Westcott House is 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 ...

theological college based on Jesus Lane in the centre of the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

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 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, ...

and other Anglican churches. Westcott House is a founding member of the Cambridge Theological Federation. 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 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 exa ...

in the Church of England.

History

Westcott House began its life in 1881 as the Cambridge Clergy Training School. Brooke Foss Westcott, the then Regius Professor of Divinity at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 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 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 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 and the Common Awards (validated by Durham University), as well as opportunities for independent study for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees through the wider Cambridge Theological Federation and Anglia Ruskin University. Westcott House 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

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'' *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 *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, chaplain, tutor and vice-principal; former bishop suffragan of Hertford and current Bishop of Bath and Wells. * Spencer Carpenter, vice-principal; later Dean of Exeter * John Collins, vice-principal: later Canon of St Paul's Cathedral * Don Cupitt, vice-principal; later Dean of Emmanuel College, Cambridge * Charles Garrad, vice-principal; then missionary and Bible translator in Burma * John Habgood, vice-principal; later Bishop of Durham and Archbishop of York * John Harmer, vice-principal: later Bishop of Adelaide and Bishop of Rochester * Hugh Montefiore, vice-principal; later Bishop of Birmingham * Jeremy Morris, tutor, director of studies and vice-principal; former Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge * 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 Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

* Mary Tanner, tutor; later European President of the World Council of Churches * Angela Tilby, tutor and vice-principal; current Canon of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

* Alan Webster, chaplain and vice-principal; later Dean of St Paul's * Harry Williams, chaplain and tutor: later Dean of Trinity College, Cambridge, theologian and monk of the Community of the Resurrection * Rowan Williams, chaplain, tutor and director of studies; later Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at

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and canon of Christ Church Bishop of Monmouth, Archbishop of Wales,

and Master of Magdalene * Edward Wynn, vice-principal; later Bishop of Ely

Alumni

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

* Percival Smith, Archdeacon of Lynn * Mervyn Stockwood, former Bishop of Southwark * Carol Stone, vicar * Barry Till, academic and educator * Graham Usher, current Bishop of Norwich * Cherry Vann, current Bishop of Monmouth * Benjamin Vaughan, former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon * Graham Ward, current Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University * Richard Watson, former Bishop of Burnley * David Wilbourne, former assistant bishop of Llandaff * Trevor Willmott, former bishop of Dover * Kenneth Woollcombe, former Bishop of Oxford

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
{{Coord, 52.208395, N, 0.122663, E, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 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 the United Kingdom 1887 establishments in England