Community of St. Denys

The Community of St. Denys (CSD) is an Anglican religious order of nuns founded in 1879,[1] under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Salisbury of the Church of England. The community was established to engage in domestic and foreign missionary work, but is now engaged in adult education, parish ministry, spiritual guidance, and leading retreats.

Ivy House, Warminster, run by the order as a retreat, 1973–2014

The order was founded by Sir James Erasmus Philipps, vicar of Warminster from 1859 to 1897.[2] From 1890 the nuns ran St Monica's School for Girls, which had a boarding house in an 18th-century building on Vicarage Street.[3][4] The school merged with Lord Weymouth's Grammar School in 1973 to form Warminster School;[5][4] there was also an Orphanage of Pity until 1959.[5] In 1994, the address of the convent was given as Vicarage Street.[6]

Ivy House on Church Street, another 18th-century house[7] used by the girls' school, was operated as a retreat until 2014 when it was sold to Warminster School.[8] The former convent had already been bought by the school in 1996.[9]

Around 2007, the order was described as a dispersed community.[1] Until 1973 a satellite community of three sisters worked in the parish of Chiswick, London, occupying a small cottage opposite St Nicholas Church which is still named St Denys' House.

The order is under the patronage of Dionysius the Areopagite. There is a registered charity of the same name, governed by a board of trustees and with an address in Warminster, Wiltshire.[10] The charity gives away the surplus income from its investments in the form of grants to suitable projects, which in 2018–2019 totalled £130,000.[10]

In 2019, there was one surviving Sister in Vows, who was in retirement. There were also eight oblates and five fellowship members.[11]

References
  1. "Community of St Denys". The Anglican Communion. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  2. "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 8 pp 117-124 – Warminster: Church". British History Online. University of London. 1965. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  3. Historic England. "St Monica's School (11036251)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  4. "St Monica's School for Girls". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  5. "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 8 pp 132-134 – Warminster: Schools". British History Online. University of London. 1965. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  6. The Church of England Yearbook. Church Information Office, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 1994. p. 191.
  7. Historic England. "Ivy House (1193644)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. "Warminster retreat to shut after 40 years". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  9. "Our history". Warminster School. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  10. Charity Commission. The Community of St Denys, registered charity no. 233026.
  11. "The Community of St Denys: Trustees' report and financial statements". Charity Commission. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  • Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook: 2004-2005. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2003.
  • The Friends of Ivy House, 2014


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