Westcott House is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

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 ...

based on

Jesus Lane Jesus Lane is a street in central Cambridge, England. Also located on Jesus Lane are Wesley House, Methodist theological college (or seminary), on the north side and Westcott House, a Church of England theological college, on the south sid ...

in the centre of the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in the United Kingdom.Westcott House website, Home pag

Retrieved on August 27, 2006. Its main activity is training people for Holy orders, ordained ministry in 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 Brit ...

and other Anglican churches. Westcott House is a founding member of the

Cambridge Theological Federation The Cambridge Theological Federation (CTF) is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses based in Cambridge, England and founded in 1972. The federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in membe ...

. The college is considered by many to be Liberal Catholic in its tradition, but it accepts ordinands from a range of

traditions A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays o ...

in the Church of England.

History

Westcott House began its life in 1881 as the Cambridge Clergy Training School.

Brooke Foss Westcott Brooke Foss Westcott (12 January 1825 – 27 July 1901) was an English bishop, biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death. He is perhaps most known for co-editing ''The New Testament in the Orig ...

, the then Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, was its first president. He later became the Bishop of Durham. A pioneering and respected New Testament scholar himself, the school was the product of Westcott's own passionate concern to raise the standard of clergy education and to equip clergy to meet the challenges of parish ministry.Westcott House website
"The History of Westcott House", Retrieved on 13 February 2013. Westcott was also exercised by the way in which the Church of England was increasingly dominated by parties and factions. Westcott himself eschewed any party affiliation. The college has often been associated with a "Liberal Catholic" ethos, although its essential charism embraces the breadth of the Church of England and the wider church: 'As a scholar, educator, priest and prophet, Westcott's legacy to the Church of England challenges sectarianism, ignorance, complacency and empty faith. This is the spirit which Westcott House seeks to honour today, drawing students from all backgrounds to prepare them for ministry in this historic centre of Christian learning'. In response to the

Faith in the City ''Faith in the City: A Call for Action by Church and Nation'' was a report published in the United Kingdom in autumn 1985, authored by the authored by Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Commission on Urban Priority Areas. The report created ...

report, published in 1985, the college has retained a firm commitment to develop expertise and capacity in the field of urban ministry and mission. Through its partnership with the Diocese of Manchester, the college has pioneered patterns of

context-based learning Context-based learning (CBL) refers to the use of real-life and fictitious examples in teaching environments in order to learn through the actual, practical experience with a subject rather than just its mere theoretical parts. CBL is student cent ...

and innovative approaches to contextual theology for over twenty years. These approaches have been widely imitated and developed by other theological education institutions. The college has also developed a programme for continuing ministerial development through the Westcott Foundation. The college provides training pathways in conjunction with the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and the Common Awards (validated by

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

). It describes itself as "the home of a diverse, inclusive and international community of people who share a vision of ministry to all society". Drawing on the inspiration of B. F. Westcott and others, its ethos is expressed in a rule of life which was adopted in 2014.

Notable people

List of principals

The head of Westcott House is known as the principal. All the principals of the Clergy Training School and of Westcott House have been Anglican priests. *1887-1901: Frederic Chase *1901-1911: Henry Knight *1911-1916: Charles Lambert ''1916-1919: Closed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

'' *1919-1943: Bertram Cunningham *1943-1947: William Greer *1948-1961: Kenneth Carey *1962-1972: Peter Walker *1972-1981: Mark Santer *1981-1993: Rupert Hoare *1993-2006: Michael Roberts *2006-2015: Martin Seeley *2015-2019:

Chris Chivers Christopher Mark "Chris" Chivers (born 16 July 1967) is an Anglican priest, composer, and author. From 2015 until 2019, he was the Principal (academia), Principal of Westcott House, Cambridge, an Anglican theological college in the Liberal Anglo- ...

*2019–2020 (acting): Paul Dominiak, Vice-Principal *''2020-2021 (interim): Tim Stevens'' *2021–present: Helen Dawes

Staff

Besides the aforementioned principals, notable staff have included: * Charles Freer Andrews, vice-principal; then missionary, educator and social reformer in India *

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...

, chaplain, tutor and vice-principal; current bishop suffragan of Hertford * Spencer Carpenter, vice-principal; later

Dean of Exeter The Dean of Exeter is the head of the Chapter of Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, England. The chapter was established by William Briwere, Bishop of Exeter (1224–44) who set up the offices of dean and chancellor of Exeter Cathedr ...

* John Collins, vice-principal: later Canon of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

* Don Cupitt, vice-principal; later Dean of

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican m ...

* Charles Garrad, vice-principal; then missionary and Bible translator in Burma * John Habgood, vice-principal; later

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

and

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 ...

