August 2026:

Twenty members of the group had a conducted tour of the Mary Potter Heritage Centre located in Regent Street, Nottingham. Mary Potter is a name known to many for a health centre in Hyson Green. The museum brings the name to life with her history and many artifacts from her life.

Born in South London in 1847, Mary was the fifth child of a devout Roman Catholic mother and a father who deserted his family soon after her birth. She and her four brothers were brought up in a single parent family and, although she suffered from heart and lung problems from birth, she received a good education at a Catholic school. After leaving school she was engaged to be married but broke off the engagement as it was suggested they were not suited to marriage. Instead, she joined a convent in Brighton where she stayed for just over a year. She then returned home for a few years but still felt a calling help the poor and sick.

A brother was teaching near Nottingham and introduced her to the bishop. From that point she started a convent in an old building in Hyson Green. From there she reached out to the poor and sick in the community, forming the Little Company of Mary.

The Order gradually spread to several countries worldwide and Mary finished her life in Rome aged 66. Originally buried there, her remains were transferred to Nottingham Cathedral about 30 years ago.