Warminster_-_Theological_College_-_geograph

St Boniface College, Warminster, formerly St Boniface Missionary College, was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

educational institution in the Wiltshire town of

Warminster Warminster () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of 18,173 in 2021. The name ''Warminster'' occurs first i ...

, England during the last third of the 19th century and the first two-thirds of the 20th. It was founded in 1860 by Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th Baronet, vicar of Warminster from 1859 to 1897, in a house on Church Road about 250m south of the parish church, St Denys'. At first it provided a place for young men without formal education to be trained for suitable employment, but soon narrowed its scope to train them specifically for

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

work. It gradually grew in size and by 1897 the foundation stone was laid for a permanent college, this being completed in 1901. Two former students of the college were martyred in China during the Boxer Rising: Harry Vine Norman and Charles Robinson, who were murdered in 1900. Another, Frederick Day of

Stratton St Margaret Stratton St Margaret is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The parish covers north-eastern suburbs of Swindon including Stratton St Margaret itself, along with Upper Stratton, Lower Stratton and Kingsdown. Geograph ...

near Swindon was murdered in North China on 4 March 1912. The college closed during both the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

s, and was a

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

facility for

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

from 1948 until its eventual closure in 1969. The nearby Lord Weymouth's Grammar School then leased the buildings, and today they form part of

Warminster School Warminster School is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, for pupils aged three to eighteen. Initially established in 1707, the s ...

The buildings are in three phases, beginning in 1796 with the central three-storey structure, described by Pevsner as a "handsome house". To the right is the 1897–1901 extension,

neo-Jacobean The Jacobethan ( ) architectural style, also known as Jacobean Revival, is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the Engli ...

in dressed stone, decorated with ornate features such as gabled dormers bearing

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

s. In 1927 a further large L-shaped extension was built to the left, to designs of Sir Charles Nicholson. This part, which includes a chapel and library, is described by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

as "quite impressive

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

Notable people

Arthur Anstey Arthur Henry Anstey (187313 November 1955) was Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago from 1918 until 1945; and for his last two years there Archbishop of the West Indies (primate of all the Church in the Province of the West Indies). Anstey was educate ...

, later Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago and

Archbishop of the West Indies The Archbishop of the West Indies is the Anglican primate of the Province of the West Indies, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. History The West Indies became a self-governing province of the Church of England in 1883, when William Pier ...

, was principal of the college from 1904.

References

Anglican buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Educational institutions established in 1860 1860 establishments in England Educational institutions disestablished in 1969 1969 disestablishments in England Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Former theological colleges in England Religion in Wiltshire Education in Wiltshire Grade II listed buildings in Wiltshire Warminster {{seminary-stub

Notable people

See also

References