Ripon College (Cuddesdon)

Ripon College Cuddesdon
College viewed from the road
Location	Cuddesdon
Country	England
Denomination	Church of England
History
Former name(s)	Cuddesdon College Ripon Clergy College
Founded	1853 (Cuddesdon College) 1897/1898 (Ripon Hall) 1974 (Ripon College Cuddesdon)
Founder(s)	Samuel Wilberforce
Architecture
Functional status	Theological college
Heritage designation	Grade II listed
Architect(s)	G. E. Street
Style	English Gothic Revival
Administration
Parish	Cuddesdon
Diocese	Diocese of Oxford
Province	Canterbury

Ripon College Cuddesdon is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village 5.5 miles (8.9 km) outside Oxford, England. It is the largest ministry training institution in the Church of England.

Ripon College Cuddesdon was formed from an amalgamation in 1975 of Cuddesdon College and Ripon Hall. The name of the college, which is incorporated by royal charter, deliberately contains no comma.

Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, founded Cuddesdon College in April 1853, as the Oxford Diocesan Seminary to train graduates from Oxford and Cambridge. Its original buildings, designed by the Diocesan Architect for Oxford G. E. Street, were built opposite the Cuddesdon Palace. The Neo-Gothic buildings are regarded as the first important design by Street and influenced much of his later work. The College opened in June 1854 and quickly became known as Cuddesdon College. A larger chapel, built at first-floor level and with decorations by Clayton and Bell, was added by Street in 1874–5. The northwest wing, and opposite the chapel, was built in 1904, the southeast wing in 1920 and the service wing in 1925. Traditionally, "Cuddesdon", as it is commonly known, was in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England.

Ripon Hall was founded in Ripon, Yorkshire, in 1897 or 1898. It was originally a hostel for theological students, known as Bishop's College, founded by William Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon. In 1902, it was merged with Lightfoot Hall, Birmingham and became known as Ripon Clergy College. In 1919, the college moved from Ripon to a site in Parks Road in Oxford and was renamed Ripon Hall. There, it became known as a liberal Anglican college.