Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre Explained

Woodbrooke Study Centre is a Quaker college in Selly Oak, Birmingham, England.

The only Quaker Study Centre in Europe,^{[1] [2]} it was founded by George Cadbury in 1903 and occupies his former home on the Bristol Road.^[3] Woodbrooke's first Director of Studies was the biblical scholar J. Rendel Harris.^[4] Other early staff included Horace Gundry Alexander^[5] and Leyton Richards, a prominent pacifist who was appointed as Warden in 1916.^[6]

The college was extended between 1907 and 1914 by the addition of a new wing, a new common room and Holland House, a men's hostel. By 1922 it was estimated that 1,250 British students and 400 foreign students had attended the college.^[7]

It was federated with eight other nearby colleges, known collectively as Selly Oak Colleges.

Woodbrooke provides short courses on personal spiritual growth, theology, creative arts, and training for Quaker roles. Its Centre for Research in Quaker Studies offers postgraduate taught and research degrees through the Universities of Birmingham.^[8]

Notable alumni

• Gertrud Luckner, Christian social worker involved in the German resistance to Nazism
• Alice Paul, American suffragist, feminist, and women's rights activist
• Margaret Thorp, Australian feminist and peace activist
• Hélène Monastier, Swiss peace activist

References

• A History of Woodbrooke College 1953 - 1978 by F Ralph Barlow

External links

52.4311°N -1.9481°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: Current Job Openings with Quaker and Other Organizations . 2009-02-01. Quaker Information Centre.
2. Web site: Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre . 2024-05-23 . www.quakersintheworld.org.
3. Web site: Elizabeth Mary Cadbury . 2024-05-23 . www.quakersintheworld.org.
4. Book: Kennedy, Thomas C.. British Quakerism, 1860-1920. 2009-02-01. 2001. Oxford University Press. 0-19-827035-6. 180–182. Woodbrooke.
5. Web site: Gandhi's Interpreter: a life of Horace Alexander . Carnall . Geoffrey . 2006.
6. Book: Parker, Stephen . Faith on the Home Front: Aspects of Church Life and Popular Religion in Birmingham, 1939-1945 . 2005 . Peter Lang . 978-3-03910-252-5 . en.
7. Book: Stephens, W. B.. The City of Birmingham. 2009-02-01. A History of the County of Warwick. 1964. University of London & History of Parliament Trust. 411–434. Religious History: Protestant Nonconformity. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22980.
8. Web site: Postgraduate Study and Research. 2019-06-07. Woodbrooke.