This does sound like what @Hoodathunkit was talking about!
BTW it's "SiLver Sisters" (with an L) not "Siver Sisters" 😂
Assume Nothing
The Secrets of St Brides
Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.
https://www.bbc.com/audio/series/m001dd9t
Nothing much else apart from the BBC Sounds pages turned up in an internet search but the discussion on this forum confirms that it is the same cult that Hoodathunkit talked about:
Spectrumcomputing Thread starts here on Tue Nov 08, 2022
"Ireland, 1984. St Brides School for young ladies opens its doors in the quiet fishing village of Burtonport, county Donegal - but all is not as it seems.
The mistresses and ‘girls’ appear to believe that they live not only in a different century, but in an entirely different world.
They are The Silver Sisterhood, a deeply religious group of women who worship a feminine God. They wear Victorian clothing, reject modernity and live by candlelight - but mysteriously they also begin to release a series of strange computer games apparently based on their unique school and unusual beliefs. Their strange way of life soon gives rise to rumour and speculation, but is any of it true - or is their alternative lifestyle simply fuelling suspicion?
Who are these women, what are they doing in Burtonport - and what is really going behind the doors of St Brides?"
https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?p=104577
Some comments in that thread:
"It's interesting to see how a BBC journalist has managed to get a bit further than others. Getting an interview with Miss Martindale was definitely a major achievement.
Sadly, or I guess in some ways thankfully, the games themselves are really only a side note in what is still a fascinating podcast. There are still plenty of mysteries about the adventures themselves and their creation.
That last episode is quite difficult listening, though."
"From what I read back in the day, I had always assumed it was a more of a fetish place - somewhere for the overworked executive to destress as a schoolgirl for a week or two...
Unless it goes that way later on."
"Yeah, that got very dark very quickly. Really grim."
"Man alive, that was quite a listen. I knew St. Brides was something to do with Aristasia, and the name Miss Martindale is familiar - Channel 4 in its early days made a documentary about her and her beliefs, and the corporal punishment featured quite heavily in that. Of course, it was classic 1980s tabloid fodder and the Sun jumped all over it with glee.
I had no idea it turned so dark and nasty. That's a classic cult right there, and an open and shut case of religious abuse. "Miss Martindale" is clearly a manipulative and sadistic person, and probably has a lot more victims. I've suffered religious abuse myself, and it'll wreck your life if not properly dealt with."
"What I found most fascinating was the mysterious Priscilla Langridge who was actually a very talented adventure game writer. Her commercial releases were pretty good and, some argue, the later independent and more obscure releases towards the end of the Spectrum's life were even better. I think Miss Martindale did confirm that Priscilla created the adventure games with her contribution being the artwork in the programs and for the advertising.
There is some anecdotal and some more direct evidence in there (and online if you look for it) to suggest that Priscilla was actually a trans man. Obviously a no-no in a very religiously conservative Ireland in the 1980s. Hence the veils and scarfs masking the face and her constant background presence. Miss Langridge and Miss Martindale even attended computer trade shows in the 80s so the computer game angle was clearly something they were serious about. Its quite clear though that the school, the computer games and everything else they did was simply to raise money so that they could live out their fantasies and beliefs in the manner they wanted to and with a controlled audience.
Its a shame that the BBC man went a little too far with Miss Martindale in the interview which made her clam up as she could probably have revealed a little more given the opportunity.
Perhaps, with modern more enlightened views of the LGBT+ community, Miss Langridge could be persuaded to put her story forward as I'm sure there would be plenty of interest. Inevitably, I think there has been much said about St Brides that they can probably dispel as salacious gossip but clearly the financial problems and abuse that occured at the end cannot be condoned.
You don't have to search very hard online to find that Miss Martindale went from Ireland to Oxford and opened up another establishment offering up very similar services and fetishes but this time in a fairly mundane suburban setting. I think they always courted plenty of publicity as it was vital to their business interests. My own view is that the weird secrecy around Burtonport house, including off-limits areas and secret rooms simply masked Miss Martindale and Miss Langridge's desire to keep seperate their personal and professional lives and probably Miss Langridge's sexuality.
A fascinating story that somehow bizarrely dips into the world of the ZX Spectrum!"
"71owl wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:20 pmIts a shame that the BBC man went a little too far with Miss Martindale in the interview which made her clam up as she could probably have revealed a little more given the opportunity.
I think he was right to push the issue. Her defensiveness and attempts to trivialise what she did to two vulnerable people - including inflicting physical injury on an old woman - spoke volumes about her motives and character, given what we subsequently heard. However much "Miss Martindale" tries to dress up what she did in high-minded philosophical and spiritual terms, the fact remains that she's basically a thug who has caused serious damage to at least a few people, possibly many more. It wasn't just a fun game - it was a fundamentally abusive system that controlled and intimidated people."
"If Priscilla is trans, then the correct term is trans(gender) or trans(gender) woman - I think we may have read the same online article that gets it wrong (hopefully just a confusion in terminology on their part)."