Leeds Clergy School was a

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

which was founded in 1876 and closed in 1925. It was established by the Rev. John Gott, Vicar of Leeds and later

Bishop of Truro The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury. History There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Crediton ...

, with the first principal being E C S Gibson,

Lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

Leeds Parish Church Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and l ...

. The school started with just six students, initially catering for those graduates who were aiming to obtain town curacies. It soon grew rapidly up to a maximum of twenty-four. The students lived initially at Clarendon House, although they moved later to Woodsley House on Clarendon Road, overlooking the city, where the new Fowler Memorial Chapel was added and dedicated on 28 June 1896. This chapel commemorated a former principal. The governors very reluctantly decided to close the school in 1925, after its existing principal accepted a new academic appointment at Reading. The former buildings, now known as Fairbairn House, eventually passed to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

and after previous use as hall of residence have since become a conference centre. They have also been used as a

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

hostel. A few of the college archives are now held by the Thoresby Society in Leeds.

Principals

* 1876–1880:

Edgar Charles Sumner Gibson Edgar Charles Sumner Gibson (23 January 1848, Fawley, Hampshire, England - 8 March 1924, Fareham) was the 31st Bishop of Gloucester. He was born into a clerical family. His father was a clergyman and his son Theodore Sumner Gibson Theod ...

(formerly Vice-Principal of

Wells Theological College Wells Theological College began operation in 1840 within the Cathedral Close of Wells Cathedral. It was one of several new colleges created in the nineteenth century to cater not just for non-graduates, but for graduates from the old universiti ...

) * 1880–1883:

William Methven Gordon Ducat The Ven. William Methven Gordon Ducat (17 March 1847 – 17 March 1922) was the Archdeacon of Berkshire from 1903 until his death. Ducat was born in Edinburgh and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Balliol College, Oxford and ordained in 1873. D ...

* 1883–1887: Arthur John Worlledge * 1887-1891: George Herbert Fowler (died 1891''Yorkshire Post'', 7 September 1891) * :

Cosmo Gordon Lang William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth, (31 October 1864 – 5 December 1945) was a Scottish Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York (1908–1928) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1928–1942). His elevation to Archbishop ...

(acting principal) * 1891–1900:

Winfrid Oldfield Burrows Winfrid Oldfield Burrows (9 November 1858–13 February 1929) was the Bishop of Truro and later Chichester in the first third of the 20th century. Born into an ecclesiastical family, Burrows was educated at Eton and Corpus Christi College, Oxf ...

* 1900–1910:

James Gilliland Simpson James Gilliland Simpson (16 October 1865 – 10 October 1948) was the Dean of Peterborough in the Church of England from 1928 to 1942. He was educated at the City of London School and Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be sec ...

* 1910–1919: Richard Henry Malden * 1920–1925: John Kenneth Mozley

Other former staff and students

Roland Allen Roland Allen (29 December 1868 – 9 June 1947) was an English missionary to China sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). Early life He was born in Bristol, England, the son of an Anglican priest; but was orphaned early in ...

, missionary *

Maurice Harland Maurice Henry Harland (17 April 1896 – 29 September 1986) was a 20th-century Anglican bishop, his most significant appointment being Bishop of Durham from 1956 to 1966. He was one of nine Diocesan bishops in England in the 1950s who had served ...

, Bishop of Durham *

William Foxley Norris William Foxley Norris (4 February 1859 – 28 September 1937) was Dean of York between 1917 and 1925 and of Westminster from then until his death in 1937. Born into a clerical family, he was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College, ...

, Dean of York and Dean of Westminster *

Maurice Edwards Maurice Henry Edwards, OBE (17 May 1886 – 26 April 1961) was a British Anglican priest. During World War II, from 1940 to 1944, he was Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force. Early life Edwards was born on 17 May 1886. He was educated a ...

, Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force

References

{{authority control Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in England Education in Leeds Former theological colleges in England Educational institutions established in 1876 1925 disestablishments in England 1876 establishments in England