* John Harmer, vice-principal: later Bishop of Adelaide and

Bishop of Rochester The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury. The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was fo ...

Hugh Montefiore Hugh William Montefiore (born Hugh William Sebag-Montefiore; 12 May 1920 – 13 May 2005) was an English Anglican bishop and academic, who served as Bishop of Kingston from 1970 to 1978 and Bishop of Birmingham from 1978 to 1987. Early life and ...

, vice-principal; later Bishop of Birmingham * Jeremy Morris, tutor, director of studies and vice-principal; former Master of

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

* Robert Runcie, chaplain, tutor and vice-principal; later principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, Bishop of St Albans and

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...

* Mary Tanner, tutor; later European President of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

Angela Tilby Angela Clare Wyatt Tilby (born 6 March 1950) is British Anglican priest, author and former producer. She began her career working as a producer within the BBC's Religious Department. She was then ordained in the Church of England, and was a parish ...

, tutor and vice-principal; current Canon of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

* Alan Webster, chaplain and vice-principal; later

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire. The current dean is Andrew Tremlet ...

* Harry Williams, chaplain and tutor: later Dean of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, theologian and monk of the Community of the Resurrection * Rowan Williams, chaplain, tutor and director of studies; later Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and canon of Christ Church

Bishop of Monmouth The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocesan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth. The episcopal see covers the historic county of Monmouthshire with the bishop's seat located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Woolos in Newport, which ...

, Archbishop of Wales,

and Master of Magdalene *

Edward Wynn Harold Edward Wynn (1889–1956) was an Anglican bishop. He was born on 15 January 1889 and educated at Mercers' School, London and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Ordained a priest on Trinity Sunday 1912 (2 June), by Frederic Chase, Bishop of Ely, ...

, vice-principal; later

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nor ...

Alumni

Notable alumni of Westcott House and of the Clergy Training School include: * Robert Atwell, current

bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

* Paul Badham, Professor ''emeritus'' of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter *

Simon Bailey Simon Bailey may refer to: * Simon Bailey (priest) (1955–1995), Anglican priest and writer * Simon Bailey (archivist), Keeper of the Archives at the University of Oxford in England * Simon T. Bailey (born 1968), American speaker, author, life ...

, writer and priest * Alister McGrath, Professor of Religious studies & Science and writer * Andrew Ballard, retired archdeacon of Manchester *

David Bartleet David Henry Bartleet (11 April 1929 – 1 November 2002) was a British Anglican bishop. From 1982 to 1993, he was the fourth Bishop of Tonbridge, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Rochester. He was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford and S ...

, Bishop suffragan of Tonbridge * Dewi Bridges,

Bishop of Swansea and Brecon The Bishop of Swansea and Brecon is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. The diocese covers the City and County of Swansea and the ancient counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. The diocesan cathedral is the ...

* Gareth Bennett, academic renowned for criticising the then-Archbishop *

Chiu Ban It Joshua Chiu Ban It (; – 9 November 2016) was the Bishop of Singapore from 1966 to 1981, and was the first indigenous Bishop of Singapore. Chiu graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London in 1941 and was ordained after a per ...

, Bishop of Singapore * Stephen Conway, current

bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nor ...

Christopher Cunliffe Christopher John Cunliffe (born 25 September 1955) is a retired Anglican priest who served as Archdeacon of Derby from his appointment in 2006 until his retirement, effective 31 December 2020. He was educated at Charterhouse, Christ Church, Oxfor ...

, current archdeacon of Derby * Henry de Candole, Bishop suffragan of Knaresborough and liturgist * Griff Dines, Provost of

St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Moire), commonly called St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, ...

* Maurice O'Connor Drury, left Westcott after one year * Peter Eaton, current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South-East Florida * David Edwards, Provost of Southwark *

Peter Eliot Peter Charles Eliot (30 October 1910 – 16 December 1995) was an English Anglican priest who served as Archdeacon of Worcester from 1961 to 1975. Eliot was the great-grandson of Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans, by his youngest son, ...

, Archdeacon of Worcester * Ralph Emmerson, Bishop suffragan of Knaresborough * Michael (Fisher) SSF, Bishop suffragan of St Germans * Launcelot Fleming,

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...

* Frank Ford, Archdeacon of the East Riding * David Galliford, Bishop suffragan of Bolton * Herbert Gwyer, Bishop of George * Stuart Hallam, a current Naval chaplain * Barry Hollowell, Bishop of Calgary * Forbes Horan, Bishop suffragan of Tewkesbury *

Anthony Hoskyns-Abrahall Anthony Leigh Egerton Hoskyns-Abrahall (13 October 19031 May 1982) was an Anglican priest and bishop who served as the Bishop of Lancaster (a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Blackburn) from 1955 until 1975.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's ...

