St John's College, Morpeth, known colloquially as the "Poor Man's College, Armidale", was opened in Armidale in 1898 as a theological college to train

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

to serve in the

Church of England in Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...

. It moved to

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

in 1926 and closed in 2006.

Armidale

St John's College was founded in 1898 by the then Bishop of Grafton and Armidale,

Arthur Green Arthur Green ( he, אברהם יצחק גרין, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston, where he ...

. It was part-funded by the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

. At the time the college was established, the only other theological colleges were

Moore College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...

in Sydney, which was evangelical, and

Trinity College, Melbourne Trinity College is the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne, the first university in the colony of Victoria, Australia. The college was opened in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England by the government of Victori ...

, which only admitted university graduates. Green deliberately intended it to be a 'poor man's college'. The college building was designed by the Australian ecclesiastical architect

John Horbury Hunt John Horbury Hunt (1838 – December 30, 1904) was a Canadians, Canadian-born Australian architect who worked in Sydney and rural New South Wales from 1863. Life and career Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of a builder, Hunt was tra ...

. (Hunt had designed the cathedrals in Grafton,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

.) The bishop was the first warden and did all the lecturing; there were just five students. The college was dedicated in 1899 by

Saumarez Smith William Saumarez Smith (known as Saumarez; K. J. Cable,Smith, William Saumarez (1836 - 1909), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 11, MUP, 1988, pp 675-677. 14 January 1836 – 18 April 1909) was an Anglican Archbishop of Sydney ...

, Archbishop of Sydney. Three further wardens followed in short succession, adding new buildings. The visionary churchman

Ernest Burgmann Ernest Henry Burgmann (9 May 1885 – 14 March 1967) was an Australian Anglican bishop and social activist. In 1918 Burgmann was appointed Warden of St John's College, Armidale. In 1926 he moved the college to Morpeth, where it remained un ...

was appointed Warden in 1918, which was to be transformative for the college. On the invitation of

Reginald Stephen Reginald Stephen (9 December 1860 - 7 July 1956) was the Anglican Bishop of Tasmania from 1914 until 1919 and then the Bishop of Newcastle (New South Wales) from 1919 until his retirement in 1928. Stephen was educated at Geelong Church of Englan ...

, Bishop of Newcastle, in 1925 Burgmann moved the college to Morpeth. The Armidale college buildings now form part of the

New England Girls' School , motto_translation = Whatsoever you do, do it heartily , location = 13-83 Uralla Road, Armidale, New South Wales 2350 , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales , pushpin_image ...

. A stained glass window that had gone with the college to Morpeth was returned to NEGS in 2012.

Morpeth

In 1821, Lt Edward Close was granted 2,600 acres of land at Morpeth by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

. Close built a house, Closebourne House. In 1849 he sold Closebourne House to the Bishop of Newcastle, who renamed it Bishopscourt and built a replacement house next to it which he called

Morpeth House Morpeth House is a large house in the east of Ipswich, England. It is situated on Lacey Street near the old Odeon. The grounds are about 3/4 of an acre and have many old trees and interesting features. Stamp room The Stamp Room created by C ...

. After 1869, Morpeth House went through various occupations and ownerships, before being acquired in 1925 as the site for the relocated college. Additional buildings were designed by the ecclesiastical architect Louis Williams. The college bell came from

Raymond Terrace Raymond Terrace is a town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road north of Newcastle on the Pacific Highway. Established in 1837 it is situated at the confluence of the Hunter and Williams rivers. The town was nam ...

, and was the ship's bell on the Paddle Steamer ''Ceres'', which had been wrecked on her maiden voyage in 1836. In 1942 and 1943 the college exchanged premises with the Newcastle Church of England Girls' Grammar School in order to put the girls beyond the possible reach of Japanese bombardment of Newcastle.

Chapel

The chapel was originally within Morpeth House; in 1941 a simple chapel was built, with colonial stone from a derelict building in Morpeth. At first, the chapel had a French harmonium. In 1965 a

Norman and Beard Norman and Beard were a pipe organ manufacturer based in Norwich from 1887 to 1916. History The origins of the company are from a business founded in Diss in 1870 by Ernest William Norman (1851–1927). In 1876 he moved to Norwich where he we ...

pipe organ was installed. It was acquired from the Congregational Church in

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

. In 1981 it was removed and in 1984 installed in a private residence in

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

. Its replacement was a 1982 organ by Fr John Hamer-Howarth. Much of the organ is assembled from older instruments: the Open Diapason is by Palmer; the Bourdon from Croydon; the Stopped Diapason by Robson; and the Block Flute, the principal and the Fifteenth from the Methodist Chapel in Sutton-on-Soar, Northamptonshire. The main chest is from the Methodist Church in

Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Municipali ...

