Fonds F-290 - All Hallows' School (Yale, B.C.) fonds

All Hallows began in 1854 at Shipmeadow, England, as a penitentiary designed to look after what were known as "fallen women". An active religious community of Sisters was formed at All Hallows to run a hospital, a school for girls, as well as to look after visitors coming there for a time of retreat from the affairs of the world. The Sisters moved to Ditchingam, Norfolk and built themselves a monastery in which to live and work. In 1881 Bishop Sillitoe sent out a call to England for assistance in his work with the native Indian population. The response came from All Hallows community in Ditchingam. Three sisters arrived in Yale in 1884, using the parsonage adjoining St. John's Church as a school for Indian girls. The year after they moved the school into the abandoned C.P.R. hospital. Following negotiations initiated by Bishop Sillitoe, a new school was built in 1888. Given the high quality of the education prevailing in the school, families in New Westminster and other parts of B.C., where at that time no advanced educational facilities existed, began to seek admission for their daughters. In 1890, another wing was added to take care of the white girl's needs. Further additions were made in 1908 and 1909, the peak years of the school's history. The fee for entrance into the white girl's part of the school was $5, with board and education costing $30 a month; piano instruction was $5; violin and painting $5 a month. The school possessed spacious playing grounds, with two tennis courts, a basketball court, hockey and croquet grounds. Sister Amy occupied the position of Sister Superior for many years. She was followed by sister Constance and others, including Sister Althea, Agatha, Alice, and Marion. Sisters of All Hallows planned also to replace the Ondernok chapel, that had been build as a stable, with a new chapel built of stone. A fund of $5000 was raised for this purpose, but the school closed its doors in 1916, before enough money was raised. The money was used later to equip the chapel at St. George's Indian School at Lytton, and lift the mortgage from the Japanese Mission in Vancouver. The Sisters returned to England in 1920.