Chichester Theological College


Chichester Theological College was an Anglican theological college for the Diocese of Chichester in Sussex, England. Its churchmanship was high church and Anglo-Catholic.

History

Chichester Theological College was founded by William Otter in July 1838, marking it the first diocesan theological college in England. Charles Marriott of Oriel College, Oxford, served as the inaugural principal. The first donation of £50 for the college was from W. E. Gladstone.
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. At a meeting of the college council, it was resolved to close the college. However, a persuasive argument by the vice-principal led to the appointment of Herbert Rickard as 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, who dedicated it to St Richard of Chichester.
During the Second World War, the college was forced to move temporarily to Cambridge while its buildings in Chichester were used by the military authorities. After 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, designed by Ahrends, Burton and Koralek, later became a Listed building.

Closure

After the closure of Chichester Theological College in 1994, its theological library was transferred to the University of Chichester. In addition, St Bartholomew's Chapel, once the college's chapel, is now the chaplaincy building of Chichester College.
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 syllabus to children of pre-school and school age, as well as adult students. The centre opened in September 2022.

List of principals

Notable alumni