History Pantasaph

st clares court

once abbey land belonging nearby basingwerk abbey, pantasaph came possession of pennant family @ dissolution of monasteries. land passed down in family until 1846, when sole heiress louisa married rudolph, viscount feilding, heir 7th earl of denbigh. both converted roman catholicism , decided donate st david s church, had built village, roman catholic church. caused considerably outcry @ time. accepted friars minor capuchin of great britain mother house , opened in 1852. church designed t h wyatt , modified, make more suited catholic use, augustus pugin, designed high altar, pulpit, baptismal font, reredos in lady chapel , statue of madonna , child. altar, reredos , statue had been exhibited in mediaeval court @ great exhibition of 1851. pulpit removed , destroyed during post-vatican ii re-ordering in 1960s. graveyard holds remains of 3 british soldiers shot cowardice during world war i.

the village location of former st clare s convent included boarding school, hospital , orphanage. built father seraphin of bruges, brought first group of sisters in 1861. closed in 1977, having @ peak housed 500 orphans. site lay derelict number of years , damaged fire in 1985, has since been partly demolished , remainder restored luxury accommodation. designated conservation area.

the poet francis thompson spent time recovering illness @ pantasaph in 1890s, lodging in house beside friary gates, @ post office , @ crecas cottage between pantasaph , carmel.