Frances Bedingfeld

[2] Sent to the continent for her education due to the Penal Laws then in effect, Bedingfeld enrolled at the school run by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Munich, then in the Electorate of Bavaria, known there as the "English Ladies".

Once back in England, due to continued persecution, she wore a plain gray dress and used the alias of "Mrs Long".

Upon the death of Charles II, finding their tenure so near to the court to be rather insecure, Frances Bedingfeld obtained, with the help of the Queen Dowager, a large house at Hammersmith with a spacious garden.

[2] Bedingfeld's family connections often helped her to avoid major punishment, even though the community endured repeated searches and destruction of their house.

[6] According to William Shiels, the Bedingfeld women "provided spiritual leadership to religious communities spread across five European states and stretching from York to Munich, as well as an enduring network of contacts for English Catholics abroad.

...and the importance of these women in sustaining English Catholicism by providing education for gentry children and hospitality to travellers cannot be overestimated.