While pretending to be widows, the foundation opened the first school for girls in the country in Hammersmith, London, in 1679 and the second here at the Bar Convent.

After seeing the good work that the sisters were doing in London, Yorkshireman Sir Thomas Gascoigne, a fervent Roman Catholic approached Mother Frances Bedingfield and declared "we must have a school for our daughters".

[2] The order was a target for frequent discrimination, leading in 1694 to the incarceration of Mother Frances and her great niece in Ousebridge Gaol.

[2] A copy of the licence, granted by Lord Peter Johnson, then Mayor, can be viewed in the Convent's archives.

Mother Aspinal initially wanted the design to reflect Roman churches and hired Thomas Atkinson, the architect responsible for the Neo Gothic additions to Bishopthorpe Palace to do the work.

However, due to the continuing hostility to Catholicism, Atkinson took the decision to modify the initial design, incorporating it into the structure of the house itself.

As a result, Mother Superior Elizabeth Coyney petitioned the Pope to have the Convent put under the authority of the Northern Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Gibson.

[2] The convent was bombed during the Second World War, leading to the death of five nuns and the destruction of the East Wing.

[6] The main building of the Convent is three storeys tall, with an attic, facing directly onto Blossom Street.

[3] The Entrance Hall to the main building was initially built as an open courtyard but has since been enclosed and Victorian tiles added.

The Great Parlour, which features paintings of some of the notable early sisters of the Convent, is located to the right of the ground floor and has a marble fireplace with round headed alcoves to each side.

The sanctuary is a domed rotunda with eight detached and fluted columns and a frieze depicting features such as vine leaves, urns and posies.

The Dome itself has eight bays, each of which features garlands of various fruits and foliage and is topped by a painted glass lantern.