At the suggestion of Pastor Gerardus van Haaren, the church council bought and demolished the building in 1888. The seigniory of Baardwijk belonged to douairière Antoon Smits, Lady of Baardwijk. Her gift made new construction possible. In her honor, the new building was named St. Anthony's Institution. The first stone of the convent was solemnly laid on behalf of the Lady of Baardwijk on August 6, 1888, by her daughter, Mrs. douairière Louis Janssens-Smits.
Charity Institution.
Directly after the consecration on June 27, 1889, the Liefdegesticht was occupied by four sisters of the Congregation Jesus, Mary and Joseph (J.M.J.) from 's-Hertogenbosch. On July 1, 1889, the Sisters began the Custodial School education with 150 children. Two weeks later, two language schools were opened. Later a sewing school for girls aged 12 and over was added. From 1889 to 1959 Sisters of J.M.J. lived in this Charity Institution, it contained in addition to the old man's house, a convent, a kindergarten and a girls' school, the Maria School.
Maria School
After the sisters' departure, the Saint Antoniusgesticht was sold in 1960 to the R.C. Foundation for Elderly Care Saint Antoniushof, which converted the convent into the elderly home Saint Clemenshof. As of September 1, 1960, the retirement center was put into operation. It housed 40 senior citizens with some still on the waiting list. After the completion in 1970 of the new six-class primary school for boys and girls, the Pastoor van Haarenschool, they also got access to some classrooms of the girls' school.
Due to sharply declining pupil numbers, the Maria School was merged with the boys' school in the Baardwijksestraat as of August 1, 1983, and the board decided that the merger school would continue under the name Maria School in the building of the Sint-Clemens School. A year later, however, for "practical reasons," the name was changed to Sint Clemens School. During the 1983/1984 school year, two more classrooms in the former school on Loeffstraat were used by the Maria School.
After the newly established De Hoef Public Elementary School had used some of the classrooms for several months in the following school year, the building was withdrawn from education on November 2, 1984.
The building came into private hands through sale and was finally demolished in 1985.
