St Boniface College, Warminster, formerly St Boniface Missionary College, was an Anglican educational institution in the Wiltshire town of Warminster, England during the last third of the 19th century and the first two-thirds of the 20th. [1]
It was founded in 1860 by Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th Baronet, vicar of Warminster from 1859 to 1897, [2] [3] 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 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 near Swindon was murdered in North China on 4 March 1912. [4]
The college closed during both the First and Second World Wars, and was a postgraduate facility for King's College, London from 1948 until its eventual closure in 1969. [5] The nearby Lord Weymouth's Grammar School then leased the buildings, and today they form part of Warminster School.
The buildings are in three phases, beginning in 1796 with the central three-storey structure, described by Pevsner as a "handsome house". [6] To the right is the 1897–1901 extension, neo-Jacobean in dressed stone, decorated with ornate features such as gabled dormers bearing finials. 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 as "quite impressive Gothic". [7]
Arthur Anstey, later Bishop of Trinidad and Tobago and Archbishop of the West Indies, was principal of the college from 1904.[ citation needed ]
Avebury is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 5.5 miles (9 km) west of Marlborough and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Devizes. Much of the village is encircled by the prehistoric monument complex also known as Avebury. The parish also includes the small villages of Avebury Trusloe and Beckhampton, and the hamlet of West Kennett.
Warminster is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. It has a population of about 17,000. The 11th-century Minster Church of St Denys stands near the River Were, which runs through the town and can be seen running through the town park. The name Warminster first occurs in the early 10th century. The High Street and Market Place have many fine buildings; The Athenaeum Centre, Town Hall, St Lawrence Chapel, The Old Bell, and a good variety of independent shops.
Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, below the northwestern edge of Salisbury Plain, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Trowbridge and a similar distance north of Warminster. Originally a market town, Westbury was known for the annual Hill Fair where many sheep were sold in the 18th and 19th centuries; later growth came from the town's position at the intersection of two railway lines. The busy A350, which connects the M4 motorway with the south coast, passes through the town. The urban area has expanded to include the village of Westbury Leigh and the hamlets of Chalford and Frogmore.
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in 1886. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read Architecture.
Sherrington is a small village and civil parish on the River Wylye in Wiltshire, England.
Bishopstrow is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the southeastern edge of the town of Warminster. The village is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the town centre, south of the old Warminster to Salisbury road, formerly the A36, now the B3414.
Boyton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Wylye Valley within Salisbury Plain, about 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Warminster and 13 miles (21 km) north-west of Salisbury. The parish includes the village of Corton.
Wylye is a village and civil parish on the River Wylye in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 9+1⁄2 miles (15 km) northwest of Salisbury and a similar distance southeast of Warminster.
The Community of St Denys (CSD) is an Anglican religious order of nuns founded in 1879, under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Salisbury of the Church of England. The community was established to engage in domestic and foreign missionary work, but is now engaged in adult education, parish ministry, spiritual guidance, and leading retreats.
Warminster School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, for students aged three to eighteen. Initially established in 1707, the school took its current form in 1973 with the amalgamation of Lord Weymouth's Grammar School and St Monica's. It now comprises the Preparatory School, for pupils aged three to eleven, and the Senior School for students aged eleven to eighteen.
Horningsham is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the county border with Somerset. The village lies about 4 miles (6 km) southwest of the town of Warminster and 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) southeast of Frome, Somerset.
Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, 2nd Baronet, was an English architect and designer who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings and war memorials. He carried out the refurbishments of several cathedrals, the design and build of over a dozen new churches, and the restoration of many existing, medieval parish churches.
Stockton is a small village and civil parish in the Wylye Valley in Wiltshire, England, about 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Warminster. The parish includes the hamlet of Bapton.
Longbridge Deverill is a village and civil parish about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. It is on the A350 primary route which connects the M4 motorway and west Wiltshire with Poole, Dorset.
Sutton Veny is a village and civil parish in the Wylye valley, to the southeast of the town of Warminster in Wiltshire, England; the village is about 3 miles (5 km) from Warminster town centre. 'Sutton' means 'south farmstead' in relation to Norton Bavant, one mile (1.6 km) to the north. 'Veny' may be a French family name or may describe the village's fenny situation.
Knook is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village lies to the north of the River Wylye at the edge of Salisbury Plain, about 4+1⁄2 miles (7 km) southeast of Warminster, close to the A36 road to Salisbury.
East Knoyle is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, in the south-west of England, just west of the A350 and about 9 miles (14 km) south of Warminster and 5 miles (8 km) north of Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was the birthplace of the architect Sir Christopher Wren. The parish includes the hamlets of Holloway, Milton, The Green, Underhill and Upton.
Charles Edwin Ponting, F.S.A., (1850–1932) was a Gothic Revival architect who practised in Marlborough, Wiltshire.
Heywood is a civil parish and small village in the county of Wiltshire in southwestern England. The village is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Westbury and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of the county town of Trowbridge.
St Denys' Church is the parish church of the town of Warminster, Wiltshire, England, and is the town's oldest church. Begun in the 11th century, rebuilt in the 14th and restored in the 19th, it is a Grade II* listed building.
Coordinates: 51°12′29″N2°11′20″W / 51.208°N 2.189°W