Milestones Through the Decades: Key Events in OLA’s History

The Rich OLA Heritage

Since our founding in 1860, Our Lady’s Abingdon has provided an exceptional education for countless pupils. From its beginnings as a girls’ boarding school, OLA has evolved into a successful independent, co-educational day school that enables our pupils to thrive in their academic careers and in life. The school was founded in 1860, by the Sisters of Mercy, but the story goes back further, to the birth of Catherine McAuley.

The Birth of a Patroness

One of the most pivotal moments in OLA history occurred some 82 years before the school was founded. In Dublin, in 1778, Catherine McAuley was born, to parents who died before she reached age 20. Catherine moved in with an elderly, childless, wealthy, Protestant couple, the Callaghans, first in Dublin and then to their 22-acre estate, Coolock House. Catherine served as household manager, as well as companion to Mrs. Callaghan, and when the couple died, they left her their estate. Using her inheritance, Catherine built a house in Dublin to educate poor girls and shelter homeless servant girls and women. To give their efforts greater stability, she and her coworkers founded a religious congregation, taking vows as the first Sisters of Mercy. Catherine died in 1841, having founded convents and other merciful works throughout England and Ireland, and in 1860, the Sisters of Mercy founded OLA.

The Founding of Our Lady’s Abingdon

• 10 January 1860: Sister Mary Elizabeth Rigby, with two other nuns from the Bermondsey Convent of Mercy, founded a Convent in Abingdon, at the request of Dr O’Toole, Abingdon’s parish priest. They were accompanied by Reverend Mother Clare Moore, recently returned from working with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, who helped establish the Convent and its Superior, Mother Elizabeth.
• August 1862: Two villas, now the first portion of OLA’s Convent buildings, were completed.
• 1865: The first pupil, Monica Smith arrived at the Our Lady’s Convent Boarding School. She would go on to become Reverend Mother Aloysius.

Historical Milestones of the 19^th Century

• 1867: The land around the villas was donated to the Sisters by Sir George Bowyer, for expansion of the school.
• 1875-1883: The girls’ school, including class and music rooms, dining hall and dormitories, was built and occupied, and the Sisters started a Preparatory School for Boys at the villa on St John’s Road. This school was dedicated to St Joseph.
• 1884-1886: The Chapel was solemnly blessed and opened on 31 October 1884, by Monsignor Canon Cahill, VG. Altar oil paintings depicting Our Lady of Ransom and four other Abingdon Saints, along with four statues representing St Edmund of Abingdon, St Thomas of Canterbury, St Catherine of Siena, and St Rose of Lima, were installed in the Chapel.
• 1889-1892: Expansion progressed, first with the building of the girls’ hall, then the new wing of the Convent, housing the Sisters’ refectory, community room, and cells. The boys’ school gained a dining room, classrooms, dormitories, and a hall.
• 1898: To boost the building fund, a Bazaar was held in the Convent grounds.

Moving through the 20^th Century

• 1901-1929: Improvements kept the property moving with the times. A gas engine and pump brought water from the well to the Convent, and electric light was installed. The Chapel was outfitted with a porch and organ gallery, as well as marble steps in the Sanctuary, and new floors in the Nave of the Chancel. In Barton, new school playing fields were laid.
• 1937: The Foundation Stone of the new Sacristies was laid by Lady Abingdon.
• 1941: As WW2 raged, a new air raid shelter was built to hold 150 people.
• 1946-1947: The school grew, as a new dining hall and cloakrooms were constructed for day pupils, and a new Senior School was constructed, with five classrooms, a laboratory, cloakrooms, staff rooms, and a new assembly hall.
• 1951: Our Lady’s Convent Schools received recognition by the Ministry.
• 1953–1955: The Novitiate and Domestic Science Centre were established in the renovated St John’s Villa, hard tennis courts were opened, and the Parent’s Association was established. An Assembly Hall opened, and the boys took possession of the new Junior School.
• 1964: The extension to the Science Laboratory was completed.
• 1971: The boy’s Boarding School closed, replaced by the day school for boys.

21^st Century Changes

The new century saw significant shifts, particularly in 2007, when the School became a charitable company limited by guarantee and the name was changed to Our Lady’s Abingdon School. In 2009 OLA welcomed the first ever class of boys into the Senior School. In 2013, the entire school became co-educational, one of the key events in OLA history.

Honouring Our Proud OLA Heritage

Today, Our Lady’s Abingdon School is a small, Catholic, independent day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18. Nurturing qualities in our pupils that include wisdom, the value of learning, independent thinking, self-worth, and care for others, we strive to help them aspire to values like integrity, compassion, openness, forgiveness, and courage. Embracing our rich Catholic Christian heritage, we promote a family community that helps children embark on a journey towards lifelong success. Having been supported by the Sisters resident in Abingdon until very recently, we still aspire to their ethos of integrity and warmth, and we accept pupils from diverse backgrounds, both faith and non-faith. We welcome all pupils and believe that the co-educational environment works to empower our pupils to be confident, articular young people, ready to make a difference in the world.

To learn more, visit our school, call 01235 524658, or contact us through our website.