Diocese of Ely - Home - The Church of England in Cambridgeshire & West Norfolk
 

Bishop Woodford House

For a Pause on Life’s Journey

 
 

The Facility

 
 

History

The Diocese of Ely has had many distinguished Bishops including Lancelot Andrewes but the Bishop who probably had more impact than any other on the modern shape of the Diocese is Bishop James Russell Woodford. This distinguished Victorian bishop established a theological college in Ely in 1876, which was responsible for training priests for several generations. Sadly in 1964 it was decided by the Church of England that the college should be temporarily closed due to the decline in the number of graduates and the difficulty of providing the opportunity for theological study in a small cathedral city in the middle of an East Anglian fen. The college was never re-opened and the buildings were sold to the King's School.

In 1973 Bishop Woodford House was opened as the Diocesan Retreat and Conference Centre, located in the garden of the former theological college. The portrait of Bishop Woodford (shown above) who made such a distinguished contribution to the life of the diocese hangs in the entrance hall to the House along with amazingly a lock of his hair.

Click here for a slide show of the construction of Bishop Woodford House.

 


Dining

 


The Facility