Community of St John Baptist

The Community of St. John Baptist (CSJB), also known as the Sisters of Mercy, or formerly Clewer Sisters, is an Anglican religious order of Augustinian nuns.

The Community was founded in England in 1852 by Harriet Monsell (the first Superior), a clergy widow, and Thomas Thellusson Carter, a priest at Windsor. The purpose of the order was to help marginalised women – mainly single mothers, the homeless and sex trade workers – by providing them shelter and teaching them a trade. The work of the sisters expanded to include administering and working in orphanages, schools, convalescent hospitals, soup kitchens, and women's hostels.

The Community is conspicuous amongst Anglican communities for its meteoric rise in numbers from the date of the foundation. By the time of Carter's death in 1901 there were some 300 Sisters. At its height, the Community had some 45 priories and branch houses.

The community's headquarters were, historically, at their purpose-built Victorian convent in Hatch Lane, Windsor. This very large and imposing structure is a local landmark, and includes a highly decorated chapel, and extensive accommodation for sisters, guests, and the female destitute persons to whom the community traditionally gave shelter. Following a sharp decrease in membership, the community found itself using only a tiny part of the buildings, and in 2001 relocated to Oxfordshire. The original convent has since been converted into flats.

The Sisters lived at Begbroke, near Kidlington in Oxfordshire for several years, then moved to their newly constructed Convent, Harriet Monsell House, which is on the campus of the Ripon College Cuddesdon a Church of England Theological College, in 2013. They also endowed a new chapel, Bishop Edward King Chapel, for the college which will be part of the Community's lasting legacy to the Church after it has completed its work. The Chapel has won several architectural awards since its completion.

Since 1996 the remaining sisters of another Order, the Community of the Companions of Jesus the Good Shepherd have been living with the CSJB sisters, and although the two Orders remain quite distinct, they share accommodation and many other aspects of community life.

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