St Stephen's House is an Anglican

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 clerg ...

and one of five permanent private halls of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

, England. It will cease to be a permanent private hall in 2023. The college has a very small proportion of undergraduate students (just 4 in the academic year 2019–2020), but has graduate students in a number of fields including theology, Byzantine studies, education, and music. At any time, roughly one quarter of the students are pursuing professional training as classroom teachers, and another quarter professional theological and ministerial training as priests, with the other half following a diverse range of studies and research.

History

St Stephen's House was founded in 1876 by members of the

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

within the Church of England, and was originally located in the very centre of Oxford, on what is today the site of the New Bodleian Library. Its principal founder was Edward King, Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford and later Bishop of Lincoln. In 1919 the college relocated to new buildings in Norham Gardens, near to the University Parks and Lady Margaret Hall. The college moved again in 1980, having outgrown its earlier buildings, and now occupies the former Anglican Monastery of the

Society of St. John the Evangelist The Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) is an Anglican religious order for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make monastic vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford, Eng ...

(Cowley Fathers). The college was an "Associated Institution" of the University of Oxford, able to matriculate students in the fields of theology and philosophy, until 2003, when it became a permanent private hall of the university.

Buildings

The college is located in east Oxford, between the Iffley and Cowley Roads (to west and east) and James Street and Marston Street (to north and south), with entrances onto all these roads. Although there are some modern buildings, notably the Moberly Close residential accommodation building, most of the college buildings are older, and have

listed status In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Grade I listing applies to the Church of St John the Evangelist, which is the principal college chapel, and an arts centre, as well as housing some teaching and research facilities in its sacristies and song school. Constructed in 1894–1896 to a design by

George Frederick Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and worked in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career. He was one of the founders of W ...

(1827–1907), it has held grade I listing since 1968. The castellated west tower was added in 1902. The east, west, and north-east windows contain stained glass designed by

C. E. Kempe Charles Eamer Kempe (29 June 1837 – 29 April 1907) was a British Victorian era designer and manufacturer of stained glass. His studios produced over 4,000 windows and also designs for altars and altar frontals, furniture and furnishings, lichg ...

(1837–1907) and made in about 1900. The Church also contains painted Stations of the Cross by the late Pre-Raphaelite artist,

Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne (1854–1921) was a leading British late Pre-Raphaelite painter of portraits and subject pictures, who in later life became one of the country's best known creators of decorative art for churches. Family and Early ...

, created for the Cowley Fathers between 1918 and 1921. Grade II listing was applied to the bulk of the college's other central buildings in 1992. This listing includes the college's main cloister built in 1899 to a design by Bodley, the three lesser cloisters, the Benson Building (residential and teaching accommodation built late nineteenth century, probably designed by Clapton Crabb Rolfe), the King Building (residential, teaching, and administrative accommodation, including the college refectory, the library, and the

common room A common room is a type of shared lounge, most often found in halls of residence or dormitories, at (for example) universities, colleges, military bases, hospitals, rest homes, hostels, and even minimum-security prisons. They are generally ...

, also designed by Bodley), and the two smaller chapels – the Founders Chapel, and the Ninian Comper designed House Chapel. St John's Church (and sometimes also the college cloisters) has been since 2012 the performance and display venue for SJE Arts Oxford, a society promoting performing arts and music, and which organises an annual summer choral festival at the college site. The Song School, once the music department of

SSJE The Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) is an Anglican religious order for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make monastic vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford, Eng ...

, and later the residence of the college's vice principal, has since 2008 housed the Centre for Muslim-Christian Studies, Oxford, an independent body whose senior teaching and research staff are mostly current or former members of the

Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford The Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion co-ordinates the teaching of theology at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. The Theology Faculty Centre was at 34 St Giles' in central Oxford. It is now o ...

Arms

The current arms of the college ''Per chevron Gules and Sable in chief two Cross crosslets and in base a Celestial Crown Or'' were granted by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sover ...

in 2020. Prior to this the college used the assumed arms ''Gules a Celestial Crown between three Bezants two and one Or, on a chief Sable an Apostolic Eagle between two Crosses crosslet Or''.

Principals and fellows

Principals

The Head of House is known as the " principal." To date, every person to have held the office has been an ordained Anglican priest. *1876–1877 (res.): Robert Moberly *1877–1881: ''?'' *1881–1884 (res.):

John Octavius Johnston John Octavius Johnston (1 November 1852 – 6 November 1923) was a British Anglican priest and theologian. Life Johnston was born in Barnstaple, Devon, and educated at Barnstaple Grammar School, before studying at Keble College, Oxford, from 18 ...

*1884–1885 (res.):

Berkeley Randolph Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer t ...

*1885–1888 (res.): Charles Myers *1888–1895 (res.): Hugh Currie *1895–1903 (res.): Charles Plumb *1903–1917 (res.):

George Bown George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

*1917–1919: ''?'' *1919–1936 (res.): Gilbert Mitchell *1936–1962 (res.):

Arthur Couratin Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

*1962–1974 (res.): Derek Allen *1974–1982 (res.): David Hope *1982–1987 (res.): David Thomas *1987–1995 (res.): Edwin Barnes *1996–2006 (res.):

Jeremy Sheehy Jeremy Patrick Sheehy (born 31 October 1956) is British Anglican priest and academic. Since 2006, he has served as Rector of St Peter's Church, Swinton and Pendlebury in the Diocese of Manchester. He was previously a parish priest in the Dioc ...

