Codrington College

As the sugar cane estates were still operating, the society and the college benefited directly from the institution of slavery.

[2] In addition to his bequest to the Society, Codrington provided £10,000 (the equivalent of approximately £1.2 million in modern terms[3]) and roughly 12,000 books to his alma mater, All Souls College, Oxford.

[4] In his will, Codrington wrote: "Paragraph 8, Item: I give the bequeath my two plantations in Barbados to the Society for Propagation of the Christian Religion in Foreign parts, Erected and established by my late good master, King William the Third, and my desire is to have the plantations continued Intire and three hundred negroes at least Kept thereon, and A convenient number of Professors and Scholars maintained there, all of them to be under the vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, who shall be obliged to Studdy and Practice Physick and Chyrurgery as well as Divinity, that by the apparent usefulness of the former to all mankind, they may both ender themselves to the people and have better opportunitys of doeing good to mens souls wilst they are taking care of their Bodys.

Some of the delay in completing the structure is attributed to disputes regarding the properties and related debts (and perhaps political opposition as noted by Wilder above).

The Reverend Mark Nicholson was appointed the head of Codrington in 1797 and stayed on until 1821, providing stability for the college and preparing it for the next stage of its development.

[4] While some advanced studies had been offered as early as 1748, these were usually taken up by sons of the local gentry (who had tutors at home) before they went to an English university.

On 9 September 1830, Codrington College opened formally[4][13][14][15] focussing exclusively on training students for ordination.

Students of the affiliated Colleges, having been so matriculated shall be admissible to the Exercises and Public Examinations required for proceeding to Degrees, Licenses, and Academical ranks in the several Faculties, provided that they have forwarded to the Warden certificates of having fulfilled the same conditions as to residence, attendance at lectures, and conformity to discipline, in their own Colleges, as are required from other Students of the University so admissible, terms of residence being counted from the time of passing the Admission Examination of their own College.

[9] The late 1940s and early 1950s saw several factors lead to a discussion of the affiliation between Codrington College and Durham University.

The university was founded in 1948, on the recommendation of the Asquith Commission[16] through its sub-committee on the West Indies chaired by Sir James Irvine.

[18][19] The fact that the new institution was established in Jamaica and the final report of the commission made no mention of Codrington raised questions of its relevance.

[4] Eventually, it was decided to alter the affiliation agreement so that only degrees in theology would be granted by Durham, which then mirrored the focus of studies at Codrington.

The establishment of the University College of the West Indies meant that non-religious studies in the Caribbean would be focused on the new institution.

This course was designed for lay people who taught religion in day schools and who played important roles in churches.

On its expiry, the government decided, with the support of the USPG, that it was time for the Codrington Trust to be fully in the control of local people.

[21] However, due to financial constraints, only the southern portion of the plan was built, with the construction period lasting from 1714 to 1743.

[21] The design includes a central portico with a pediment and three high arches sitting between a chapel and dining hall with a bust of Christopher Codrington.

The chapel has an altar configured with a vaulted ceiling and panelled with ebony, lignum vitae, and cordia wood.

[21] Originally, the Consett plantation great house, it was a large building but simply designed in three chambers.

[22] The campus is entered via road lined with specimen trees of varyious species, including giant silk cotton, whitewood or white cedars, mahogany and others.

The college now offers a small number of undergraduate and graduate diplomas and degrees, both for those planning to join the Anglican Church as priests and for lay members.

Students may opt for a three-year program or a four-year programme and the entry requirements are the same as entry to the Faculty of Humanities and Education of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, being basically high school graduation or community college/associate degree credentials.

As noted in the history section above, responsibility for the Codrington Estate passed from the Society to local hands.

There are seven members of the Trust governing body, five appointed by the Church and two appointed by the Minister (the Codrington Trust Act does not specify which Minister but a current trustee is from the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment & Community Development).