In 1892 the English Novitiate of the FCJ Order was established at Upton in a building which is located behind the Priest's House where it remained until 1927, when the novices were transferred to Belgium.

After the transfer of the novices, the Novitiate building was handed over to the Convent School, since then the building has had several uses. In recent years, up to the opening of the Lingdale Building, it housed the science labs.

The Novitiate Building in 2000

Following the completion of the Lingdale Building in 1999, the science labs moved and the building was refurbished. Initially a language centre was considered,

Science Lab in the Novitiate Building

In order to meet modern safety requirements, the old wooden staircase had to be replaced by a concrete one, and a second staircase had to be constructed at the other end of the building. This work, together with refurbishing the rooms, was carried out by D.J.Construction and was started in September 1999.

Novitiate Building in 2003

Work was completed and the refurbished building opened on 15th June 2000. The building was named the d'Hoüet Building (named after Marie Madeleine de Bonnault d'Hoüet, the foundress of the FCJs) and provided new rooms for the English and RE department.

 

When the Holt Building was built in 2005, the single story extension to the d'Houet building was demolished and the new building was connected to the old by a bridge on the first and second floor. This meant that rooms