A FORMER convent in Oxford, home to the All Saints Sisters of the Poor for the reason that 1800s, is being offered on the market by Knight Frank with a market value of £12 million.
The Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor (ASSP) was founded in 1851 and has had a presence in Oxford since 1879, when the sisters were invited to run St John’s, a hospital on the three.1-acre site near town centre, now on the market. The hospital, now St John’s Care Home, continues to operate under independent management.
The convent constructing was designated as their Mother House in 1976. In 1982, the Sisters founded Helen House on the location, a hospice for kids, followed by Douglas House, for young adults, which opened in 2004. Earlier this 12 months, Helen and Douglas House acquired from ASSP the freehold of the land they stand on, securing their independence.
In 1986, the Porch drop-in centre for homeless and vulnerably housed people, moved from a site inside the convent grounds to a house across the road and operates independently.
Today, the religious community consists of just five sisters in life vows, one in every of whom is undertaking ordained ministry in London.
A newsletter on the ASSP website in March 2024 said: “The Sisters, after consultation with the Trustees, have now reluctantly taken the choice to vacate the location during 2024. Their intention is to maneuver back to London where the Community was originally founded and where they will proceed their ministry, without the burden of managing such a big property-based estate.
“They achieve this within the knowledge that they leave behind in East Oxford a vital legacy comprising thriving and relevant institutions which is able to proceed to support the area people long after they’ve moved away.”
One of the sisters has since moved into St Mary’s Convent and Nursing Home at Chiswick, and one other to a sheltered flat in Ledbury. An update in May this 12 months said: “We have had joyful moments amidst the packing, welcoming recent Companions of the community.”
Knight Frank states that the 38-bedroom, Grade II-listed St John’s Home generates £55,000 annually through a lease with Accurocare Ltd that’s on account of run until 2037. Among the opposite buildings within the sale are the Grade-II listed Friary constructing, which houses an Edwardian Ninian Comper chapel, reception rooms, library spaces, and period bedrooms across three floors. Also on site is the New Guest House — a up to date two-storey constructing with six en-suite bedrooms, plus various ancillary buildings including workshop spaces and a timber-clad oval chapel.
The property is being offered on the market as an entire or in separate lots.
Sam Van de Velde, an associate in Knight Frank’s education and charities team, said: “Properties of this calibre and central Oxford location emerge perhaps once in a generation. Location stays paramount in Oxford’s constrained property market, combined with growing demand for heritage conversions, we expect that this site can be highly wanted.”