*2006–present: Robin Ward

Honorary research fellows

Notable honorary research fellows have included: *

Andrew Linzey Andrew Linzey (born 2 February 1952) is an English Anglican priest, theologian, and prominent figure in Christian vegetarianism. He is a member of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford, and held the world's first academic post in Eth ...

, theologian, author and prominent figure in the Christian vegetarianism movement * James Whitbourn, conductor and composer * Luke Miller, Archdeacon of London * Norman Russell, former Archdeacon of Berkshire

Alumni

Many former students, in the tradition of the college, go on to minister in urban priority areas and parishes which suffer poverty and deprivation. The following are amongst the notable former students: * Jonathan Baker – Bishop of Fulham and the former Bishop of Ebbsfleet * Norman Banks – Honorary Chaplain to the Queen and Bishop of Richborough *

J. W. B. Barns John Wintour Baldwin Barns (12 May 1912 – 23 February 1974) was a British Egyptologist, papyrologist, Anglican priest, and academic. From 1965 to 1974, he was Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford. Early life and education Barn ...

– Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford * Mark Bonney —

Dean of Ely The position of Dean of Ely Cathedral, in East Anglia, England, in the Diocese of Ely was created in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The first Dean of Ely had been the last Benedictine prior of Ely. List of deans Early mod ...

* Andrew Burnham – former Bishop of Ebbsfleet and former vice principal *

Anthony Caesar Anthony Douglass Caesar (3 April 1924 – 14 July 2018) was an English priest, organist and composer. Caesar was a boy chorister in the Winchester Cathedral Choir under Harold Rhodes, who directed choir rehearsals in the short street known as ...

– composer * Alan Chesters – former Bishop of Blackburn * David Conner – Dean of Windsor (since 1998) * Stephen Cottrell –

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

(since 2020) *

Ivor Gordon Davies Ivor Gordon Davies (21 July 1917 – 27 June 1992) was an Anglican priest who was the Archdeacon of Lewisham between 1972 and 1985. Educated at the University of Wales, where he took a Second in Greats in 1939; and at the University of London ...

– Archdeacon of Lewisham from 1972 to 1985. * Roy Davies –

Bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a ...

from 1985 to 1999 * Hovnan Derderian – Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America * Mark Elvins – Roman Catholic priest and Warden of Greyfriars, Oxford *

Walter Hooper Walter McGehee Hooper (March 27, 1931December 7, 2020) was an American writer and literary advisor of the estate of C.S. Lewis. He was a literary trustee for Owen Barfield from December 1997 to October 2006. Life Hooper was born in Reidsville, N ...

– literary advisor to the estate of

CS Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University ( Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Uni ...

* William Howard, 8th Earl of Wicklow – Irish peer * David Jasper – Professor of Literature and Theology at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

* Jeffrey John – Dean of St Albans * Eric Kemp – former

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's s ...

Peter Laister Peter Laister (May 12, 1927 – October 24, 2002) was a prominent Anglo-Catholic priest in the twentieth century. He was born and died in London. Laister trained for ordination at Saint David's Theological College, Lampeter, Wales and at St. Ste ...

– Rector of

Saint Clement's Church, Philadelphia Saint Clement's Church is an historic Anglo-Catholic parish in Logan Square, Center City, Philadelphia. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The church, designed by architect John Notman, was built in 1856. It originally incorpo ...

, from 1986 to 1993 *

Kenneth Leech Kenneth Leech (15 June 1939 – 12 September 2015), also known as Ken Leech, was an English Anglican priest and Christian socialist in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. Life and career Leech was born into a secular working-class family in Ashton-unde ...

– priest and Christian socialist * Trevor Mwamba – Bishop of Botswana, appears as himself in '' The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' * Philip North – Bishop of Burnley * Mark Oakley – Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, London * Gordon Roe – former Bishop of Huntingdon * John Saward – theologian, fellow of Greyfriars, OxfordFr John Saward.
Retrieved 2008-02-11 * David Silk – former Bishop of Ballarat in the Anglican Church of Australia * Glyn Simon – former Archbishop of Wales *

Michael Spence Andrew Michael Spence (born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American economist and Nobel laureate. Spence is the William R. Berkley Professor in Economics and Business at the Stern School of Business at New York University, and the Philip H. Kn ...

– vice-chancellor of the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

* Tim Thornton – Bishop of Truro *

Stephen Venner Stephen Venner (born 19 June 1944) was Bishop of Dover (the bishop with delegated responsibility for the Diocese of Canterbury) from 1999 until 2009. He was also Bishop for the Falkland Islands from 2007 and Bishop to the Forces from 2009 until ...

– Bishop to the Forces and

Bishop for the Falkland Islands The Bishop of the Falkland Islands was historically a bishopric in the Church of England; as the ordinary of the Diocese of the Falkland Islands, the bishop had responsibility for chaplaincies across South America, before national metropolitical pr ...

Martin Warner Martin Warner (born 1972) is a British technology entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known as the chief executive officer and founder of botObjects, Flix Premiere and ''Autonomous Flight''. Background Martin Warner was born and raise ...

–

* William Gordon Wheeler – former Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds * Colin Williams – General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches * A. N. Wilson – writer and newspaper columnist, left after his first year

References

External links

St Stephen's House website

St John the Evangelist church website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Stephen's House, Oxford 1876 establishments in England Permanent private halls of the University of Oxford Anglo-Catholic educational establishments Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in England Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford Anglican buildings and structures in Europe