Notes by John Halliday, written in 1980:
The Ursuline Convent, East Street, Warminster.
The Mansion [Yard House] at East Street, Warminster, was taken by Sisters from the Ursuline Convent of the Sacred Heart of Ploermel, with about six French boarders, to set up their Convent and a small school. (The Warminster Journal of 16 March 1907 says the Sisters took out a 21 years lease).
The Order, founded by St. Angela Merica of Brescia in 1537, was devoted to the poor, the sick, and the education of children. In the last one hundred years 350 such establishments had been opened in France, but a law of 1901 had suppressed such Orders, and circa 16,000 schools had been broken up.
The nuns “had never seen a tap before.” The property belonged to John Edmund Halliday, “a member of one of the oldest families in Wiltshire.” He was very kind to them, and as the little school prospered he took an active interest in their work. He allowed the cloister, still to be seen from East Street, to be built, as well as additional classrooms.
In popular parlance “The Mansion was called “Yard House’ as the two words ‘Yard’ and ‘House’ were used on the door posts under the bells!”
Yard House was probably built about 1891. It had 11 rooms downstairs and ten up, with bathroom and attic above, and one large and one small cellar below. Mr Halliday had cloisters built, classrooms downstairs and dormitories upstairs. Gas lighting, general – slit cut in wall to illuminate the front door.
Tradition says Charles II, fleeing from Worcester, slept one night at Yard House (an earlier building) on his way from Bristol to the south coast. There is a reference to the “King’s Bed” there.
The Sisters remained at Warminster till 1919. Eight died here and are buried in the north east corner of St. Denys’ Cemetery. The remainder returned to France after the First World War. The little chapel had served meantime as a parish church for Roman Catholic ceremonies of all kinds. The Sisters had chosen St. George as their Patron, in honour of their hosts. The corrugated iron chapel of the Ursuline Convent went to Chard, Somerset.