In 1848 Mariquita Tennant a young widow living at her sisters house, “The Limes” located next to Clewer Church , with the support of Revd Thomas Thellusson Carter, started to offer help to the ‘fallen’ women of the parish of Clewer. This was the beginning of the Clewer House of Mercy, numbers soon increased and the House of Mercy relocated to Hatch Lane, when Mrs Tennant withdrew from the work.

The Revd Carter set about forming a Religious Sisterhood to take care of the women and Harriet Monsell, a young widow and sister-in-law to to one of his own curates, was the perfect successor. On Ascension Day 1851 she was clothed and admitted by Carter as a Sister of Mercy, the following year two more women chose to dedicate themselves to this work .

On St Andrew’s Day 1852, Harriet Monsell was professed in the presence of Samuel Wilberforce, the Bishop of Oxford, and was installed as the first Mother Superior: the Community of the Sisters of St John Baptist was born. An Anglican Religious Community for women

The Convent building and adjoining House of Mercy in Hatch Lane, Windsor, were built in the mid 1850s, and added to at various dates, c. 1872-1900.

In 1866 services began to be held in a house in Clewer Fields. Later St Stephen’s Mission House was built, the foundation stone being laid in July 1867 and the Mission House was blessed by the Rector (Canon Carter) in October 1868. The architect entrusted with the building of the Chapel was Henry Woodyer who also built the Church of St Stephen.

A report from the Windsor & Eton Express at the time.

‘The Clewer Sisters have been working among the poor of Clewer Fields for many years, but until now they have had nothing but a derelict old cottage in which to gather the children who flocked there to be taught and fed. This new hall, built by public subscription, also has rooms in which the Sisters can sleep and take their meals. Clewer Fields is one of the poorest areas in this town and the good work these Sisters of Mercy do, year in, year out cannot be over emphasized.’

Carter wanted to educate the young people of Clewer to show then that somebody did love and care for their well being and to give them some religious education. He approached the Community in 1863 and asked for help. Sister Emily a twenty-eight year old member of the “Second Order”, not yet a fully professed Choir Sister of the First Order, was appointed sister-in-charge, she became a Choir Sister in 1864.

At first the “ragged school” met in a small bare cottage but as the numbers grew and the school was accepted it moved to a room in Bexley Street, one of the newly built streets close by.

In 1866 a site was acquired to build a Mission House, with space for a Church to be built later. On 3 July 1867, Canon Carter laid the foundation stone for this new Mission House, to be known as St Stephen’s, the building was completed on 29 October 1868. The Church was added in 1874.

The school was able to move into the lower rooms of the Mission House in July 1868 just before the completion of the remaining buildings. As it did so it changed its name to “St Stephen’s Ladies ‘ College” its pupils now being drawn from the more professional classes and including boarders. The fees now charged subsidised those who could not afford the fees.

In 1870 Forster’s Education Act paved the way for free elementary education for all children and thus during this decade many National schools were built. Between 1872 and 1877 the parish set up in Clewer three separate National schools infant, boys and girls schools. St Stephen’s College became almost exclusively a boarding school for the daughters of clergymen and gentlemen.

The College continued to grow and buildings extended, to accommodate the demand for day pupils St Stephen’s High School was created in 1882 under a separate Headmistress.

In the 1960’s the Anglican Order of the Community of St. John Baptist withdrew from an active role in running the school, their responsibilities handed to Trustees and Governors.

National Archives Community of St. John the Baptist, Clewer

The Community of St John the Baptist website