Roman Catholics, Donhead St. Mary

John Fezzard was deprived of his rectory in Donhead St. Mary in 1564 for rejecting the Anglican settlement. Another John Fezzard was a rescuant in the late 16th century. There have been a small number of papists in the parish in the 18th century. Since 1945 the sisters of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary have operated a private school for girls at Coombe House. In 1961-4 a hall at Charlton was used as a mass centre.