The Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre

The Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre UK's oldest living convent, home to the order who opened the first school for girls in the country. To those in the know, it was also hiding an illegal convent.

Since 1686, the goings on at 17 Blossom Street have been York’s best kept secret. A secret that remained hidden for hundreds of years, until its residents gradually became safe enough to reveal it. To the outside world, this house was York’s first school for girls. The English Reformation saw Catholicism made illegal and punishable by death, but this group of determined women built a convent, incl

uding an entire chapel, under the watchful eyes of all of their suspicious neighbours. Today, more than 300 years later, it is the oldest active convent in England. With an exhibition on site which tells our history, special activities for our younger visitors, talks, a café and garden, the Bar Convent is a unique experience for all to enjoy.

Due to essential maintenance the exhibition will be closed on Monday 15th June and Tuesday 16th June. Our cafe will stil...
12/06/2026

Due to essential maintenance the exhibition will be closed on Monday 15th June and Tuesday 16th June.

Our cafe will still be open.

You may continue scrolling now.

08/06/2026

Let’s take a closer look at the Arma Christi scroll with Dr Hannah Thomas. In this video Hannah is looking at the significance of the pelican.

The Arma Christi will be back on display from the 19th June - don’t miss out on seeing this incredibly rare piece of history.

We want to take a minute to talk about our fabulous café. The whole team do an incredible job all year round - from a wa...
06/06/2026

We want to take a minute to talk about our fabulous café. The whole team do an incredible job all year round - from a warm welcoming smile to serving the best homemade cakes and scones in York (prove me wrong), and not to mention being able to enjoy your lunch in the fabulous atrium or garden!

We are currently serving a fresh summer menu, with daily specials to compliment that along with a kids menu. Big news - we are now serving gin and Pimms too!

So, show the café team some love - they deserve it!

Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the ultimate medieval summer festival.But what exactly is Corpus Christi...
04/06/2026

Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the ultimate medieval summer festival.

But what exactly is Corpus Christi?
Translated from Latin - Corpus Christi means "Body of Christ". In medieval York they didn't just celebrate Corpus Christi inside a church - the entire city transformed into a massive theatre (using wagons) called the York Mystery Plays.

The Mystery Plays are first recorded as being celebrated at the festival of Corpus Christi in York in 1376. A total of 48 plays would be performed across the city. The plays tell stories from the Old and New Testament starting at the Creation and ending at the Last Judgement.

Whilst the celebration of Corpus Christi is celebrated differently across the globe, I think medieval York did it the best.

We are thrilled to be collaborating with the York Mystery Plays this year to offer a FREE play, Journey To Calvary, on 4th July at the Bar Convent Garden.

01/06/2026

In the 1500s, this was radical thinking!

Long before Mary Ward shook the status quo by founding her groundbreaking order, St Thomas More was quietly defying the social norms by educating his daughters equally alongside his sons.

Generations later, his descendants would continue his work and become early members of Mary Ward’s network.

Visit the Bar Convent and experience history where it was made.

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄? The convent was opened in November 1686 by an order of religious sisters which had been founded in 1609 by...
29/05/2026

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄? The convent was opened in November 1686 by an order of religious sisters which had been founded in 1609 by Mary Ward (1585-1645), a Yorkshire woman. Today, the order is known as the Congregation of Jesus.

The sisters bought the Bar Convent house for £450, with money that had been given to them by Mary Ward’s friend and supporter, Sir Thomas Gascoigne. The Bar Convent was not only one of England’s earliest schools for girls, but is also the oldest living convent in the country.

£450 in 1686, to put into context, would be worth approximately £107,500.00* today. Which is still kind of crazy because this house is incredible.

*calculated using the measuring worth calculator.

28/05/2026

As we run up to the York Mystery plays and the Journey to Calvary that will be performed here at the Bar Convent on the 4th July, we are going to take a deep dive into our medieval special treasures collection.

It would be a crime not to start with the Arma Christi, not only is the Journey to Calvary based on it, this is a truly incredible discovery and one of only 11 in the world!

Here is Dr Hannah Thomas to tell you a little bit about it…

We’ll admit it - the Bar Convent is a pretty unique, niche piece of York’s history. But "niche" doesn't mean boring or n...
27/05/2026

We’ll admit it - the Bar Convent is a pretty unique, niche piece of York’s history. But "niche" doesn't mean boring or not for families.

If you are looking for a half-term activity that skips the massive, noisy crowds but still keeps curious young minds completely gripped, our exhibition is a hidden gem.

We’ve designed family activities right into our displays, letting kids connect directly with history. They can take part in our Colour at the Convent competition, handle historic-style puzzles, dress up, and even climb inside a mock priest hole to see what it was really like to hide out in secret.

Our café also offers a fabulous kids menu… just saying.

The Gunpowder Plot: York’s Untold StoryContext. Conspiracy. Consequence.Experience a unique retelling of one of the most...
26/05/2026

The Gunpowder Plot: York’s Untold Story

Context. Conspiracy. Consequence.

Experience a unique retelling of one of the most dramatic events in British history- in the city where it all began.

Set against the turbulent backdrop of post- reformation York, a new compelling exhibition takes visitors beyond the legend of Guy Fawkes to explore the events surrounding 5th November 1605.

Add it to your diaries and get your tickets booked!

💥 16 September- 05 December

You might have heard the term, but what actually is Whit Sunday?Falling exactly 50 days after Easter it is the tradition...
24/05/2026

You might have heard the term, but what actually is Whit Sunday?

Falling exactly 50 days after Easter it is the traditional English name for Pentecost- the major festival marking the “birthday of the church”.

The name itself is a historical shortcut for “White Sunday” hundreds of years ago. We love an abbreviation don’t we!

This was the most popular day of the year for summer baptisms, churches would be filled with people dressed entirely in white robes. It evolved into a massive seasonal holiday across the UK famous for family feasts, parish fairs and the beloved northern tradition of buying brand-new “Whitsun clothes”.

To everyone in our community and all celebrating across York and beyond this weekend, we hope you have a wonderful peaceful day!

Address

17 Blossom Street
York
YO241AQ

Telephone

+441904643238

Website

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