Information

St Boniface College at Warminster was founded originally as a missionary college in 1860. Here, from 1948 to 1969, King's College London (KCL) ran the fourth-year of its training course preparing ordinands for ministry in the Church of England. More details can be found on the History page of this site.

The Warminster Venture

A book entitled The Warminster Venture was published by the St Boniface Trust in 2010, with a foreword by the then Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams. It is a unique and detailed account of the training of ordinands at KCL and St Boniface College. In addition to describing the thinking behind the establishment of the fourth-year course at Warminster, the book provides excellent insights into the personalities and work of Eric Abbott, Sydney Evans, and John Townroe, key figures in the story of KCL and St Boniface College.

Because this important book is now out of print, and a further print run would not be economically viable, a web version has been created. Use the link to view the web version of The Warminster Venture now available on this site.

Canon John Townroe

No name is more associated with St Boniface College than that of John Townroe. He took up his appointment as the college's Chaplain when King's College commenced its fourth-year course at Warminster 1948. He became Warden in 1956 and remained in that post until the college closed in 1969. No one had a more profound influence on the life of the college and its students than John Townroe. A summary of his influential ministry at the college, and after its closure, can be found on the page The Revd Canon John Townroe. The page includes transcripts of the eulogy and homily delivered at his funeral in 2018, family reminiscences of him, and obituaries published in the Church Times and the Daily Telegraph. These provide very interesting insights into John Townroe's life, his character, his ministry and the breadth of his influence.

College Photographs

Also on this site are college photographs of students and staff taken each year from 1948, the first year of KCL's venture at Warminster, up to 1968 during the final academic year before the college closed in 1969. This page is of historical interest not only for the photographs but also for their captions which record the names of most of those pictured.

College Life

The ordination training provided by King's College London and its fourth-year course at St Boniface College Warminster was exceptional and highly regarded. The definitive history of these colleges and their ordination training is the Revd David Wilding's book The Warminster Venture - see above.

A very personal picture of life at these colleges, as seen and experienced by one ordinand student in the mid-1960s, can be viewed on the page College Life: London and Warminster. The page includes notes about the Warminster Conference, Reunion & Retreat that was held annually up to 2019.