17 November 2011

The Bishop of Oxford blessed a foundation stone for a new Education Centre comprising a lecture theatre, student accommodation, and new home for the Sisters of Begbroke.  The building will be called Harriet Monsell House after the founder in 1852 of the Community of Saint John Baptist who dedicated her life to work with former prostitutes, single mothers, orphanages and hospitals.

The Bishop of Gloucester then blessed an identical foundation stone for an architecturally remarkable new Chapel, dedicated to Bishop Edward King, former Principal of the College, which will provide a stunning new worship space in the heart of the College community.

The foundation stones have been carved by well known local stone mason, Bill Brown, whose work over the last 62 years includes many gargoyles and grotesques for Oxford colleges, and the gravestones of Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother. The stones have been carved with the Lamb of God to represent the Community of St John Baptist, and the Cuddesdon crosses to symbolise the coming together of the two communities in this new enterprise.

Ripon College Cuddesdon, founded in 1854 by the Bishop of Oxford, is one of the country’s leading theological colleges with a third of current bishops, deans and archdeacons in the Church of England having trained there. The College’s greatest strength today is acceptance of students right across the breadth of church traditions preparing them for today’s diverse world.