Syon Monastery - Personnel

Personnel

The King's original foundation consisted of 85 persons, which no doubt ideally would all have been women were there not practical need of men to perform holy sacraments for the nuns, who were barred by the Catholic Church from the performance of such sacraments as Holy Communion and Confession. Men were also required to assist with household duties requiring virile strength. The full complement was as follows:

Women (60):

• 1 Abbess
• 59 Nuns

Men (25):

• 1 Confessor General
• 12 Priests
• 4 Deacons
• 8 Lay Brethren

The different sexes were “to dwell in separate habitations, to wit the said abbess and sisters within one court by themselves and the said confessor and brothers in a separate court by themselves, within the same monastery”. The legal corporate entity was “The Abbess and Convent” which could transact business by affixing its single corporate seal. The Convent (from Latin con-venio, to come together) consisted of the Abbess and nuns together with the Confessor and all the religious men. Clearly the Abbess was the overall presiding officer.