St Joseph's College was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

minor seminary A minor seminary or high school seminary is a secondary day or boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming Priesthood (Catholic Church), Catholic priests. They are generally ...

in Mark Cross, outside

Rotherfield Rotherfield is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is one of the largest parishes in East Sussex. There are three villages in the parish: Rotherfield, Mark ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. It was designed by Edward Pugin and the site dates to 1869. It is a Grade II listed building.British listed buildings
retrieved 17 February 2014 It has been named by the

Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK charity and amenity society that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. As a statutory consultee, by l ...

as a heritage building at risk of disrepair.

St. Michael's Orphanage for Girls

It was originally known as ''St. Michael's Orphanage for Girls'' and was built in 1869. The exterior was designed by George Goldie and the interior was designed by E. W. Pugin. It was paid for by a donation from the Duchess of Leeds, wife 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 Osbor ...

. The site itself consisted of 54 acres of land and it was run by the

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

as part of a pair of orphanages, the other one being

Mayfield College Mayfield College is a defunct Roman Catholic boys' boarding school founded as the Holy Trinity Orphanage For Boys in 1865–1866 by the American-born Dowager Duchess of Leeds, Louisa Catherine Caton, one mile from Mayfield, East Sussex. The ma ...

. In 1903, it was extended to allow for more accommodation in the convent, the extension was designed by

Joseph Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal ''Building (magazine), The Builder'' i ...

St Joseph's College

In 1925, it was bought by the

Archdiocese of Southwark The Archdiocese of Southwark () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. It is led by the Archbishop of Southwark. The archdiocese is part of the Metropolitan Province of Southwark, which covers the South of England. Th ...

to serve as a minor seminary for St John's Seminary in Wonersh. In 1960, the building was extended to allow for six extra classrooms.

Post-seminary

Legat's School of Ballet

In 1970, it was closed and was bought by a group and it became the Legat's School of Ballet, founded by

Nadine Nicolaeva-Legat Nikolai Gustavovich Legat () (30 December 1869, in Moscow – 24 January 1937, in London) was a ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. Life and career Nikolai Legat was born to a family of Swedish origin, all of whom were dancers—h ...

Jameah Islameah School

In 1992, it was bought by a charity called Jameah Islameah. In 2006, it was raided by Metropolitan Police who believed it was being used as a training camp for terrorists.British 'terrorism training camp' is former Catholic junior seminary
from ''

Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly magazine, founded in 1888 and a sister organisation to the non-profit Catholic Herald Institute, based in New York. After 126 years as a weekly newspaper, it became a magazine ...

'' retrieved 17 February 2014 In 2007, it was closed by the Department for Education and Skills for failing standards. It did not have any pupils at the time.Terror alert school is shut down
from ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'' retrieved 17 February 2014

References