Notre Dame School (now Lingfield College) was founded in 1940 by three School Sisters of Notre Dame who arrived in Lingfield from Faversham with 14 WWII evacuees.
Originally occupying small houses in the village, pupil numbers increased to 70 pupils by the end of the war, and the Sisters purchased Batnors Hall on the present site of the Junior School. The day/boarding school roll continued to increase and a Senior School was established with the purchase of the St Piers Lane property, Ivy House, later to be renamed Le Clerc in honour of Blessed Alix Le Clerc, a 16th- century founder of the original Notre Dame Order.
The 1950s and 1960s saw a rapid expansion of the school, with major building projects. St Joseph's Wing was developed, providing accommodation for the increasing number of nuns. A chapel, dining hall and classrooms were added as well. Stables were converted to create an Infants' Department, and development continued on the Senior School site with the provision of classrooms, laboratories, a gymnasium and an auditorium. (Source: Lingfield College website)
Sister Gisela Waffler was a German SSND who was sent to England to teach after Hitler's expulsion of the sisters from teaching in Germany. She and five other German Sisters ended up in internment on the Isle of Man during the war. When they were released, they were sent to Lingfield to teach. You can read more about Sister Gisela's wartime experience on the Sturdy Roots website.
Another German SSND in England at that time was Sister Arimathea Kreidl, who took her final vows in England when the bombing there was at its worst. There was a scare during the ceremony when an explosion erupted nearby, but no further bombs came. Sister Arimathea spent some time at Lingfield, as well. You can also read more about her war story on the Sturdy Roots website.
