry. As the iron industry began to decline, so did the family's fortunes. The Old Palace became derelict and abandoned by the mid 18th century. It has since been designated a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building.

Location and facilities

The school is located within the village of Mayfield, less than 40 miles from the centre of London. At the heart of the school are the 14th century chapel built for the Archbishops of Canterbury and a concert hall designed by Sir

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and d ...

. The sports facilities include a new all-weather pitch, eight new all-weather tennis and netball courts, an indoor swimming pool and one of the largest outdoor riding arenas in the South East of England. The creative and performing arts are served by a music school, ceramics and arts studios and a dance hall. There is also a purpose built science block. There are four boarding houses at the school: Leeds House (named after the Duchess of Leeds who donated the Old Palace to the SHCJ), Connelly House (formerly known as St Gabriels), Gresham House and St Dunstans House providing boarding accommodation in individual rooms for the Sixth Form.

Links with other Holy Child schools

The

still runs a network of schools across its three provinces: Europe, Africa and America. Mayfield actively maintains and strengthens links with other Holy Child Schools. In 2010 children from the Cornelia Connelly School in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

visited Mayfield and the headmistress visited Holy Child College in

Ikoyi Ikoyi is the most affluent neighborhood of Lagos, located in Eti-Osa Local Government Area. It lies to the northeast of Obalende and adjoins Lagos Island to the west, and at the edge of the Lagos Lagoon. Popular with the extreme upper class res ...

, Nigeria.

Former pupils

Former pupils of Mayfield and her sister Holy Child Schools which are now closed are known as Old Cornelians, named after Mother Cornelia Connelly who founded the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. They include: *

Anouk Aimée Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus (born 27 April 1932), known professionally as Anouk Aimée () or Anouk, is a French film actress, who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years, she studi ...

Sophia Bennett Sophia Bennett (born 1966) is a British children's writer, author of several novels for young adults. Her debut novel ''Threads'', won the Times/Chicken House competition in 2009, and in 2017 ''Love Song'' won the Goldsboro Books Romantic Novel ...

Lindka Cierach Lindka Rosalind Wanda Cierach is a British couturier and fashion designer. Notable clients include members of British and European Royal Families, Helen Mirren, Lady Victoria Hervey and Cherie Blair among others. Early life Cierach was bor ...

Emily Craig Emily Craig (born 30 November 1992) is a British lightweight three-time world champion rower. Rowing career Craig was part of the British team that topped the medal table at the 2015 World Rowing Championships at Lac d'Aiguebelette in France, w ...

Alondra de la Parra Alondra de la Parra (born October 31, 1980) is a Mexican conductor. Biography De la Parra was born in New York City, the daughter of Manelick de la Parra, a writer and editor, and Graciela Borja, a sociologist and educator. Her father was a fil ...

Maeve Gilmore Maeve Patricia Mary Theresa Gilmore (14 June 19173 August 1983) was a British painter, sculptor and writer, and the wife of author Mervyn Peake. Early life Gilmore was born in 1917 and brought up in Brixton, south London, where her father, ...

Caroline Goodall Caroline Cruice Goodall (born 13 November 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. She was nominated for AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries ''Cassidy'', and the 1995 film ''Hotel Sorrento''. Her other film appearances include ' ...

* Dione Gordon-Finlay * Olivia Hetreed *

Judith Kazantzis Judith Elizabeth Kazantzis (''née'' Pakenham; 14 August 1940 – 18 September 2018) was a British poet and political and social activist. Life Kazantzis was born in Oxford and grew up in East Sussex, the fourth child and second daughter of th ...

Ann Leslie Dame Ann Elizabeth Mary Leslie, DBE (born 28 January 1941) is a British journalist who writes for the ''Daily Mail''. Education Leslie was born in Rawalpindi, British India (now in Pakistan), where she spent her early years, attending an Eng ...

Helena Little Helena Little (born 1960) is an English actress who is best known for playing Mary Tomlinson in ''Casualty'' and has also been in ''The Bill'', ''Boon'', ''Juliet Bravo'', '' Between the Lines'', ''A Touch of Frost'', ''Peak Practice'' and '' Dan ...

Clare McLaren-Throckmorton Elizabeth Clare McLaren-Throckmorton (née d'Abreu; 18 August 1935 – 31 October 2017), known professionally as Clare Tritton, QC, was a British barrister and descendant of the Throckmorton baronets. She was the tenant of the Throckmorton f ...

Folu Storms Ada Afoluwake Ogunkeye (born November 25, 1986) known professionally as Folu Storms, is a Nigerian radio host and presenter, actress, voice-over artist, and television host. Early life Storms was born in Aguda, Surulere, Lagos state. She att ...

References

External links

*
Profile
on the

ISC #REDIRECT ISC {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayfield School Private schools in East Sussex Boarding schools in East Sussex Girls' schools in East Sussex Catholic boarding schools in England Roman Catholic private schools in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Educational institutions established in 1872 1872 establishments in England Grade I listed buildings in East Sussex Grade I listed educational buildings

School A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...