The Sacred Heart Maternity Home
Brettargh Holt, Kendal
Brettargh Holt, the Sacred Heart Convent near Kendal was opened on the 8 December 1944 and was staffed by Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. The accommodation for up to 35 mothers and babies was opened on 10 February 1946.
The Sacred Heart Maternity Home provided care and confinement of unmarried mothers who entered 6 weeks before confinement and stayed until 6 weeks after. If the mother was unable to keep her child, the child was taken into the Nursery maintained by the nuns at Lancaster or an adoption would have been arranged.
The society arranged between 30 and 40 adoptions a year.
In 1959 a new Chapel and nursery were built. The Chapel was consecrated by Bishop Flynn.
The changing attitude of society towards the problem of unmarried mothers, linked with the Social Security Benefits which became available to them, resulted in the number of mothers requiring the home to drop to a level where it was no longer economically sound and admissions ceased in June 1968.
Brettargh Holt is now a conference and retreat centre run by the Salesian Sisters of St John Bosco. The Sisters welcome visitors-especially those born there. (Avoid Mondays if possible)
Location: on the A6 4/5 miles south of Kendal in Cumbria. See map for details.
 Brettargh Holt Map
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