The history of theological study begins with
Saint Osmund and the completion of the first cathedral at
Old Sarum in 1092. After Old Sarum was abandoned in favour of
New Sarum (or Salisbury, as it came to be known) and the new cathedral was built in the 1220s, several colleges were established. There is a long-standing tradition that there was a medieval school of theology on the site of No. 19. It was at this time that Salisbury nearly became a university city to rival
Oxford and
Cambridge, but history took a different turn. The main building at the front of the site was built in 1677 and has long been attributed to Sir
Christopher Wren for Francis Hill, a distinguished London lawyer and deputy recorder for Salisbury. He chose a particularly striking site, at the north end of Bishop's Walk, facing directly down to the Bishop's Palace (now the Cathedral School). The house remained in the Hill family until the end of the 18th century. In February 1952 the main building was designated as a
Grade I listed building.
Establishment Walter Kerr Hamilton,
Bishop of Salisbury, established
Salisbury Theological College in 1860 – buying the house (then No. 87) from Charlotte Wyndham – and the first students arrived in January 1861. In the 1870s the college expanded, with the addition of a residential wing (the Butterfield Wing) to provide accommodation for students, and then a chapel. A donation of £4,750 was given by Sidney Lear, sister of the archdeacon, for the new buildings. The extensions were designed by
William Butterfield, one of the foremost church architects of his time and best known for
Keble College, Oxford. The chapel was consecrated in 1881.
20th century Eight students of the college were killed in the
First World War (1914–18) and a memorial in the chapel records their names. In 1937 further extensions were added – consisting of study bedrooms for students, a new library (now the common room) – designed by William Randoll Blacking. These rooms are now known as the Baker Wing. During the
Second World War (1939–45) the college was taken over by the women of the
Auxiliary Territorial Service and
Queen Mary paid them a visit. Apparently the creepers which covered the front of the building were hastily removed, as the Queen did not like them.
Merger In October 1971 the two theological colleges of Salisbury and
Wells merged. The Wells students came to No. 19 and the
Salisbury and Wells Theological College was formed. The arrival of extra students required more space and two extensions were built: a three-storey block of flats and study bedrooms at the eastern end of the Butterfield building (the East Wing) and a new chapel, refectory and library at the northern end.
Present In 1994 the Salisbury and Wells College closed, and the following year Sarum College was established on the same Salisbury site to provide a place of ecumenical theological education. It also provided ministerial training through the
Southern Theological Education and Training Scheme (STETS), which closed in 2015 after the college absorbed its functions. ==List of principals==