The Church Penitentiary Association

The Church Penitentiary Association was affilated with the Church of England and founded in 1852 for the reformation of fallen women who had been servants to others. The association was part of a movement to provide places of rehabilitation and shelter for citizens such as prostitutes or homeless people. The penitentiaries were similar to Catholic convents in that the penitents were to remain celibate while they were in the penitentiary. As was evidenced by Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” there was a strong sense of sisterhood amongst the women and a mutual encouragement to keep from the temptation of the outside world. Often times the leadership of the penitentiaries would not allow women to leave the grounds of the institutions. The penitentiaries were met with some hostility from the English public. Most of the time their criticisms were informed by their anti-Catholic views, comparing the penitentiaries to Catholic convents. The movement helped extinguish the epidemic of prostitution in England and played a part in the larger reform efforts of the Victorian period.