The Sisters moved out in batches from Stow Hill and set about restoring the Abbey as a place of prayer as it had been, originally. The present Refectory—together with the adjacent parlour (originally the Ladies Withdrawing Room) formed the Great Hall, with the Minstrel Gallery at one end. These two rooms served as the Chapel until the new Chapel was built in 1957

The Garth Gate

The Sisters of St Joseph were founded in 1650—over 350 years ago—just around the time Edward Morgan was paying his fines for being a Catholic. The Sisters arrived in England in 1864 and set up their main house or Provincialate on Stow Hill, Newport in 1873. Local people will remember that as a school. At the end of the second World War that house was desperately crowded. The Boarding and Day School needed more space to expand. Conditions for Sisters in training were cramped. The Provincial Administration was increasing and so that, too, needed more room. In addition, a large number of Sisters working in schools in and around Newport had their home on Stow Hill as well. When the “Residential and Agricultural Estate of Llantarnam Abbey” came on the market in 1946, it seemed like an answer to prayer.

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