Cranmer Hall is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

based at

Durham, England Durham ( , locally ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the county of County Durham, Durham, England. It is the county town and contains the headquarters of Durham County Council, the unitary authority which governs the district of Count ...

. Cranmer Hall forms part of

St John's College, Durham St John's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and became a full constituent college of th ...

which is a recognised college of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. It stands in the

Open Evangelical An open evangelical attempts to uphold Evangelicalism, evangelical doctrines, morality, and spirituality, while also being Inclusive theology, inclusive of others. It is a term which is commonly used in the United Kingdom in reference to both indivi ...

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

. Cranmer Hall currently trains ordinands for the Church of England and the wider

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

History

The college is named after

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

during the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. St John's College, of which Cranmer is one of the two constituent halls, was established in 1909. Having become part of Durham University in 1919, the college was formally divided into the two halls in 1958. Cranmer Hall, the theological training institution and the non-theological John's Hall.

Diversification

The Wesley Study Centre, named after

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

, formerly trained ministers 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. M ...

, but now focuses on postgraduate research. In October 2015, the college accepted the first students on its Free Church Track, training leaders for churches outside of the Church of England. In October 2016, the college began to train students for Baptist ministry via an alliance with Northern Baptist College, Manchester.

Notable members of staff

* Calvin T. Samuel, Academic Dean and Director of the Wesley Study Centre * Michael Volland, Director of Mission (2009–2015)

List of wardens

The head of Cranmer Hall is the

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

. *1968–1970: John C. P. Cockerton (formerly Chaplain to Cranmer Hall) *1971–1979: Timothy Yeats *1979–1983: Christopher Byworth *1983–1992: Ian Cundy *1993–1996: John Pritchard *1996–2004: Steven Croft *2005–2011: Anne Dyer *2011–2016: Mark Tanner *2017–2023: Philip Plyming *2023–present: Nicholas Moore

Notable alumni

* Arun Arora, former Director of Communications of the Church of England * Angela Berners-Wilson, first woman ordained a priest in the Church of England * Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford * Chris Edmondson, Bishop of Bolton * Michael Gear, former Bishop of Doncaster * John Gladwin, former Bishop of Chelmsford * Libby Lane, Bishop of Stockport, first woman consecrated a Church of England bishop * Geoff Pearson, Bishop of Lancaster * Robert Paterson, Bishop of Sodor and Man * Joanna Penberthy, first woman consecrated a Church in Wales bishop * John Saxbee, former Bishop of Lincoln * Keith Sinclair, Bishop of Birkenhead * Michael Turnbull, Bishop of Durham (1994–2003) * Richard Turnbull, Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford *

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is an Anglican bishop who served as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 2013 to 2025. After an 11-year career in the oil industry, Welby trained for ordination at St John ...

, former Archbishop of Canterbury * Mark Tanner, Bishop of Berwick

References

External links

Cranmer Hall website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranmer Hall, Durham Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in England Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Evangelicalism in the Church of England Durham University St John's College, Durham Anglican buildings and structures in the United Kingdom