. The casework is Fr Hamer-Howarth's own work.

Closure

The college closed in 2006. During the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

, the college was the subject of adverse comment in respect of clerical sexual abuse. Theological education for the Diocese of Newcastle is now provided by Trinity College, Melbourne. The college and its grounds are now a

retirement village A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socializ ...

, managed by

Lendlease Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was establ ...

. The former Morpeth House is now the social centre, and the former chapel is a multi-use hall.

College prayers

At the time of the college's

jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

in 1948 the collect was in the following form: ' By the time the college closed there was a new form of collect. '

Wardens and principals

The college was initially led by a warden; the title was changed to 'principal' in the 1980s.

Wardens

* Arthur Vincent Green, 1899-1900. Bishop of Grafton and Armidale, 1894-1900; Bishop of Ballarat, 1901-15. *Edward Aquila Radcliff, 1901-06 *Arthur Henry Garnsey, 1907-16. Warden, St. Paul's College, Sydney, 1916-44. *John Forster, 1916-18 * Ernest Henry Burgmann, 1918-34. Bishop of Goulburn (renamed Canberra & Goulburn in 1950), 1934-60. Founder and first Warden of St Mark's Library, Canberra (now

St Mark's National Theological Centre St Mark's National Theological Centre is a theological college in Australia. It is owned and operated by the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. History Ernest Burgmann, Bishop of Goulburn from 1934 and then the renamed Canberra & Goulbu ...

), 1957-60. *Thomas Marshall Robinson, 1935-54 *Henry Beauchamp St John, 1954 * Christopher Evelyn Storrs, 1955-59.

Bishop of Grafton The Anglican Diocese of Grafton is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese is located in north-east New South Wales and covers the area from the Queensland border to Port Macquarie in the south and west to the ...

, 1946-55. * Robert Edward Davies, 1960-63. Assistant bishop of Newcastle, 1960-63; Bishop of Tasmania, 1963-81. *John Lovett May, 1963-74. Warden of Christ College, Hobart, 1958-63 and 1981-99. *Lance Andrew Johnston, 1975-79

Principals

*George Christopher Garnsey, 1980-91 *Richard Tutin (acting), 1992. * Kenneth Nash Reardon, 1993-94.

Dean of Hobart The Cathedral Church of St David in Hobart is the principal Anglican church in Tasmania, Australia. The dean (as of March 2009) is the Very Reverend Richard Humphrey. Consecrated in 1874, St David's is the seat of the Bishop of Tasmania. It i ...

, 1984-92. *Ann Elizabeth Proctor McElligott, 1995-2002. Dean of St. Andrew's Cathedral, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2002-07. *Don Saines (acting), 2002-04 *David Willsher and Jennifer Willsher, 2004-06

Notable alumni

Armidale

* Fortescue Ash. Bishop of Rockhampton, 1928-46. * William Ashley-Brown, Archdeacon of Bombay; Dean of Gibraltar, 1943-45. *Wallace Conran, sub-dean (effectively dean) of

Christ Church Cathedral, Grafton Christ Church Cathedral is a heritage-listed Anglican cathedral complex at Duke Street, Grafton, Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia. The cathedral was designed by John Horbury Hunt and built from 1874 to 1884 by Reynold Brothe ...

, 1943-47. *

Charles Hulley Charles Frederick Hulley (Helmsley, 10 March 1892 - Burwood, 26 October 1962) was an Australian Anglican priest. Hulley was educated at St John's College, Armidale; and ordained deacon in 1919 and priest in 1922. After a curacy at Quirindi he ...

, Dean of Bendigo, 1952-56. *Arnold Collingwood King. Dean of St Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn, 1947-66. *Henry Beauchamp St John. Warden, 1954. * Arthur Weston,

Dean of Adelaide St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Anglican Diocese of Adelaide, Adelaide and Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan of the Province of South Australia. The c ...

, 1957-66

Morpeth

* David Bowden, Bishop of Bendigo, 1995-2002 * George Browning, Assistant Bishop of Brisbane, 1985-93; Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, 1993-2008. *

Peter Carnley Peter Frederick Carnley (born 17 October 1937) is a retired Australian Anglican bishop and author. He was the Archbishop of Perth from 1981 to 2005 and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia from 2000 until May 2005. He ordained the fir ...

, Archbishop of Perth, 1981-2005 and

Primate of Australia The Anglican Primate of Australia is the senior bishop and President of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Chris ...