, Bishop suffragan of Lancaster *

Noel Hudson Noel Baring Hudson (18 December 1893 – 5 October 1970) was an Anglican bishop who served at Labuan and Sarawak, St Albans, Newcastle and Ely. He was a first-class Rugby Union player, a brave and successful soldier and an eminent senior cleric. ...

Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak The Bishop of Kuching is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Anglicanism, Anglican Diocese of Kuching in the Church of the Province of South East Asia. The bishop exercises episcopal authority over Anglican churches in the Malaysian state of ...

* Andrew Hunter, former MP for Basingstoke *

Robert Keable Robert Keable (6 March 1887 – 22 December 1927) was a British novelist, formerly a missionary and priest in the Church of England. He resigned his ministry following his experiences in the First World War and caused a scandal with his 1921 ...

, novelist and missionary *

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, Archdeacon of Hereford * Barry Morgan, former archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Llandaff *

Edward Patey Edward Henry Patey (12 August 1915 – 5 September 2005) was the Church of England Dean of Liverpool, England from 1964 to 1982. Patey was born in Bristol and educated at Marlborough College, Hertford College, Oxford and Westcott House, Cambridg ...

Dean of Liverpool The Dean of Liverpool is based in Liverpool and is head of the chapter of Liverpool Cathedral. Sue Jones was installed as Dean on 5 May 2018. A former dean, Edward Patey, said that being Dean of Liverpool was "the best job in the Church of Eng ...

Guy Pentreath Rev. Canon Arthur Godolphin Guy Carleton Pentreath, M.A., Cantab. (Guy Pentreath; 1902–1985) was an Anglican clergyman, and a headmaster of several schools. In his retirement, he was a chaplain and guest lecturer on many Swan Hellenic cruise ...

, chaplain and headmaster *

John Polkinghorne John Charlton Polkinghorne (16 October 1930 – 9 March 2021) was an English theoretical physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest. A prominent and leading voice explaining the relationship between science and religion, he was professor of m ...

, theoretical physicist and theologian * William Rees, Archdeacon of St Asaph * David Reindorp, vicar * John Richardson, Archdeacon of Derby *

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' * John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *Joh ...

, Bishop suffragan of Woolwich * Patrick Rodger, Bishop of Oxford * John Edmondson, member of the House of Lords * Paul Shinji Sasaki, Bishop of Tokyo * Allan Shaw,

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 mode ...

* Shimun XXI or XXIII Eshai, Patriarch of the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...

* Percival Smith, Archdeacon of Lynn * Mervyn Stockwood, Bishop of Southwark *

Carol Stone Carol Ann Stone (formerly Peter James Stone, 1954–2014) was an English Anglican priest and chaplain. She was the first serving priest of the Church of England to transition from male to female. She was ordained in 1978 as a male, underwent ...

, vicar * Graham Usher, current

* Graham Ward, current Regius Professor of Divinity at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

* Richard Watson, Bishop of Burnley *

David Wilbourne David Jeffrey Wilbourne (born 15 September 1955) is an Anglican bishop. The son of a priest, he has spent the majority of his ministry in Yorkshire. He was the Assistant Bishop of Llandaff from 2009 until 2017, working alongside the Archbishop of ...

, former

assistant 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 ...

Trevor Willmott Trevor Willmott (born 29 March 1950) is a British retired bishop in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Basingstoke (one of two suffragan bishops in the Diocese of Winchester) from 2002 to 2009 and then Bishop of Dover (''de facto'' ...

, former

bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop ...

Kenneth Woollcombe Kenneth John Woollcombe (Ken; 2 January 19242 March 2008) was an Anglican academic who was Bishop of Oxford in the middle part of his career, from 1971 to 1978. Early years Woollcombe was born in Sutton, where his father, the Reverend Edward Wo ...

, former Bishop of Oxford *

Barry Till Barry Dorn Till (1 June 1923 – 12 June 2013) was an Anglican priest, author and academic. He was born on 1 June 1923, educated at Harrow and served in the Coldstream Guards from 1942 to 1946. He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he ...

, academic and educator *

Cherry Vann Cherry Elizabeth Vann (born 29 October 1958) is a British Anglican bishop serving as Bishop of Monmouth in the Church in Wales. She previously served as Archdeacon of Rochdale from 2008 to 2020, having served all of her ordained ministry with ...

, current

* Benjamin Vaughan,

Gallery

Image:Westcott House Old Court Lawn.JPG, Old Court Lawn Image:All Saints Jesus Lane.JPG, All Saints Church, Jesus Lane, Cambridge

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1887 Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Anglo-Catholic educational establishments Institutions of the Cambridge Theological Federation Anglican buildings and structures in Europe 1887 establishments in England