The Opening, April 1923
Myddelton Lodge, Ilkley, opened as a Passionist monastery and retreat house in April 1923. The event was reported in both The Observer and the Ilkley Free Press on 28 April 1923. The Observer carried a history of the property alongside an account of the official opening, under the headline "Monastery Opened at Middleton / Three Hours Ritual / Lodge Reverts to Catholic Ownership." The Ilkley Free Press reported under the heading "The Passionist Fathers / Monastic Retreat Opened / New Altar Consecrated at Myddleton Lodge / Link with Catholic Traditions."
Both reports noted the significance of the occasion: Myddelton Lodge, a property with older Catholic associations, was returning to Catholic hands. A new altar was consecrated as part of the opening ceremonies.
Sources: The Observer, 28 April 1923; Ilkley Free Press, 28 April 1923. Provincial Archive.
The Grounds
The grounds of Myddelton Lodge were developed by the Passionist community into a place of prayer and devotion. Fr Fidelis Healy CP designed and built a Lourdes Grotto in the grounds, and a Calvary — the fourteen Stations of the Cross — was laid out nearby, visible from a hermit's cell. A replica of a Roman altar, the original of which was found in the ground near the Lourdes Grotto, was also placed in the grounds. A photograph folder from around 1930 held in the Provincial Archive records these features, along with views of the retreat and church from the north-east, the chapel interior, the high altar and east window, and the house as seen from the main drive before the civilian retreat house was built.
Source: Photograph folder, St Paul's Retreat, Myddelton Lodge, c. 1930. Provincial Archive.
The Pièta by James Pearse
Among the most remarkable objects in the retreat-house chapel at Myddelton Lodge is a Pièta sculpted by James Pearse — the father of Patrick and William Pearse, who were executed in Kilmainham Jail, Dublin, in 1916. The inscription on the side of the Pièta reads:
"This Pièta was sculptered by James Pearse, Father of the patriot Brothers Patrick and William, who were executed in Kilmainham Jail, Dublin 1916."
The altar in the same chapel carries the inscription: "Pray for the donors / The Heron Family / Barberstown House / St Margarets, Co. Dublin."
The firm that supplied the Pièta to the chapel was Messrs John Cullen of Pearse Street, Dublin. This was confirmed in a letter of 29 November 1974 from Fr Fidelis Healy CP to Fr Declan O'Sullivan CP, written in response to an enquiry. In the same letter Fr Fidelis mentioned his first meeting with the Pearse brothers.
Sources: Inscription transcribed by Fr Declan O'Sullivan CP (Provincial Archive); letter from Fr Fidelis Healy CP to Fr Declan O'Sullivan CP, 29 November 1974 (Provincial Archive).
The Addingham Outpost
The Passionists from Ilkley also served the Catholic community at Addingham, a village a few miles to the north-west. A fund-raising leaflet from around 1926, preserved in the Provincial Archive, describes the arrangement: the upper room of a loft was then being used as the Catholic church at Addingham, served by the Passionists from Ilkley. The leaflet's title — "A Yorkshire Outpost" — captures both the remoteness of the mission and its character. The foundation stone of a permanent church at Addingham was laid by Bishop Cowgill in August 1927.
Sources: Leaflet, A Yorkshire Outpost, c. 1926; press photograph of foundation stone laying, Addingham, Yorks, August 1927. Provincial Archive.
St Paul's Retreat in Later Years
An article by Fr Sylvester Palmer CP, titled "Yorkshire Home of the Passionists," was published in the Retreat Magazine in January 1941, providing a record of the house and its apostolate at that time.
On 28 April 1941 ordinations were held at Myddelton Lodge; a group photograph of the ten ordinands was published in the Retreat Magazine in its May 1942 issue.
In April 1976 St Paul's Retreat was chosen as the venue for the preparatory meeting of Western-European Passionist Provincials and General Chapter Delegates, held from 6 to 9 April. A typed mimeographed report of the meeting — covering its purpose, a review of the previous meeting held in Belgium in 1975, and the report of the preparatory commission — is held in the Provincial Archive.
Sources: Retreat Magazine, January 1941 and May 1942; Report of meeting of Western-European CP Provincials and General Chapter Delegates, April 1976. Provincial Archive.
Photographs
The Provincial Archive holds 91 photographs of St Paul's Retreat, Ilkley, spanning the 1920s to the 1980s — exteriors, chapel interior, the Calvary and Grotto, ordination groups, processions, and community photographs. The full collection is viewable on the Photographs page.
Documents
Primary documents from the Provincial Archive relating to St Paul's Retreat, Ilkley — guides, leaflets, sale notices, and historical papers — are available on the Ilkley Documents page.