Swaffham Newsletter

Sacred Heart Convent
The Daughter of Divine Charity have been in Swaffham
for 106 years and served the townsfolk and been a
centre of prayer as well as an educational establishment
for young people. Now change is ahead. The main part
of the school has been leased at a peppercorn rent to
the Diocese as a VA Catholic Primary School and the
Sisters wish to congratulate the staff on a successful
beginning to the first school year. A primary school
with secondary school accommodation gives children
many extra opportunities.
We are also very pleased that the Town Council are
buying the Barn Theatre and Swimming Pool. This
means that these facilities will be available to the
people of Swaffham and used for the purpose for
which they were intended: as an Art / Pottery, Music
and Theatre / Cinema Centre. Several groups in the
town have hired the facilities over the years which
was once Staines Builder’s Yard.
The Sisters will be leaving Swaffham when they have
sold the Convent / Boarding House and the Lower
School building. This will be a sad occasion for us,
as it was the first Convent in England and started
with a few Sisters from Vienna. The Sisters were not
welcome on their arrival in June 1914 due to the
fact that they were foreigners, speaking German at
the onset of the First World War. We would like to
thank all the people of Swaffham who readily became
used to these strangers wearing an extra-ordinary
religious garb and they gradually made them very
welcome. From arriving with little money and no real
knowledge of the language they made good friends
and allies amongst the locals who took them to their
hearts and helped them to become established in the
town. We hope that we have been able to pay that
debt admirably.
The building that once housed eighty one boarders at
its peak is far too large for a few Sisters, so needs to be
sold to pay some off our debts from the school when
it was unable to pay its way. The Sisters are needed
to supplement the Sisters working in our houses in
Hunstanton, Chesterfield and Rochdale. First we have
to sell the property so the move is not likely to be
imminent and preparations are underway. You are
most welcome to view the property or to call in at
a more appropriate time to see what the inside of a
Convent looks like.
A group of parishioners, known as Associates of
the Daughters of Divine Charity, are dreaming of
purchasing the house as a Retreat Centre and home
for the elderly. They are in need of sponsors to make
this dream a reality and carry on the Sisters’ work of
making God’s love visible in our wonderful town and
surrounding area.
Norfolk Churches Trust
Sponsored Bike Ride
​So, pump up your tyres, dust off your walking boots,
ride your horse or even drive your car, pack up a
picnic , and plan a route. Visit as many as possible of
our beautiful Norfolk Churches to raise much needed
money for their repairs and preservation. It's a fun
day out for all, stopping off at as many Churches and
Chapels as you can!
Date -: Saturday 12th September 2020.
If you are interested in taking part, or sponsoring
someone, please contact local organiser :- Sue Pick
- 01760 722439 for details.
Swaffham History Group
One of the attributes about our country is the ability
of innovation and being able to think outside the box.
This, of course, is nothing new as even in the 1800s
with all the goings on of the industrial revolution
new ideas were always being developed.
One of the problems that the governors of the
Bridewell Prison of Swaffham were faced with in
the early 1800s was the cost of feeding the inmates.
Foodstuffs for the prison were, as a normal event,
always put out to local traders to tender for the
contract and one of the items used more than most
was the use of flour for the making of bread.
The governors being faced with ever increasing costs
began to look for ways of meeting these costs and
one item came to their attention was when William
Cubitt (an engineer) put forward to the governors
the use of a 'Treadmill' where recalcitrant inmates
would be placed on the mill as a form of 'no cost'
labour to grind the grain therefore producing the
much needed and now cheaper flour for the making
of bread and also for drawing-up the water from the
well for the prisoners.
The treadmill was duly installed in 1822 at Swaffham
prison for the cost of £1,118.
(An excerpt of Crime, Punishment and Local Justice
of Swaffham. This book is available from Swaffham
Heritage). History Group contact details; 01842
879140 or Email jbaz@go-plus.net
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