The God of Surprises strikes again; I am spending the summer term as Acting Head of Religious Studies & Liturgy at More House School, on the corner of Pont Street and Sloane Street, London. Founded by the Canonesses of St Augustine in 1952 with just three girls, it grew rapidly before passing into lay management in 1970. When a sudden funding crisis precipitated whispers of closure almost immediately, the pupils took matters into their own hands.
With placards a-waving they marched on nearby Archbishop’s House and demanded that Cardinal Heenan save their school. As Helena says of Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “though she be but little she is fierce”. Heenan was persuaded of their cause and duly obliged; with a funding guarantee from the diocese More House moved to its present site in Belgravia a year later. There it continues to thrive under the patronage, at least in earthly terms, of Cardinal Nichols.
