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St Joseph's Abbey (''The Abbey''), Storrington at 
It is an irregular five bay, two and three storey house built in 1871-2 by the Rev. George Faithfull in the Victorian Gothic style, reusing material from the 1621 rectory which was demolished at this time. In the 1880s it was the residence of Colonel Walter George Stirling, a baronet who had a pedigree herd of Jersey cattle. Successive tenants altered the house; in 1911 (semi-timbered work) and 1930 (brick range) when Colonel H. V. Ravenscroft added a billiard room and ballroom designed by John Leopold Denman.
In 1953 the house became a Dominican convent and boarding school. The school closed in 1999. Inside, the oldest part of the building has the former Dining Room (now Chapel) with good quality 19th- century linenfold panelling and frieze, plastered ceiling with strapwork ribs and stained glass windows. The Drawing Room has early 18th-century panelling and a fireplace with engaged columns; and the former Library (currently Meeting Room) has a 16th-century stone fireplace. There is an elaborate oak main staircase with turned
St Joseph's Abbey (''The Abbey''), Storrington at Storrington
Storrington is a small town in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. it has a population of around 4,60 ...
in Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, England, was originally a rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
, later a small country house and then a convent school.
It is an irregular five bay, two and three storey house built in 1871-2 by the Rev. George Faithfull in the Victorian Gothic style, reusing material from the 1621 rectory which was demolished at this time. In the 1880s it was the residence of Colonel Walter George Stirling, a baronet who had a pedigree herd of Jersey cattle. Successive tenants altered the house; in 1911 (semi-timbered work) and 1930 (brick range) when Colonel H. V. Ravenscroft added a billiard room and ballroom designed by John Leopold Denman.
In 1953 the house became a Dominican convent and boarding school. The school closed in 1999. Inside, the oldest part of the building has the former Dining Room (now Chapel) with good quality 19th- century linenfold panelling and frieze, plastered ceiling with strapwork ribs and stained glass windows. The Drawing Room has early 18th-century panelling and a fireplace with engaged columns; and the former Library (currently Meeting Room) has a 16th-century stone fireplace. There is an elaborate oak main staircase with turned balusters
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...
and a painted well staircase with turned balusters and chamfered square newel posts with ball finials.
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Storrington Country houses in West Sussex Convents in England