Who were the nuns?

A fascinating new database has been generated by the Who Were the Nuns? project at Queen Mary, University of London. As well as family data about the 4,000 women who joined the English convents in exile 1600-1800, the database contains a significant number of family trees that have been constructed especially for the project by Dr Katharine Keats-Rohan. Many of them contain names that have hitherto been unavailable and so will be of great interest to those who are researching their Catholic ancestors. Surprisingly, perhaps, a number of families who have both Catholic and Protestant members have been found, and the convents also had around 100 members who were converts.

Find out more about the project and search the database at www.history.qmul.ac.uk/wwtn.

With thanks to project manager Dr Caroline Bowden.