Chichester Theological College (1838–1994) was 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 for the

Diocese of Chichester The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was founded in 681 as the ancient Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey, until the see was translated to Chichester in 1075. The cath ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

, England. Its

churchmanship Churchmanship (or churchpersonship; or tradition in most official contexts) is a way of talking about and labelling different tendencies, parties, or schools of thought within the Church of England and the sister churches of the Anglican Commu ...

was

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

and

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

History

Gillett House, Chichester Theological College by Tim Cornwell

Chichester Theological College college was founded by William Otter in July 1838, the first such diocesan college in England. Charles Marriott of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

, was its first principal and the first donation, of £50, for the college was from

W. E. Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. From 1886, during Josiah Sanders Teulon's time as principal, the college experienced a gradual decline in students. This was exacerbated in 1899 when he resigned but retained his income as a resident

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

. At a meeting of the college council, it was resolved to close the college. However, the vice-principal made a successful case for continuing and Herbert Rickard was appointed the new principal. In 1903, a hostel in West Street, Chichester, was bought for £1000 by the college council, the balance being paid by the principal in memory of his wife. This was refitted and became the college headquarters. This hostel was sold in 1919 and the proceeds went towards the purchase of new headquarters in Westgate, Chichester, for £3500. On 1 May 1919, the college was formally reopened by Bishop

Charles Ridgeway Charles John Ridgeway (14 July 184128 February 1927) was an English churhman, the Bishop of Chichester from 1908 to 1919. Life Ridgeway was born into an ecclesiastical family: his father Joseph Ridgeway was Vicar of Christ Church, Tunbridge Well ...

(his last episcopal act) and was dedicated to

St Richard of Chichester Richard of Chichester (1197 – 3 April 1253), also known as Richard de Wych, is a saint (canonized 1262) who was Bishop of Chichester. In Chichester Cathedral a shrine dedicated to Richard had become a richly decorated centre of pilgrimag ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the college was forced to move temporarily to

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 ...

while its buildings in Chichester were used by the military authorities. At the end of the war, the college buildings were sold, except for Marriott House, which was used to house the reopened college from 21 October 1946. New residential accommodation, named Gillett House, was designed by Ahrends, Burton and Koralek, now a

Listed building 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 I ...

Closure

After the closure of Chichester Theological College in 1994, its theological library was transferred to the

University of Chichester , mottoeng = By teaching, we learn , type = Public , established = 2005 , administrative_staff = 600 , vice_chancellor = Jane Longmore , city = Chichester, West Sussex , country = England, UK ...

. In addition, St Bartholomew's Chapel, which served as the chapel to the theological college, is now the chaplaincy building of

Chichester College Chichester College is a college of further education in Chichester, West Sussex, England. It has a second campus at Brinsbury, near Pulborough. It is a member of the Collab Group which represents the largest colleges in England. Chichester Co ...

. St Bartholomew's Church after being vacant since 2015 when the 10 year lease to Chichester College as a performance space ended, was sold to a local family partnership as an arts and community hire venue called the Chichester City Arts Centre. The centre is also the home of the Rosemary Bell Academy of Dance, a local 10 year old school for teaching classical ballet to the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus to children of pre-school and school age as well as adult students. The centre opened in September 2022.

List of principals

* 1838: Charles Marriott, supporter 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 ...

* 1842: Henry Browne, English classical and biblical scholar * 1846:

Philip Freeman Philip Freeman (1818–1875) was a Church of England cleric and Archdeacon of Exeter. Life Freeman, son of Edmund Freeman, of the Cedars, Combs, Suffolk, and Margaret, daughter of William Hughes of Wexford, Ireland, was born at the Cedars, Co ...

, scholar and

Archdeacon of Exeter The Archdeacon of Exeter is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. The modern diocese is divided into four archdeaconries: the archdeacon of Exeter supervises clergy and buildings within the area of the ...

* 1854:

Charles Anthony Swainson Charles Anthony Swainson (1820–1887) was an English theologian, Principal of Chichester Theological College, Norris–Hulse Professor of Divinity, and subsequently Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, Master of Christ's College, Cambridge an ...

* 1870: Arthur Rawson Ashwell, writer, preacher, teacher and canon residentiary of

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

* 1879: William Awdry, the first

Bishop of Southampton The Bishop of Southampton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Winchester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the city of Southampton in Hampshire. The current b ...

* 1886: Josiah Sanders Teulon * 1899: Herbert Rickard until 1918 * 1919: Herman Leonard Pass, reopened the college after the

First World War 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, ...

* 1933: Charles Scott Gillett * 1946: John Moorman,

Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...

from 1956 to 1975 * 1956: Cheslyn Jones * 1971: Alan Wilkinson * 1975: Robert John Halliburton * 1982: John Hind,

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 sea ...

* 1991: Peter Atkinson,

Dean of Worcester The Dean of Worcester is the head of the Chapter of Worcester Cathedral in Worcester, England. The current dean is Peter Atkinson, who lives at The Deanery, College Green, Worcester. Crockford's on-line accessed by subscription Tuesday 11 June ...

