From the beginning, the head of the community was a Prioress, elected by the nuns for four years, who could always be re-elected.
| Prioress |
Dates in Office |
| Bridget More |
1652 - 1665 |
| Justina Gascoigne |
1665 - 1690 |
| Agnes Temple |
1690 - 1710 |
| Agatha Gelibrond |
1710 - 1714 |
| Agnes Temple |
1714 - 1722 |
| Mary Buckenham |
1722 -1726 |
| Christina Witham |
1726 - 1734 |
| Mary Benedict Dally |
1734 - 1738 |
| Mary Anne Woodman |
1738 - 1766 |
| Mary Magdalen Johnson |
1766 - 1784 |
| Mary Clare Bond |
1784 - 1789 |
| Teresa Joseph Johnson |
1790 - 1807 |
| Teresa Catherine Macdonald |
1807 - 1809 |
| Mary Bernard Frost |
1809 - 1813 |
| Mary Benedict Hardwidge |
1813 - 1818 |
| Mary Clare Knight |
1818 - 1860 |
| Mary Angela Salvin |
1860 - 1866 |
| Francis Magdalen Taunton |
1866 - 1893 |
| Mary Magdalen Astley |
1893 - 1928 |
In 1928, the community was raised to the rank of an Abbey. The nuns elected an Abbess for life, until 1982. From then, the Abbess has been elected for twelve years, and can be re-elected.
| Abbess |
Dates in Office |
| Mary Magdalen Astley |
1928 - 1930 |
| Mary Evangelista de Capitain |
1930 - 1948 |
| Maurus Hansom |
1948 - 1963 |
| Francis Wilcox |
1963 - 1982 |
| Edith Street |
1982 - 1994 |
| Gertrude Baker |
1994 - present |
Abbess Edith Street was the first to be elected for a term of twelve years. She lived in the community in her retirement, and died in 2004.
| First Prioress Bridget More |
Abbess Gertrude Baker and retired Abbess Edith Street |
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