Wesley College was a theological college in the
Henbury
Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately north west of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle Estate, Blaise Ha ...
area of
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, England, between 1946 and 2012. As the successor to an institution established in London in 1834, it was the oldest provider of theological education for the
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestantism, Protestant List of Christian denominations, Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodism, Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, an ...
. The college was the core institution of the South West Regional Training Network of the Methodist Church, where its partners were the South West Ministerial Training Course in Exeter and the
Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme
STETS (Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme) was a ministerial training scheme for church ministers in southern England, based in Salisbury. Its functions were absorbed by Sarum College, also in Salisbury, in 2015.
History
STETS ...
in Salisbury. It was also involved with
ecumenical
Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
education.
History
The Wesleyan Methodist Conference decided in 1834 to establish the Wesleyan Institution for the Improvement of Junior Preachers, which at first was based in London. By 1843, funds were available to establish
Didsbury College, Manchester and Richmond College, Surrey; by 1881 these had been joined by Wesley College, Headingley and Handsworth College, Birmingham, all four considered branches of the Wesleyan Theological Institution.
Following the
Methodist Union
Methodist Union was the joining together of several of the larger British Methodist denominations. These were the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the United Methodists. In 1932 a Uniting Conference met on 20 September in the R ...
of 1932, there were two colleges in Manchester: Didsbury and
Hartley Victoria. After the Second World War the Didsbury buildings were sold, and £15,000 of the proceeds were used in 1946 to establish a new college with the same name on a 22-acre site at Henbury Hill, Bristol.
At first a house on the site was used, then in 1953 a new red-brick building was completed at a cost of £117,500, with accommodation for 60 students.
The
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
of Didsbury college was displayed above the main entrance.
In 1967, Wesley College at Headingley was closed and merged into the Bristol institution, which gained the Wesley College name.
The buildings were extended, and a new chapel built, with funds from the sale of the Headingley site. During the 1980s and 1990s, half the site was sold in stages to raise money for running costs and to fund the building in 1985 of Frances Greeves House, providing 23 flats for ministerial students with families.
Role
Although established to prepare people for
ordained ministry
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vario ...
in the
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
Church, and this was still a significant part of its work with an emphasis particularly on pre-ordination students who were studying part-time, the College programme became much more widely based. The teaching staff came from a wide range of
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
backgrounds. Student ministers worked alongside other students of theology, bringing a wider experience of life into the learning environment.
Wesley College provided a wide range of units in
Christian theology
Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...
, validated by the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
, most of which were open to lay people as well as those preparing for ordination. After 2008 the College offered a Foundation Degree (FdA) in Mission and Ministry validated by
St. Mary's University College (Twickenham)
St Mary's University, Twickenham is a public university in Strawberry Hill, London, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, in South West London committed to the mission of the Catholic Church in higher education. Originally founded in 1850, and initially a c ...
.
The college was a member of the Bristol Federation for Theological Education, where its partners were
Bristol Baptist College
Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot.
Hi ...
and
Trinity College, Bristol
Trinity College, Bristol is an evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by the University o ...
. As well as housing one of the most extensive theological libraries in the country, the college possessed an extensive archive with documents and artefacts from the 17th and 18th centuries, many of them related to the Wesley family.
[
The college was an important international research facility with students from Australia, United States, South Korea, India and Africa. Wesley College had a formal Graduate Research Agreement with Hyupsung University, South Korea and established exchange programmes with the ]Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary
Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary (TTS) is an ecumenical venture of Tamil churches in Arasaradi, Madurai, South India.
TTS is affiliated with the Senate of Serampore College and Madurai Kamaraj University. The Principal is Rev. Dr. Margaret Kal ...
, South India, the United Church of Zambia Seminary at Kitwe and the Reutlingen Seminary, Germany.
All its courses were open to students from any denomination and the college was building a reputation for lay theological education, including the nationally recognised Pastoral Carers' Course, and partnerships with other religious denominations or bodies including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a Roman Catholic diocese centred at the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton, England.
The diocese covers the City and County of Bristol and the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire, ...
and the Benedictine Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both t ...
. The college also attracted students from the Anglican, Baptist, Pentecostal and Holiness traditions.
Personnel
The last College Principal prior to its closure in 2010 was Rev. Dr. Jonathan Pye who was also Honorary Research Fellow in Medical Ethics in the University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
and a recognised teacher in the University of Bristol and the University of Wales, Cardiff. Other staff amounted to the equivalent of seven full-time posts.
Closure
From 2005, there was a desire to consolidate the twenty ministerial training institutions of the Methodist Church. A detailed review in 2009 found that the main building at Bristol needed up to £3.5m spent to bring it up to current standards, and the 1960s extension a further £2.3m. The finances were in deficit despite income from Bristol University for the use of Frances Greeves House, from letting other buildings and from conferences.
In July 2010, the Methodist Conference
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical ass ...
announced that Wesley College would close when current students had finished their training. Enrolled at the college during the 2009/10 academic year were four ministerial students sponsored by the Methodist Council, twenty-eight independently funded lay students on courses validated by the St Mary's University College or the University of Bristol, and sixty-four independently funded lay students on non-validated courses. The site was placed on the market in 2010.
In August 2015 it was agreed to donate a shipment of 38,000 'modern' textbooks from the college to Kenya Methodist University
The Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) is a chartered private university founded by the Methodist Church in Kenya. It is situated within woodland on the north eastern slopes of Mount Kenya, five kilometers from Meru Town. The development of KeMU ...
.Methodist Heritage Committee Annual Report 2016
accessed 23 December 2016
References
External links
Official websitearchived in September 2011
{{authority control
Education in Bristol
Methodist seminaries and theological colleges
Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in England
Former theological colleges in England
1946 establishments in England
2010 disestablishments in England
Educational institutions established in 1946
Educational institutions disestablished in 2010