Notable alumni

James Ayong James Simon Ayong (born in a cave in Kumbun, West New Britain in 1944 – 5 April 2018) was the Anglican Archbishop of Papua New Guinea from 19 June 1996 to 2009. He was the first prelate in the church of Papua New Guinea to come from elsewhere ...

(1944-2018), Archbishop of Papua New Guinea * George Austin (1931-2019),

Archdeacon of York The Archdeacon of York (or of the West Riding) is a senior clergy position in an archdeaconry subdivision of the Church of England Diocese of York in the Province of York. It is named for the City of York and consists of the seven rural dean ...

* Paul-Gordon Chandler (born 1964), Bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming and author *

Barry Curtis Barry Curtis may refer to: * Barry Curtis (actor) (1943–2019), American film and television actor * Barry Curtis (mayor) (born 1939), served as mayor (1983–2007) of Manukau City, New Zealand ** Barry Curtis Park, a park in south Auckland, New ...

(born 1933), Bishop of Calgary and Metropolitan of Rupert's Land *

Edwin Dodgson Edwin Heron Dodgson (30 June 1846 – 3 January 1918) was a clergyman in the Church of England and the youngest brother of Lewis Carroll, author of ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He is primarily remembered for his work as a missionary i ...

(1846–1918), missionary *

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

(born 1952), Bishop of The Murray, formerly Bishop of Plymouth * Arthur John Hawes (born 1943),

Archdeacon of Lincoln The Archdeacon of Lincoln is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Lincoln – he or she has responsibilities within his archdeaconry (the ancient Archdeaconry of Lincoln) including oversight of church buildings and some supervision, d ...

Christopher Hewetson Christopher Hewetson (c.1737–1798) was a neoclassical sculptor of portrait busts. Born in Ireland, he was active in Rome. Biography Hewetson was born in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1737/8 the son of Lieutenant Christopher He ...

(born 1937),

Archdeacon of Chester The Archdeacon of Chester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the diocese of Chester. The area in which she, or he, has statutory duties is the Archdeaconry of Chester – those duties include some pastoral care and disciplinary supervision of th ...

Roger Jupp Roger Alan Jupp (born 1956) is a British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Popondota from 2003 to 2005. He returned to parish ministry because of ill-health. Early life Jupp was born in London and brought up in Blackheath. He was educate ...

(born 1956), Bishop of

Popondetta Popondetta (sometimes spelled Popondota) is the capital of Oro (Northern) Province in Papua New Guinea. Popondetta is a city. In 1951 the city became the focus of relief efforts after nearby Mount Lamington erupted and killed 4,000 people. ...

Morris Maddocks Morris Henry St John Maddocks (28 April 1928 – 19 January 2008) was a bishop in the Church of England. He was a leading proponent of healing ministry and an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Chichester from 1987. He died on 19 January 200 ...

(1928–2008),

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case the ...

in the

* David Nicholls (1936–96), theologian *

Conrad Noel Conrad le Despenser Roden Noel (12 July 1869 – 22 July 1942) was an English priest of the Church of England. Known as the 'Red Vicar' of Thaxted, he was a prominent Christian socialist. Early life Noel was born on 12 July 1869 in Royal Cottage, ...

(1869-1942), noted Christian Socialist known as the 'Red Vicar' *

Ernest Raymond Ernest Raymond (31 December 1888 – 14 May 1974) was a British novelist, best known for his first novel, '' Tell England'' (1922), set in World War I. His next biggest success was '' We, the Accused'' (1935), generally thought to be a rewor ...

(1888–1974), novelist * David Rossdale (born 1953),

Bishop of Grimsby The Bishop of Grimsby is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Grimsby in Lincolnshire; the See was erected ...

Oswald Trellis Oswald Fitz Burnell Trellis was the Dean of St George's Cathedral, Georgetown, Guyana from 1994. until 2002. Born January 1, 1935 he was ordained in 1975. After studying at Chichester Theological College, he began his ecclesiastical career with ...

(born 1935), Dean of St George's Cathedral, Georgetown *

Victor Whitechurch Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch (b. Norham, Northumberland 12 March 1868 – d. Buxton, Derbyshire 26 May 1933) was a Church of England clergyman and author. He wrote many novels on different themes. He is probably best known for his detective stor ...

(1868-1933), writer of detective fiction * Stephen Lake (born 1963),

Dean of Gloucester The Dean of Gloucester is the head (''primus inter pares'': first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons - the ruling body of Gloucester Cathedral - and senior priest of the Diocese of Gloucester. The dean and chapter are based at Glouce ...

References

External links

Diocese of Chichester site
{{Universities and colleges in South East England Anglo-Catholic educational establishments Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Former theological colleges in England Religious organizations established in 1838 Educational institutions established in 1838 1994 disestablishments