EVENT
York Catholic History Day 2026
The Diocese of Leeds will host the York Catholic History Day at the Bar Convent on Blossom Street, York, on Saturday 6 June. This year, the talks focus heavily on the Convent itself: its building, its contents, and the resources they provide.
The sisters purchased the Blossom Street property in 1686 to establish a boarding school. However, by the mid-eighteenth century, the school and convent had outgrown the premises, requiring major extensions and refurbishment. The community completed this work – which included adding the Georgian façade and building the ‘secret’ chapel – in 1769. The convent expanded the property further during the mid-nineteenth century.
Discover the key speakers and their subjects below:
Victoria Hopgood
Building the Bar Convent: the first 200 years (1686‒1886)
Matthew Read and Rachel Wicaksono
Henry Hindley: eighteenth century
Catholic maker of the Bar Convent clocks
Maddie Keighley-Phillips
Tracing Catholic Book Networks in the Bar Convent Library
Jon Chant
English Catholic Exile on the Iberian Peninsula: Studying the Books of the English College in Lisbon, 1622‒1834
COST: £20, Students £10. CASH ONLY please, includes tea and coffee but not lunch. Light lunches available in the restaurant, please phone 01904 464 910 to reserve a table (pre-booking advised).
This is an externally hosted event – for further information contact judith.smeaton@btinternet.com and for more details on the day visit here.