Lively sacrifice: training Anglican women at Dalton House, 1930-1971
Dalton House in Bristol functioned as the women’s theological training college of the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society (BCMS). Founded in 1922 as the result of an acrimonious split with the ‘modernist’ Church Missionary Society, Anglican BCMS remained staunchly evangelical conservative. Over its forty years existence, Dalton House would train the Society’s women candidates for the mission field, alongside parochial ‘lady workers’ destined for home evangelism. My interdisciplinary theology doctorate at Lambeth Palace has commenced with twenty oral histories, as I seek to answer my main research question: ‘What training did evangelical BCMS offer its women students at Dalton House?’ Drawing on feminist theology, post-colonial, educational, and sociological theory, I engage in a critical appraisal of the ethical concerns posed by an oral history methodology. Ultimately, the rich multifaceted pickings – oral, written, and visual – from the holistic life histories of these women, far outweighed the pitfalls. Their testimonies have enabled me to understand the daily experience of living and studying at Dalton House, notably the college uniform, the curriculum, and the relationship with nearby Tyndale Hall, the BCMS men’s theological college. The final reflections are left to my generous octogenarian and nonagenarian respondents. What were their reactions to recalling their training?
All welcome- this seminar is free to attend but registration is required.
This page was last updated on 30 June 2024
