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Community of St. Julian’s

Date of creation: c. 1950 to 2000
Extent: 4 boxes
CCCW Catalogue: JUL
Keywords: Kenya, Florence Allshorn, religious communities

CMS missionary Florence Allshorn (1887-1950) founded the Community of St. Julian’s initially at Haslemere, Surrey, moving later to Barns Green and then to Coolham (West Sussex), in 1942. It was designed to be a place where returning missionaries could find a ‘place of quiet’ to adjust to life at home. The community’s supporters included J.H. Oldham and Max Warren, who like others were captivated by her saintly demeanour. In 1956 the community sent four women to open a sister community in Limuru, Kenya. They encountered stiff opposition from European supremacists seeking to perpetuate the exclusive status of the ‘White Highlands’ and it became a cause célèbre with the Imperial Government eventually coming down in favour of the Community. The Community performed a valuable service in promoting racial harmony as a place of retreat for Kenyans and missionaries throughout East Africa during the independence period, before handing over the premises to the Church of the Province of Kenya (CPK) in 1979. In 2000, the community in England closed as well. This collection details work of the Community in both England and Kenya, and includes articles about Florence Allshorn as well as writings of Allshorn, Dorothy Alton , and J.H. Oldham.

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