The History
St Peter’s Home & Sisterhood is a Registered Charity (No. 240675). The Charity is managed by a Council of Trustees and is affiliated to the Church of England.
Mr Benjamin Lancaster and his wife Rosamira founded St Peter’s Home in London. Rosamira’s friend, Susan Oldfield, was clothed as a Novice to St Peter’s Sisterhood along with Ella Jones by The Revd Dr John Monsell (the Vicar of Egham) on 26th June 1861. The Bishop of London, The Right Revd Dr Tait, had sanctioned the establishment of the Sisterhood and became its first visitor.
During 1869 the optimistic Sisterhood moved to their new home in Kilburn where they remained until the Second World War. The Sisters also worked among the poor in surrounding parishes and eventually in other houses across southern England. The Sisterhood was given some land in Woking in 1883 where a large convalescent home was built. A new Chapel was added and dedicated at High Mass on 30th June 1900, when sixty Sisters were present. After the bombing of the Kilburn home in 1943 the Community moved to Woking which became the main house.
From 1892 the Sisterhood engaged in a Korean mission and out of that work in 1925 the Order of the Holy Cross in Seoul was established.
St Columba’s House was completed in 1968 with the active encouragement of the Bishop of Guildford, The Right Revd George Reindorp. At the laying of the foundation stone on the 9th October 1967 the Bishop stated that:
‘This retreat house will welcome all people of all religions and none, so that God may find them there.’
During the 1980s the Community had shrunk to a size that meant the closure of the Victorian Convent and the need for a smaller convent to be built. With the lack of vocations to the Sisterhood the new convent was eventually closed in 2005 and the Sisters became dispersed into the local community. The Sisters still meet regularly as a Chapter, and in St Columba’s House at least monthly. Their Annual Retreat is normally held in St Columba's House in August and is well attended by Associates and friends of the Community. They are a continuing presence in the heart of St Columba’s work.
