Holy Cross Priory, Cross-in-Hand, is a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

of the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Sisters of Grace and Compassion which provides homes for the elderly. It was established in 1964 at a large

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

in Cross-in-Hand,

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

previously known as Possingworth Park, which was renamed as Holy Cross Priory. It now provides

supported living Supported living or supportive living refers to a range of services and community living arrangements (CLAs) designed with individuals with disabilities and their families to support citizens with disabilities to attain or retain their independen ...

and a residential

care home Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (England) West Midlands, Central Accident Resuscitation Emergency team, a team of doctors & ...

The manor

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the manor of Possingworth was within the Forest of Anderida. Between 1334 and the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1556 the manor belonged to

Robertsbridge Abbey Robertsbridge Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, England. It was founded in 1176 by Alured and Alicia de St Martin. Due to its position, the Abbey lands suffered continually from the effects of the sea, and it was neve ...

. It was then sold, and in 1635 Sir Humphrey Offley was the first to build a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

at Possingworth. This survives less than a mile from the present house.History of Holy Cross Priory
holycrosspriory.co.uk, accessed 31 July 2021 In 1864, the manor of Possingworth was sold to Louis Huth, a merchant banker.

History of the house

Huth built a new country house at Possingworth, designed by

Matthew Digby Wyatt Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt (28 July 1820 – 21 May 1877) was a British architect and art historian who became Secretary of the Great Exhibition, Surveyor of the East India Company and the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Camb ...

at a cost of £60,000, which was completed in 1866. Ornate neo-Gothic, and U-shaped, it is built of red brick and

York stone York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, with a slate roof. As built, the new house had several oak-panelled reception rooms, including a large picture gallery for Huth's art collection, 42 bedrooms, and a conservatory. Huth employed

Robert Marnock Robert Marnock (1800–1889) was one of the leading Scottish horticulturalists and garden designers of the 19th century. He was considered by his contemporaries to be the best exponent of the Gardenesque school of landscape gardening. Life Befor ...

to lay out the park and garden. Possingworth Park was used as a convalescent home for soldiers during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In the 1920s, it became the Possingworth Park Hotel, and in the Second World War was used by the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. In 1944, two

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

s landed in the grounds and the impact from one of them destroyed the conservatory, called the Winter Garden. Beginning in 1946, much of the grounds of the Possingworth Park Hotel were built on. In the 1950s the main house and its garden were bought by

Augustinian monks Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo *Canons Regular of Saint ...

for a training school for the priesthood. In 1964 it was sold to House of Hospitality Ltd, for the use of the Benedictine Sisters of Grace and Compassion. They renamed the property as Holy Cross Priory and created a home for the elderly. House of Hospitality Ltd was a

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

registered with the Charity Commissioners. Its stated objects were “to alleviate need and distress amongst persons of both sexes (especially Roman Catholics) by providing homes, nursing and medical treatment; and to establish, equip, staff and maintain schools for the education of persons of both sexes (especially Roman Catholics)”.

Present day

Now providing supported living, with

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

care when needed, Holy Cross Priory has a separate care home in its grounds, providing long-term and short-term nursing care and

respite care __NOTOC__ In the field of healthcare, respite care is either planned care or temporary emergency healthcare that is provided to the caregiver(s) of a child patient or of an adult patient. In order to support and maintain the social health of the pr ...

, inspired by the ethos of the Sisters of Grace and Compassion, who continue to own the property.

Notable residents

Mairin Mitchell (1895–1986), a Roman Catholic author, spent her final years living at Holy Cross Priory.“MITCHELL Mairin Marian of Room 19 Holy Cross Priory Cross-in-Hand E Sx died 5 October 1986” in ''Wills and Administrations 1987 (England and Wales)''
p. 5429
/ref>

Notes

{{reflist Buildings and structures in East Sussex Gothic Revival architecture in East Sussex Benedictine nunneries in England