Archbishop invited to Pleshey centenary

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, has been invited to preside at a service to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Chelmsford Diocesan House of Retreat at Pleshey, in 2009.

Pleshey was the first Anglican retreat house in the country and is best known as the spiritual home of
writer and mystic Evelyn Underhill, who found her faith while staying there. She led many retreats at
Pleshey in the 1920s and 1930s. The tiny village of Pleshey - population then 200 - became a
centre for retreats when nuns from the Congregation of Servants of Christ rented a house at the beginning of the last century to offer silence, solitude and contemplative prayer.

Later they bought an orchard, outbuildings and three cottages and built the present house. The
Gatehouse and Parsonage Cottage are still part of the accommodation but Garden Cottage was demolished and later replaced by a modern building housing the Underhill meeting room.

The main house has recycled slates, beams and other material from the outbuildings and was completed in 1909. There is also a chapel, which Evelyn Underhill helped to design, and extensive gardens where the centenary service will be held in July 2009.

During the First World War, the retreat house became a convalescent home for Belgian soldiers who were nursed by the sisters. After the war, the building was rented by Chelmsford Diocese as its retreat house. Warden, the Revd Sheila Coughtrey, said: "We celebrate the achievements the sisters made and celebrate the house being used as a house of prayer. The sisters laid down firm foundations which are still the basis of our prayers today.

"The resources remain unchanged in lots of ways and the retreat house has retained a lot of its original characteristics."

A programme of events during 2009 is being arranged and members of the Anglican religious communities are being invited to take part by leading retreats and quiet days. Sheila is asking for memorabilia connected with the retreat centre to display during the celebrations.

Anyone who can help should contact the retreat house on 01245 237251 or email retreathouse.pleshey@virgin.net

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