, 2000-05. * Kenneth Clements, Archdeacon of Goulburn, 1946-56; Coadjutor Bishop of Goulburn, 1949-50; Coadjutor Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, 1950-56;

, 1956-61; Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, 1961-71 *

Alf Clint William Alfred Clint (8 January 1906 – 21 April 1980) was an Australian priest in the Church of England in Australia (as the Anglican Church of Australia was then called). He established a number of Aboriginal co-operatives on behalf of the ...

, founder of

Tranby Aboriginal College Tranby is a heritage-listed former residence and now adult education centre for Aboriginal Australians in Sydney, commonly known as Tranby Aboriginal College. It is located at 13 Mansfield Street in the inner western Sydney suburb of Glebe ...

. *John Cowland, founder of the

Church Army The Church Army is an evangelistic organisation and mission community founded in 1882 in association with the Church of England and now operating internationally in many parts of the Anglican Communion. History The Church Army was founded in E ...

in Australia. * Robert Davies, warden, 1960-63; Assistant Bishop of Newcastle, 1960-63; Bishop of Tasmania, 1963-81 * Brian Farran, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, Rockhampton, 1983; Assistant Bishop of Perth; Bishop of Newcastle, 2005-12 * Arthur Grimshaw.

Dean of Brisbane St John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia. It is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The cathedral is situated in Ann Street ...

, 1985-98. * Arthur Jones. Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, Sale; Bishop of Gippsland, 1994-2001. *

Donald Kirk Donald Kirk is a veteran correspondent and author on conflict and crisis from Southeast Asia to the Middle East to Northeast Asia. Kirk has covered wars from Vietnam to Iraq, focusing on political, diplomatic, economic and social as well as mil ...

Bishop of Riverina The Diocese of Riverina is one of 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers 37% of New South Wales, including the Riverina and the far west of the state. The diocese was established in 1884 when the Diocese of Goulbu ...

, since 2019. *Graham Lawrence. Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, 1984-2008. Deposed from holy orders for sexual misconduct, 2012. *

Ted Mosby Theodore Evelyn Mosby is a fictional character and the protagonist in the American sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'', portrayed by Josh Radnor. He serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children the " ...

. Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of North Queensland, 1997-2000. * Robert Porter. Archdeacon of Ballarat, 1957-70; Bishop of The Murray, 1970-89. *

Sam Ramsden Samuel Raymond Ramsden (10 October 1913 – 1 July 1986) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Ramsden was born at Carlton, New South Wales, the son of Percy Charles Ramsden and his wife Kezia (née Clark). He was edu ...

. Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembl ...

, 1957-71. * Sonia Roulston. Assistant Bishop of Newcastle, since 2018. * Bruce Schultz. Assistant Bishop of Brisbane, 1983-85;

, 1985-98. *

Donald Shearman Donald Norman Shearman (6 February 1926–2019) was an Australian Anglican bishop who served as Bishop of Rockhampton from 1963 to 1971 and Bishop of Grafton from 1973 to 1985. In 2004, a church tribunal found Shearman guilty of misconduct f ...

. Bishop of Rockhampton, 1963-71; Chairman,

Australian Board of Missions The Anglican Board of Mission - Australia (ABM), formerly Australasian Board of Missions and Australian Board of Missions, is the national mission agency of the Anglican Church of Australia. In its earliest form, it was established in 1850. ...

, 1971-73;

, 1973-85. (Deposed from holy orders for sexual misconduct, 2004.) * Douglas Stevens.

, 2005-12. * John Vockler (Brother John-Charles FODC). Archdeacon of the Eyre Peninsula, Vicar-General and Coadjutor Bishop of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, 1959-62;

Bishop of Polynesia The Diocese of Polynesia, or the Tikanga Pasefika serves Anglicans in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands, within the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese's first bishop was consecrated in 1908. The diocese's c ...

, 1962-68; Assistant Bishop of Chelmsford, 1972-74; Assistant Bishop of Southwark, 1974-75; Assistant Bishop of Quincy; Bishop of New Orleans (

Anglican Catholic Church The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbury ...

), 1999-2005; Archbishop of the Anglican Catholic Church, 2001-05. *Arthur Warr, Sub-Dean of

, 1946-49, and Dean, 1949-65. * Tom Wilmot. Assistant Bishop of Perth, 2004-16.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Theological College, Morpeth Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Former theological colleges in Australia Education in New South Wales 1898 establishments in Australia Educational institutions disestablished in 2006 People educated at St John's College, Morpeth